Digital media and advertising have helped women get their business and ideas across to the world like never before. Women are now reaching their true potential with the encouragement of social media. In India, mainline advertising has always been dominated by men. Most women in advertising were constrained by the wide gender gap dominant in the twentieth century. A very few of them have made their mark nonetheless. With the advent of the digital era, women have a huge opportunity to showcase their talents on digital tools such as Instagram and YouTube. Digital media has opened communication channels which have given rise to more user-generated content every day. This has brought new avenues for people, especially women, in media to take their thoughts across to the world. This shift has increased collaboration among creative people and led to a more positive workplace experience for women. In this manner, digital media might affect the creative careers of women in a way that enables them to venture into advertising without hurdles.
Digital media lets people express themselves and reach out to like-minded consumers, audiences and other businesses. There is no limit or restrictions to creativity on the internet. People from all walks of like, anywhere in the world can connect to the internet to present their capabilities. Films are undoubtedly a reflection of society. The film Secret Superstar shows how a young small-town girl wears a burkha, uploads her music on YouTube and becomes famous. The demonstration of this possibility is what has prevailed in the Indian digital ecosystem. This platform has also given new possibilities of learning and developing soft skills which are again showed in the film. The leading character Insia Malik (Zaira Wasim) writes, composes and sings her songs and uploads her work on YouTube to get noticed by many music enthusiasts and eventually by Shakti Kumar (Aamir Khan), a music composer in Bollywood.
Most of the populace in the in digital media spectrum are a new breed of gen X and millennials who are digital natives. Digital media has proven to be the best space for this new breed to come into limelight. This crowd has been grown with technology and digital media. These media have helped the generation to change its simple ideas turn into major brands. Digital media can be credited for bringing about a socially conscious population. Hence, it enriches the values of feminism. It has helped give feminism a strong, determined voice and has helped young people understand the movement better. Women in India have raised voices against domestic violence, triple talaq and marital rape on digital media, achieving more awareness and speculation in comparison to traditional media.
Mainline advertising depends on broadcasting but digital media is easily accessible to every citizen in the world. Women now have a new platform with endless possibilities. Stand-up comedian Aditi Mittal has made her way to an otherwise extremely male-dominated field with style and confidence. Mittal has her acts on one of the biggest digital entertainment channels, Netflix. Digital media has brought about a powerful change for women. It has helped them to show their talent, share and develop ideas, create successful businesses and above all, educated them about their fields of interest.
Digital media has contributed greatly to empower women as a confident and dynamic force along with their male counterparts. Also, digital media has completely impacted the advertising industry as new platforms have overthrown mainstream media. It fits perfectly with a generation that was born in the digital era.
Authored By Ms. Vrutika Dawda, Director of IdeateLabs
Vrutika Dawda is a Director at IdeateLabs, a digital marketing agency that is committed to creating path-breaking strategies and creative solutions for brands. Vrutika is actively involved in the company’s Corporate Affairs, Corporate Finance, Legal and Compliance among others, while she also looks after the overall business operations. She is a self-driven, growth-oriented professional-turned-intrapreneur with an ability to turn challenges into opportunities.
