'Digit-all? Or 'Digital'-all?

#IWD2023: Avtar’s #DigitALL endeavours!?

Loved this year's UN Women 's theme for Women’s Day – 'DigitALL: Innovation and Technology for Gender Equality' – a gorgeous play on 2 critical objectives:

1) 'Digit'-ing - i.e, counting, all,

2) And 'Digiting' - technologically including, all!

An objective that's spot on, for, the gender gap in tech is sweeping. Consider these study findings: UNESCO Science report says that only 28% of engineering graduates are women. UN Women states that for every 100 men promoted to the managerial level in tech, only 52 women get promoted. ILO reports that the gender pay gap in tech is 21% (compared to 16% in other industries).?

?What's more, DigitALL is a pressing priority NOW more than ever, with AI tools becoming ultra-powerful and pervasive. We all know that AI chatbot ChatGPT, which launched in November 2022, surpassed 100 million users by January 2023, shattering all records. AI has immense potential to transform lives, but to leverage its full promise, we need equal representation in technology.

Unfortunately, the AI scene is heavily skewed. UN Women states that:

·???????Women make up only 22 percent of artificial intelligence workers globally.

·???????44% of AI systems across industries demonstrate gender bias.?

?So, achieving gender equality in tech must?be a priority for everyone, as it has been for Avtar since its inception 22 years ago. This Women's Day, let me share some impactful 'Digital Equity' projects that Avtar has pioneered:

?1.????? Project Puthri provides STEM exposure and career assistance to under-privileged school-going girls, seeks to create career intentionality among them and strives to eliminate gender biases early on. When Covid struck, it became apparent that access to technology is a big obstacle. According to the International Telecommunication Union, only 63% of women had access to the Internet in 2022, compared to 69% of men.?We at Avtar recognize this issue, and during the pandemic and after, we’ve ensured that our brilliant Puthri scholars have uninterrupted access to the Internet. Now, Puthri’s reach has swelled thanks to tech! ??

?2. myAvtar Jobs ? is India’s first diversity job portal, that has specially curated roles offering flexibility and part-time work schedules for second career women and working mothers. Along with helpful webinars and online counselling for women, the portal supports them in their entire job-hunt journey – right from upskilling women and finding a supportive employer to helping them flourish in their roles – all gained from the comfort of their homes, again thanks to effective use of tech. ?

?3.??#DigiPivot is an incredible online ‘Digital marketing’ skilling program specially designed for women. A thought-baby of 谷歌 's amazing women leaders - Madhuri Duggirala and Jo Keiko Terasawa , this initiative, developed by Avtar, in partnership with HUL and ISB, trains women on key technical and leadership skills. Also, we make sure our cohort admits women in all stages of their careers, including women on career breaks.

?4.?????Diversity Mahotsav is a month-long virtual festival that salutes diversity! Celebrated in December, the online festival is a great idea-sharing platform where role-model organizations rope in their leaders and employees to talk about what DEI means to them and what their organizations are doing to make their workplaces more welcoming and equitable to second career women and other disadvantaged sections. The festival also includes informative sessions on the various technical career options for women.

?5.?????The Avtar & Seramount 100 Best Companies for Women, is India’s largest gender analytics study that shortlists companies with the most impactful gender diversity initiatives. We use digital equity measures as significant indicators in this unique benchmarking survey. This annual data-intensive study has pushed companies to raise their DEI bar each year, making these organizations great places for women to thrive. [We just opened the study for receiving applications! Do apply, if you already have not!]

?It goes without saying that Avtar will #PowerOn to achieve digital equity, for we have miles to go before we can sleep. Let’s not forget – more women in technology means a boost in innovation, improved economic outcomes globally, and reduced bias in AI tools.

?Here’s wishing all you amazing women a very happy women’s day and an equal digital future!