As International Women’s Day approaches this Saturday, one woman shows she has the passion and drive to change society and the world. Her name is Rashi Mehta, and she demonstrates she has that capacity through her global philanthropic work.
Financial businesswoman, executive coach and philanthropist Mehta had a humble beginning. Born in India, she always looked up to her mother, Dr. Leela Mehta, who became the first gynecologist in the state of Rajasthan. Leela gave free medical checkups to people living in villages.
It was significant because girls and women were not able to get the medical care they needed in that part of India, which is considered impoverished. Rashi said during Leela’s earlier years in the 1960s, girls were seen as a burden and barely received an education. It was this inspiration that motivated Rashi to start a foundation empowering women and children.
Mehta received her Masters in Business Administration from the ICFAI University in India. She also studied at the University of California Berkeley Haas School of Education where she took courses in professional coaching, finance and business.
From there she became a co-founder of an Information Technology data solution company called Rahi Systems in 2013 where she managed the finances. The company managed data center projects and produced racks of servers. She co-founded the company with her husband Tarun Raisoni and his friend Sushil Goyal.
Their first offices were in Fremont. Mehta recalled how little the space was. “It was a small room, and we used to build racks in the parking lot and then bring them inside. We did not have any space [inside] to build the racks.”
Mehta compared her company to the famous origin story about Silicon Valley companies starting in a garage.“We literally started in the garage, we had our first rack in our garage,” she said.
After 12 years, Rashi and the other co-founders decided to sell the company to Wesco, another data solution company. Mehta said she then had two options, retire or do something else.
In 2023, she founded the Iron Lady Foundation. She used her share of the acquisition with Wesco to open a Donor Advised Fund (DAF), a separate bank account that is only used to donate to charities. She used this account to fund programs for the Iron Lady Foundation.
Mehta visits India to manage projects and fund programs. “I like to see where the money is going, how they are using it, how I’m able to help somebody to fulfill their dreams,” she said.
According to the website, the Iron Lady Foundation serves women and children in poverty conditions and provides them with access to healthcare, education and everyday necessities.
‘My nonprofit name is Iron Lady. Iron means a strong element, right? Which is non bendable, very strong.’
Rashi Mehta
Mehta started her Iron Lady Foundation charity work in India in January 2024. Her first project was in Rajasthan at a school called Dhol Ki Pati. Her foundation helped build a proper water system. They also provided sweaters and blankets for the women and children. There are more plans to improve the school’s building infrastructure.
The foundation is also offering educational sponsorships to support students with ambitious goals. Mehta said she met a 10-year-old girl who said she wants to become a doctor. They also continue Leela’s legacy of offering free medical checkups to the community and transportation to hospitals when needed.
Mehta said her main goal is to empower women. “If the woman is educated, the educated woman will educate their kids also.”
Other foundation programs include educating girls about menstrual periods so they can take care of themselves and prevent infections. Her foundation gave a lifetime supply of pads.
Mehta chose to put iron as part of the organization name because of the chemical element’s properties. “My nonprofit name is Iron Lady. Iron means a strong element, right? Which is non bendable, very strong.”
Mehta said she wants to leave a legacy just like her mom who spent her lifetime advocating for the welfare of women. “And the kids, the women, the girls really got the benefit from those changes in their life,” she said.
