How do gender differences and biases creep into liberal spaces? What are the problems women in creative and cultural professions face? Can a script writer defend her choice of a female lead? Can an actor assert herself against misogynist routines in the garb of method acting? How does it feel to be the only man in an all-female team? Does my sexual orientation affect the gigs I get?

In a series of conversations with creative and cultural professionals, we talk about diversity, microaggressions, bias, and other issues just beneath theveneer of liberal values. Lectures by experts set the tone, while open long-table discussions break the boundaries between the speakers and the audience. Featuring Aparna Jain, Lekha Washington, Chintan Girish Modi, Phalguni Desai, Ruchita Madhok, Susan Dias, Pooja Pillai, Toral Shah, Vijay Nair, Dianne Tauro, and you, you and you…

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Schedule

5.00 pm: Talk on "Owning It" by leadership coach and author of Own It: Leadership Lessons from Women Who Do, Aparna Jain
5.30 pm: Why so serious? (or Not)
Are women professionals taken with the same seriousness as their male counterparts at the workplace? What are the attitudes displayed towards women and the LGBTQ? Do these attitudes result in subconscious bias, job stereotyping and segregation? Does it also lead to unequal pay?
To be moderated by Aparna Jain, featuring arts writer and consultant Phalguni Desai, designer and entrepreneur Ruchita Madhok, entrepreneur Susan Dias, OML Founder Vijay Nair and you, you and you…
6.30 pm: TEA
7.00 pm: Glass Ceiling: Culture or Structure? 
An open discussion, where participants discuss how the culture and structure of workplaces can lead to a skewed gender ratio at the workplace, with even fewer women promoted to senior roles in the sector. Actors, arts managers, journalists bring their experiences to their table and compare notes. To be moderated by writer, educator, researcher and consultant Chintan Girish Modi; and featuring actor, product designer and artist Lekha Washington; arts manager Dipti Rao, features writer Pooja Pillai, culture manager Dianne Tauro and you, you and you…

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About Swarup Foundation

Swarup Foundation is a registered Public Charitable Trust that aims to connect innovative research with planned interventions and policy change. The Foundation will focus on the fields of gender and child rights, mental health and the promotion of arts and culture. The activities of the Foundation are based on the lifetime experience of the Chairman, Govind Swarup. Govind retired as the Additional Chief Secretary from Govt. of Maharashtra. As an ex IAS officer, he has immense experience in initiating several projects in the social sector and arts. Shubhangi Swarup, a journalist leads Sola Bara, the division that focusses on gender based discrimination and sexual violence. As a writer, she has won the Laadli National Awards for gender sensitive writing. Dr. Amresh Shrivastava leads the chapter on Mental Health. An internationally renowned psychiatrist specializing in suicide behaviour, he is a Member of the Royal College of Psychiatry (MRCPsych) UK and a Fellow of Royal College of physicians and surgeons of Canada (FRCPC).

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Facebook event: https://www.facebook.com/events/1276258992428887/

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To register please email: swarupgfoundation@gmail.com.

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By

Supported by: Swarup Foundation
Venue Partner: Ajji by Lekha Washington
Organised by: The Art X Company
Outreach Partner: Sitara Studio
Poster Design: Courtesy Hemant Suthar​