India's low female workforce participation is not a lack of ambition; it is the result of an ecosystem that fails to support professional agency.
While women have the drive, their path is often blocked by the primary influencers in their lives: the gatekeepers. By prioritizing domestic milestones over career independence, these influencers inadvertently prevent women from entering the formal economy. Until we shift the mindsets of those who hold the keys to a woman's future, the cycle of dependency will persist.
Founded in 2014, UMEED is a systemic-change organization dedicated to redefining how women perceive themselves and are perceived by society. We bridge the gap between potential and independence by fostering hope, dignity, and long-term security. By combining grassroots experience with a disciplined approach to social impact, we ensure that every initiative creates an immediate and lasting shift in the landscape of female self-reliance.
We transform the entire ecosystem surrounding a woman to ensure sustainable independence. We equip women with career-readiness skills and agency, shift parental mindsets through structured dialogue, and build gender-awareness within educational institutions. This integrated approach transforms traditional "gatekeeping" into a launchpad for lifelong social and financial independence.
We transform women into proactive professionals by equipping them with the career-readiness skills and agency needed to navigate diverse career avenues.
We turn traditional "gatekeeping" into active support by facilitating structured dialogues that help families prioritize a woman's personal and professional independence over domestic milestones.
We create a sustainable multiplier effect by embedding gender-sensitive infrastructure and mentor-led support within the state's existing educational systems.
We empower students from underserved backgrounds with the agency and readiness to enter the formal workforce. Our focus is on bridging the gap between classroom potential and career-led independence.
We engage parents and key influencers to shift mindsets from domestic gatekeeping to active professional support. By transforming the home environment, we ensure a woman's career is a shared family priority.
We collaborate to enable capacity building within government bodies and embed gender-sensitive infrastructure into existing systems. By working together at a systemic level, we drive sustainable, large-scale change.
We empower students from underserved backgrounds with the agency and readiness to enter the formal workforce. Our focus is on bridging the gap between classroom potential and career-led independence.
We engage parents and key influencers to shift mindsets from domestic gatekeeping to active professional support. By transforming the home environment, we ensure a woman's career is a shared family priority.
We collaborate to enable capacity building within government bodies and embed gender-sensitive infrastructure into existing systems. By working together at a systemic level, we drive sustainable, large-scale change.
of graduates break the cycle of dependency by successfully entering the workforce, higher education, or advanced upskilling.
Our "Train-the-Trainer" model equipped institutional educators to directly drive higher student employability and workforce entry.
of families reported a fundamental shift toward equal freedom and professional support for both their daughters and sons.
Our mission directly contributes to the United Nations' Sustainable Development Goals, focusing on creating a more equitable and just world for all.
Joint Director II
Commissionerate of Collegiate Education Telangana
We have taken feedback from the colleges, and we have received excellent responses about the impact these TSKC mentors are creating after the SAHYOG program. This is a truly wonderful program. We are very thankful to all the resource persons, because we can clearly see the quality. All these skills our TSKC mentors are now learning from the SAHYOG sessions are definitely very useful for our students.
Executive Vice President, Employee Success(HR)
Salesforce
This is an organization that is doing incredible work and really thinking through multiple aspects of how they can change the lives of women from many different standpoints. It's really great to see how this connects to the Sustainable Development Goals that we talk about so often.
Partner
Social Venture Partners
I find the founders, Udita and Gauri, to be highly qualified, innovative, articulate, passionate and dedicated to their work. They have also built a very committed and capable team of people to execute well. It has been my pleasure to work with them through SVP and exchange ideas, learning from each other.
CEO
United Way of Hyderabad
Amazed to see the kind of transformation in women's lives. Skilling is only one part of empowering women; the other component to it is confidence building, giving exposure, giving them opportunities to showcase that they are capable of doing. I think that is what Umeed does the best.
We collaborate with corporates, non profits, think tanks, philanthropies, changemakers, development professionals, and community leaders. Anyone with the heart and courage to uplift women joins our tribe!
