Google launches #TogetherOnline

The initiative is aimed at getting Indian women to log on to, and use, the World Wide Web.

Women are excelling in all fields - be it in the corporate world or in sports. Now, Google India has launched an initiative that encourages internet users to help get more women onto the internet. The objective is to help promote digital literacy among women by getting them to understand the power of the internet.

Supporting Google in this effort are Snapdeal, Axis Bank, HUL and GSK.

Sandeep Menon, director marketing, Google India, says, "The internet has completely transformed the way we live our lives. Everyday people are discovering new opportunities and finding newer and better ways of doing things on the web to get ahead in life. We want to encourage all these users to extend this power of the web to women in India..."

#TogetherOnline will be a nine week-long initiative, which will see a number of activities across India, starting with a concert featuring actor Farhan Akhtar. It is aimed at raising awareness among youngsters in metros.

Axis Bank will host special digital literacy workshops for female customers in its branches across India. Snapdeal will engage its shoppers in a series of awareness campaigns aimed at educating women about entrepreneurial opportunities.

To take the initiative to the interiors of India, Google will also launch 500 custom-designed internet carts that will reach women across 5,000 locations in rural and small town India.

Google has also partnered with PopXo, a lifestyle website, for this initiate.

Rajiv Anand, group executive and head - retail banking, Axis Bank, says, "...We believe that empowering women is integral to the progress of our society. With the Indian woman today transforming from being a key influencer to a decision maker, it is important for her to be empowered with information. We are proud to be championing this cause in association with Google, to bring knowledge at the click of a button and help get more and more Indian women online."

Prashant Pandey, marketing head, GSK Consumer Healthcare India, says, "The bond between mothers and daughters has always been a unique and everlasting one. From 1896, Horlicks has been helping mothers make their daughters tall, strong and sharp. Today, we are delighted to partner Google in the 'Helping Women Get Online' campaign, one that encourages daughters to help their mothers go online, in order to stay aware and connected..."

Google has already introduced a number of initiatives to help get more women online through partnerships with various state governments and outreach efforts in Madhya Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh, and more recently, Andhra Pradesh.

Through the current campaign, Google has imparted basic internet training to over 45,000 female students and 5,000 female teachers, across 950 educational institutes.

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