Deccan Chronicle

The Sisterhood Soiree

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India Nightlife Convention and Awards presents The Sisterhood Soiree – an initiative to recognize and empower women in nightlife and hospitality.

The thriving hospitality industry of Bengaluru needs no introduction but something to think about is the rather small numbers of women in this fraternity. This is the exact question that ‘The Sisterhood Soiree’ a first-of-its-kind platform that is hosted by women, for women and of the women is trying to address. Specifically designed to bring female industry leaders and aspiring women under one roof with an ultimate aim to increase female participation in the industry, this platform will deliberate on how to increase female participation in the industry. “This is the third edition of the Sisterhood Soiree in India – the first one was hosted in Delhi, followed by Mumbai. We received great response from both men and women who are keen to make a difference in the hospitality industry. The India Nightlife Convention and Awards (INCA), a joint project by Riyaaz Amlani and myself, has made a splash ever since its conception in 2016. Since inception, INCA has strived to make the night life a better experience in India. It has ushered in a new age of bar and party life by introducing better and fresher encounters for its key demographic,” says Aman Anand, Director, INCA and Kickstart Entertainment. With women contributing a substantial amount at every level in the nightlife domain, it is imperative to bestow recognition and allow this energy to transform the hospitality sector. Amit Roy, Partner – ThinkTanc avers, “the Sisterhood Soiree is a great initiative to bring to the forefront the growth and advent of women in this business. It serves as encouragement for women to pursue their hospitality dream. We are encouraging and praising their efforts across other industries. I do believe that it is time to focus on recognising their efforts in the hospitality industry as well.”

Monica Dogra at Sisterhood Soiree Delhi
Monica Dogra at Sisterhood Soiree Delhi

A power-packed panel discussion featuring film actor Ragini Dwivedi, Riyaaz Amlani (CEO of Impresario Entertainment & Hospitality Pvt. Ltd), musician and actress Monica Dogra, restaurateurs Nikki Ponappa and Meghana Vakada, business leaders Bhargavi Naidu and Gurpreet Singh and restaurateur/F&B Consultant Amit Royn is part of the Soiree. Women on the panel will talk about their journey in hospitality, highlighting opportunities as well as challenges that they faced. For the first time, we even have men on the panel, who will be sharing their experience of having women in this industry. Together, the panel will try to provide suggestions on how this industry can become more women friendly, how we can tackle safety issues, and what is the career growth opportunity for women in this industry. The aim is to create as much awareness as possible so there is no taboo associated with this sector. The event will witness women taking the forefront right from security, bartending to DJing and event curation. The night continues with DJs Double T and Avisha dishing out groovy tunes for music lovers. Monica Dogra will also play a special set to celebrate women in nightlife. “INCA is focused of making the hospitality and nightlife experience better, and from our prior events people gave us feedback that we do not seem to be promoting the cause of women in the nightlife industry. We ran a campaign called ‘The Brotherhood of Nights’ – and in our mind this catered to the entire hospitality fraternity. However, our audiences thought otherwise, and we value this feedback. And therefore, we created this initiative – The Sisterhood Soiree – solely focused on recognising and promoting the cause of women in nightlife be it bartenders, DJs, hospitality staff or just consumers headed out to experience a city’s nightlife. We want to create awareness that will tell our societies that it is ok for women to work in the nightlife industry. They do in every other country, and by creating a negative perception here, we are curbing their potential in this industry,” adds Aman. The aim is to create awareness which is half the battle won. “If we are able to change the mindset of having women in this industry, we will automatically see more participants. Parents and society will encourage women to join this industry. And while just events are not enough, we hope to inspire people to find ways to regulate this. For example, in nightclubs abroad, there is a code word that women can use to communicate that they are in danger. They just use this word with bouncers or the staff, and help is provided immediately. Can we do this here? As INCA, we are planning to launch a safe nightlife guide in Mumbai, so every woman can have a safe and enjoyable nightlife experience,” concludes Anand.

  • When: June 21st, 7pm onwards
  • Where: Koramangala Social, 118, 3rd Floor Koramangala Industrial Area, 80 Feet Road Above Bodyworks Spa, 7th Block, Koramangala, Bengaluru, Karnataka 560095
  • Entry: Free

This story first appeared in Deccan Chronicle Bengaluru dated 21 June 2019 here:

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