The winning edge
Stuti Jalan is a pickleball enthusiast. There’s a childlike glee on her face every time she mentions her love for the sport. “It is that one thing I do for myself. Getting a slot to play on the court is not easy. I make sure I get a confirmation for it first thing in the morning,” Jalan smiles. Call it a stress buster maybe, it is what makes Jalan happy when she takes time off work.
And then there is that other thing that makes her happy, something that is always on her mind and means much more to her than work—her new initiative for women. “The Women Inspiring Network (WIN) was founded in April 2020. It is my way of giving back to society,” she says.
WIN is a storytelling platform that connects aspiring women leaders across countries and backgrounds. It is a first-of-its-kind digital network that highlights women’s stories of struggle, perseverance, and success. Through webinars, Instagram live sessions, and online panel series, WIN has built a community of over 7,000 women changemakers from different sectors.
Jalan’s penchant for sharing others’ stories comes from her own. The 40-year-old entrepreneur was born in Odisha and was sent to boarding school in Jaipur at the age of eight. “The culture of Jaipur was modern yet traditional. I went to the Maharani Gayatri Devi Girls’ School. Gayatri Devi has massively contributed to girls’ education in Rajasthan. She wanted women to come out of ghoonghat and explore the possibility of being more than just homemakers,” she says.
After graduating in literature and philosophy from Lady Sri Ram College in Delhi, Jalan moved to Mumbai, where she built a successful career. “I was never serious about studies. But I never saw myself getting married very early. I had to make something of myself,” she says. The zest to keep rediscovering herself brought Jalan back to Delhi. Managing big fashion names like Tarun Tahliani, Rohit Bal and JJ Valaya in the capital, Jalan was also involved with the luxury brand Hermes’ India launch.
A decade ago, the idea of establishing an initiative for women came to Jalan. “Ten years ago I went for a women leadership programme in the US. It was an initiative started by Hillary Clinton. There were participants from across the globe. I met some big names like Arianna Huffington and Sheryl Sandberg. The idea of the programme was to teach you how to pay it forward,” she says.
But it was during the 2020 pandemic that Jalan actively felt like doing something for women changemakers. “In the last week of March 2020, a client approached me with the idea of conducting a webinar. I had been thinking about the initiative for some time and after discussing it with my team, we came up with the name WIN. It was a two-day webinar with 14 panel discussions and 70 speakers, of which 35 were women,” she says.
After the webinar, more people started writing to Jalan. “Our outreach kept getting amplified, and the community started growing. In October 2023, I thought I should take this to Davos. A UK-based organisation agreed to get onboard, but I had to ask for global women leaders to participate as well because finding women leaders based out of India became extremely difficult,” she says.
These are busy days for Jalan with the World Economic Forum Week at Davos scheduled from January 20-24. “We are excited to introduce our inaugural WIN Lounge—a platform for bold ideas and dynamic dialogues at Davos 2025, where global leaders convene to address the world’s most pressing challenges and drive meaningful change. I look forward to seeing more Indian women shining globally, stepping into the spotlight to claim their place and showcase their achievements,” she says. It’s a WINner.