Independence Day 2026: What Freedom Means to Indian Women Founders

By: Supraja Mohanty, Senior Correspondent

Independence Is About Having the Freedom to Choose: Subarna Mukherjee, Founder & Global CEO, Shop Culture

As India celebrates its Independence Day, what does independence mean to you as a woman leader in today’s India?

To me, independence is not a lack of constraints. Instead, it is the freedom to choose your constraint. Whether to marry, whether to have children, what kind of career to pursue - these should be decisions a woman makes, not defaults handed to her by society. None of them are obligations, and none should require anyone's permission.

India has come a long way in opening these choices up, but the honest truth is that not every woman has equal access to them yet. Many simply haven't been exposed to what's possible. So for me, independence isn't only about the freedoms I enjoy, it's about normalising these choices and making them available to every woman, so that deciding how to live your life becomes ordinary, not exceptional.

What role are women leaders and entrepreneurs playing in shaping India's growth story?

Women will play a defining role but I hope we can move past the idea that a woman has to be better than every man in the room just to earn her place. That constant need to prove ourselves is exhausting and, frankly, unnecessary. Women bring different strengths to the table - patience with long-term outcomes, an instinct for sustainable growth, a focus on building things that last rather than things that simply look big. Those strengths deserve to be recognised and valued on their own terms, not measured against a male benchmark. As more women lead and build, India's growth story becomes richer, not because we're competing, but because we're contributing something genuinely our own.

About Subarna Mukherjee: She is the Founder & Global CEO of Shop Culture, a global brand strategy and e-commerce growth agency. Her diverse experince in organizations such as Amazon, ITC, and Flipkart helps her guide brands in scaling up across India, US, UK, Europe, UAE, and South Africa.