Introduction

I Can Lead 2026

I Can Lead 2026

Applications Open for the Third Cohort

If you have ever asked yourself where women leaders with disabilities are — look no further. Your journey can begin or accelerate here.

I Can Lead is Rising Flame’s flagship national leadership programme, designed exclusively for young women with disabilities across India. Created by women with disabilities, for women with disabilities, the programme is rooted in a simple but powerful belief: leadership is not a fixed trait. It grows when nurtured in the right environment.

The 2026 edition invites a third cohort of 20 young women with disabilities into a transformative 10-month leadership journey designed to build self-advocates, changemakers, and leaders who lead on their own terms.

Whether you are a student, entrepreneur, lawyer, artist, researcher, dreamer, or someone still figuring things out — this programme is for women with disabilities who are ready to learn, reflect, build community, and drive change with purpose.

Programme at a Glance

  • Duration: 10 Months (August 2026 – May 2027).
  • Format: Part-time.
  • Mode: Hybrid (80% Virtual, 20% In-person).
  • Cohort Size: 20 Participants.
  • Cost: Fully Funded.

The programme is intentionally designed to make leadership development more accessible and inclusive. The part-time, largely virtual format allows participants from across India to engage without having to step away from work, education, personal responsibilities, or community commitments.

Why ‘I Can Lead’?

Women with disabilities continue to remain deeply underrepresented in leadership spaces — not because of a lack of ability, but because systems have historically failed to invest in their leadership.

I Can Lead was created to change that.

The programme creates a safe, intersectional, feminist, and disability-affirming space where participants are supported to:

  1. Lead Authentically: Develop a leadership style rooted in lived experience, identity, and personal values.
  2. Grow Adaptively: Build the skills to navigate complexity and systemic barriers with awareness and intention.
  3. Build Community: Connect with a powerful network of peers, mentors, experts, and a life coach to foster collective resilience and solidarity.
  4. Master New Skills: Engage in learning labs and practical experiences that strengthen confidence, communication, knowledge, and leadership practice.

This is not about fitting into conventional leadership moulds. It is about discovering what leadership can look like when disabled women lead from the front.

What Will Participants Experience?

Across 10 months, participants will move through a carefully designed leadership journey across three modules:

  1. The Internal Compass: Exploring identity, lived experience, power structures, and self-awareness to anchor one’s unique leadership journey.
  2. The Bridge Builder: Developing communication, negotiation, collaboration, and advocacy skills to navigate relationships, systems, and spaces with confidence.
  3. The Catalyst: Practicing adaptive leadership during conflict and crisis, leading ethically, and demonstrating leadership vision for actionable change.

Within these modules, participants will be engaged in:

  • Nine expert-led learning labs.
  • Four months of life coaching.
  • Four months of individualised mentoring sessions.
  • Self-paced learning courses.
  • Hands-on assignments.
  • Peer learning and networking spaces.
  • An Impact Project designed to apply programme learning in real-world contexts.

Participants will also engage with business leaders, entrepreneurs, disability rights advocates, feminist practitioners, mental health professionals, legal experts, communication specialists, filmmakers, and leaders from diverse sectors.

Who Can Apply?

We are looking for women with disabilities from diverse backgrounds, geographies, and experiences who are ready to explore their potential and lead with intention.

Minimum Eligibility Criteria

Applicants must:

  • Be a woman with a disability.
  • Be between 20 and 35 years of age.
  • Be a resident of India.
  • Be able to commit up to 8 hours per week from August 2026 to May 2027.
  • Be fairly proficient in English (reading and writing).
  • Be comfortable using basic technology such as email, Zoom, online learning platforms, and internet research.
  • Be committed to drive change in their sphere of influence.

A Growing Community of Disabled Women Leaders

I Can Lead is not a new idea being tested — it is a growing movement and an evolving leadership community.

Across the first two cohorts:

  • 18 women with disabilities have completed the programme.
  • Participants represented 8 states across India.
  • Participants came from 7 impairment groups.
  • Alumnae have gone on to become published authors, drive accessibility changes in their workplaces, become TEDx speakers and conference presenters, pursue Master’s degrees at prestigious global universities, start their own firms, and become national changemakers.

The programme continues to build a growing pipeline of visible, vocal, and impactful disabled women leaders across the country.

Learn More

Applications Close on June 10th, 2026

Apply now — or share this opportunity with a woman with a disability who should be part of this journey. Read the full application form here. Applications will only be accepted through the Google Form below.

Application Form

For questions or support, write to gayatri@risingflame.org