WASHINGTON — Balancing high school and being the founder of an organization that has had impact all over the globe sounds close to impossible, but a 17-year-old from Potomac, Maryland found herself up for the task.
Sahana Ahuja, the founder and president of The Launch Project, loves art and spending time with her family, but she counts public speaking as a hobby. This professional outlook has spilled over into all aspects of her life with the development of her organization.
The Launch Project is an international nonprofit focused on building critical skills and equitable opportunities, specifically in business, politics and STEM for girls, because they are historically the most underrepresented fields for women. The idea for this was sparked before she even became a teenager - on a trip abroad.
"I came across a girl, and her brother was allowed to go to school. He was in a fully dressed uniform while she worked in a rock mine with her mom. And this is solely because of her gender and because she was a girl, she didn't have the same access to equal opportunities and education. And this really opened my eyes to the disparities that exist. And coming back from that trip abroad, I realized that this wasn't just an isolated incident. This happens all over," Ahuja said clearly and stern to the point.
This moment ignited a flame within her to make an impact. But, not just this - she also went to a female empowerment summit at 13 which married her ideas together.
"It was there where I really got to see the power of mentorship and the power of women coming together, supporting other women, sharing their journeys," Ahuja said.
Ahuja stated that they have been able to do this by not avoiding the issues and instead addressing prevalent gender gaps that exist for women by targeting underrepresented areas head-on. Poised and collected, she started backing these motives with numbers. "Some statistics that really show the importance of female empowerment and the Launch Project are only 2.3% of venture capital goes to women entrepreneurs. And for the first time this year, women run more than 10% of Fortune 500 companies. Although it is higher than the 8% it was for years, it's nowhere near the 50% that it needs to be."
She also said, according to the World Economic Forum, in 2019, woman made up only 28% of graduates in engineering and 40% in computer science. This is the same year the Launch Project was developed. It has since grown to have over 2,500 members and 50 chapters worldwide including in Asia, North America, and Africa.
With the goals of the organization in mind, a tangible result was created which was the Summit. The event took place in May ay the Clara Barton Auditorium at the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) headquarters. "It brought together young women from diverse backgrounds, age groups, and the girls were from middle school adults."
Some of the women there to help share guidance included the CEO of Accenture, the co-founder of Scout, the senior vice president of the WNBA Washington Mystics, the founder of The Shatter Foundation, and more. There were also fireside chats, workshops, interviews, and panel discussions.
This is just a step in their goal to 'equalize gender equality.' When looking back at what she has accomplished her highlights are the people affected by it. "A lot of the participants, specifically coming from the Female Empowerment Summit, they highlighted how it provided them with the resources and the tangible skills and just the networking and the specific advice to pursue their dreams." For her, some advice that stuck with her is every school assignment counts - it is all important.
A look inside The Launch Project events
And now she has advice for those who might have ambitious goals like her.
"So when I started back in 2019, I never imagined it would have grown and had the support it has now. And that wouldn't have been possible if I didn't just start. So my advice is to just start," she said confidently. "And as Nike says, just do it. And the next thing is mentorship. Mentorship is really, really important. And I've received amazing advice and mentors through this process, through building authentic connections with the speakers from the summit, from our various events. These women have become mentors in my life and have really shaped the way I look at other things."
As for the future, the young trailblazer plans to continue on this path and see the program grow. Even with college soon for her, after she completes her senior year of college, she hopes to expand.
Here's a look at Ahuja recently giving a TEDTalk about empowering the next generation of female leaders: