Behind every successful woman is a MOM. She may not make the headlines. She may not be quoted in interviews. But behind every woman who dares to dream and do, there is often a mother quietly powering the story.
The Indian mother is an institution. She’s the original multitasker, the unpaid therapist, the relentless cheerleader. Sometimes, she raises her daughter to be everything she couldn’t be. Sometimes, she quietly pushes her into spaces that scare her. Sometimes, she just listens—and that alone moves mountains. And for working women especially, the role of a mother doesn’t stop with childhood. She becomes the fallback system—stepping in for school pick-ups, sick days, missed meals, or simply as moral ballast. In modern urban India, where nuclear families and competitive lives have frayed traditional support systems, the mother remains a constant—emotionally and logistically.
In fact, when women are asked “How do you do it all?”, many smile and look towards their moms—not just out of affection, but acknowledgment. Because sometimes “behind every successful woman” isn’t a mentor or a manager—but a mother, keeping the wheels turning behind the scenes. Whether it’s the CEO on stage or the young lawyer cracking her first case, chances are there’s a woman supporting her somewhere- juggling her own life so her daughter can live hers more fully. Because success may wear stilettos, but it often walks on the shoulders of a sari-clad superwoman called Mom.
Women need women rather than men and this is more so true in India – from maid to mom, sisters to girl-friends – the more women in your life, the richer you are. They are your treasure trove, which no money can buy. Not all moms are biological—some are mother-figures: grandmothers, aunts, sisters, or even domestic helps who mother their madams in quiet ways. But they all wear the same badge of silent strength.
Actor Priyanka Chopra Jonas in multiple interviews has credited her mother and female friends for her strength- “Women supporting women—that’s the real game-changer. It’s not a competition; it’s a community.”
For all the progress in gender roles and evolving equations, one truth remains constant that women need women. In India especially, where the load of everyday life is carried quietly and ceaselessly by women, it’s often another woman who helps lighten that burden.
From the maid who silently keeps your home running to the mother who still calls to check if you’ve eaten; from a sister who stands by you in crisis to girlfriends who decode everything from heartbreak to hormonal shifts—women form an unspoken, powerful network. It’s invisible in policy papers but undeniable in practice.
Ask any Indian woman juggling work, home, parenting, and ageing parents, and you’ll find she survives not because of a man but because of a female support system. The household help becomes indispensable. The mother-in-law doubles as childcare. The neighbourhood auntie becomes your emergency contact. The best friend becomes your therapist. And in recent years, a younger generation of women entrepreneurs, mentors, wellness experts, and community leaders are creating spaces—online and offline—where women rally behind one another like never before.
This isn’t to pit genders against each other but to point to a simple truth: men may offer love, protection, even partnership, but it is women who offer deep empathy. They just get it. The unending mental load. The silent expectations. The periods, pregnancies, body image issues, career compromises, glass ceilings. All of it.
This solidarity is not sentimental—it’s strategic. In a country where women still struggle for equal space, pay, and respect, having more women in your corner is not just comforting, it’s critical.
Sociologists say this informal support structure is one of the most underrated strengths in Indian society. Psychologists confirm that women with a strong female circle report lower stress levels and better emotional health. And storytellers—be it in films, web series or books—are finally beginning to highlight these bonds with the complexity and warmth they deserve.
The truth is that women empower women in a way no one else can. And the more women you have in your life—maids, moms, mentors, mates—the richer your life is. Not in rupees, but in resilience.
Because behind every strong woman is often not a man—but a tribe of other well-meaning and supportive women.
