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The Unstoppable Deepika Chawla: Inspiring Women's Leadership Across Industries

Discover how this multifaceted leader, mentor, and motivator, is busy empowering women to ask for their rights through her “Speak Up Lady” program. There is little that can stop the force that is Deepika Chawla.

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TheWOOMag

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Deepika Chawla wears many hats, and that too very successfully. A qualified chartered accountant, a businesswoman, a motivational speaker, and now an author, this corporate superachiever keeps busy transforming challenges into opportunities for women at work.

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At the helm of affairs at her Fortune 500 company, where she holds a leadership position, she spearheads operations and leads teams of hundreds to success. Besides making strides in the financial shared services and banking industries, she also channels her energies toward the potential of women, empowering them to take a stand in the workplace. If that weren’t enough, Deepika is also a TEDx speaker and a supporter of various NGOs.

While Deepika has been a highly accomplished professional for over 30 years, mentoring and motivating women was an adventure she took up only three years ago. It has been one of her most demanding yet fulfilling ventures to date. During the pandemic, as the world ground to a halt, she observed how women struggled to balance their personal and professional lives, often having to compromise a lot. Hoping to change this narrative, Deepika founded Speak Up Lady, a program designed to empower women in middle management by arming them with the confidence to speak up in their professional and personal lives.

“Diversity can be a superpower - surround yourself with diversity of all kinds, including people with different backgrounds and perspectives.”

deepika

Deepika’s program has mentored over 300 women while helping them carve their identity, build professional relationships, and design a roadmap for career transitions. But spearheading this program was far from easy. Deepika worked tirelessly to create a brand identity that separated her services from those of others. She strived to help women understand terms such as self-bias while encouraging them to invest in themselves. She also followed up with corporations to understand the value of women in the workplace—a colossal task in itself.

Her resilience, tenacity, and unabashed self-belief led her to overcome each challenge through difficult times. Her experiences and those of many women have been immortalised in the form of her book, ‘Speak Up Lady’, which gained the No. 1 position on the Amazon list. The stories are raw, honest, and relatable, and have the blood, sweat, and tears poured in by Deepika to make the book a reality. Her efforts to promote workplace equality and diversity have culminated in several awards and accolades.

The story has just begun and a long marathon is to be won. But there is little that can come in the way of Deepika, for her grit and perseverance have made her an unstoppable force to be reckoned with.

On My Vision Board: “Break the Bias that Buckles You”.

My Inspiration: Witnessing a positive impact on the lives of women and the younger generation.

Awards and accolades

Founder of Speak Up Lady Mentoring program – empowering more than 300 women in 3 years.
Author of Amazon's No. 1 book – Now, Speak Up Lady.
TEDx Speaker on Prevailing Presence of Passion for Youth
Josh Talks Sheroes.
Advisory Board Member in a non-profit organisation for bridging the digital divide in government schools.
Mentoring women professionals with organisations like BeyonDiversity Foundation, The Star In Me, and Lean In India.
50 Under 50 Achievers Award.
Featured in a book on 25 Inspiring Women in India
Winner of Wearethecity Champion award (For Driving Diversity) sponsored by EY & Barclays

Words of wisdom for future women leaders: Diversity can be a superpower - surround yourself with diversity of all kinds, including people with different backgrounds and perspective

Lady-boss inspiration: Oprah Winfrey

Favourite travel itinerary: Anything that blends relaxation, exploration, and indulgence:

Must-haves for all the women leaders out there: Resilience, self-belief, self-awareness, and courage

Biggest money lesson: The concept of "money making money" is fundamental. When I invest my money, I put it to work to generate returns over time. This approach allows my wealth to grow through compounding and smart investment decisions.

What makes me unstoppable: Resilience, tenacity, and uncompromising self-belief.