Women in Tech - Building a Diverse Workforce

The IT industry once known to be male-dominant has been showing encouraging signs for women over the years however there is a huge gap to fill. Achieving this gender equality in the tech workforce in India, there are many points to be considered and everyone has an equal role to play. While our economies are powered by technology, it caters to all groups including men, women as well as children. So it becomes highly imperative to have women in all sectors to have products and services catering to the other half of the population as well! While women in STEM-related fields may be at par with men, the number decreases when it comes to higher levels. According to Munira Loliwala, BU Head, TeamLease Digital, “India still has only 17% of women seats in the boardrooms”. She believes that the last few years has seen drastic change in innovation and tech involvement along with massive growth that has led to C-suite roles being more available to women.?

Women in tech are integral to a digital future, however it is important to understand women employees’ wants, needs and ambitions. Business leaders need to take some initiatives to achieve gender neutrality in the tech industry.

1. Equal opportunities

To ensure that job opportunities are gender-neutral, the selection process should be reviewed on a regular basis. Remuneration disparity should be avoided and closely kept a check on. While women in tech may be interested in skills such as cloud computing or data management, they should be introduced to higher-paying roles like cybersecurity. Cross-mentoring programs in organizations can also help empower women to take up roles other than they usually take up and expand their horizons. Promotional opportunities across departments should be offered to enable an expansion in their skill sets.

2. Diversity in workplace

Diversity in the workplace creates a culture of innovation and creativity, allowing better individual performance and better engagement and motivation. A diverse pool helps unlock new ideas, understand problems from different perspectives, come up with some innovative solutions and cater to customers better. Women in tech can sometimes offer unique approaches and generate better outcomes.

3. Learning and Career Growth

It is important for business leaders to promote a culture of equal opportunity in terms of learning as well as growth in the field of IT. To level the playing field, organizations should provide training sessions on soft and hard skills, tailored L&D programs,coaching sessions, and offer international opportunities, irrespective of gender. It is also important that leaders encourage a culture of respect for the women workforce to keep them encouraged.

4, Mentoring Support for Leadership

There has been a drop in the number of women in leadership and C-suite positions in the tech industry owing to many reasons such as maternity care or family conditions that require them to take leave either temporarily or permanently. While some are able to continue and reach leadership roles, some find it difficult to start over or feel their skills have become obsolete. Women require mentors to offer guidance and show them the right path. Owing to the above reasons, women lack role models as there are fewer examples to look up to. However, that’s changing with growing opportunities in tech, there is a wide range of roles to take up.

Slowly but surely the male-dominated tech industry has been accepting women in the workforce. Organizations are working towards an inclusive work environment apart from recruiting the right talent irrespective of gender bias. Employers also have the responsibility to create opportunities for upskilling for career development of women in tech roles. This also helps change the way women think about working in the IT industry.?

Some sectors such as green jobs and gaming are already seeing a surge in women workforce in tech roles. Talking about green jobs, Munira Loliwala, says that “Women employees are playing a massive role in this ecosystem with roles such as data analytics, simulation, R&D and Design.” Talking about the need for skilling, she says “While India accounts for 40% of the women share at STEM Graduation, only 30% account for Employment and just 14% women account for STEM Jobs, the need is for training, adequate reskilling and incentivising women in STEM field. While it is estimated that 80% of the future Jobs created will require STEM, apart from the education system a regime that will handhold support to women to choose more STEM roles at the early stages of their growth will see sizeable number of women leaders, managers, engineers, and technical workforce in green jobs associated with renewable energy solutions.”