On May 11, 1998, a successful nuclear test took place at Pokhran as part of ‘Operation Shakti’. They ushered in a new era in India’s scientific and technological progress, making it a major global player. The date has been commemorated since May 11, 1999 as National Technology Day. Since then, India has emerged as a pivotal technological hub, with multi-disciplinary expertise. Ironically, though although ‘Operation Shakti’ was named after the divine feminine power, India’s women are yet to make an equal mark in the field of technology.
According to recruitment firm TeamLease Digital, women are expected to make up 14.9 per cent of India's tech workforce by 2027, up from 10.8 per cent in 2022. Currently, 1.92 million women contribute to the tech workforce, with rapid growth anticipated over the next three years. The rise of global capability centres (GCCs) is a key factor, with projections indicating that women will represent 35 per cent of the workforce in these hubs by 2027.
The research also added, ‘From fresh graduates to experienced professionals, women are climbing the ladder in fields like data science, product management, cloud engineering, cybersecurity and project management’ Data scientists can earn anywhere between ₹18 lakh and ₹1.5 crore, while cloud engineers can rake in ₹14 lakh to ₹1 crore. The report also states that product management is an attractive proposition for women, with freshers earning up to ₹22.1 lakh per annum and senior staff earning ₹1.6 crore per annum. Entry-level roles in cybersecurity are around ₹12 lakh per year, while experienced members can earn ₹90 lakh.
Soft Skills & Training
Along with technological know-how, it is important to ensure that you have workplace smarts to get ahead. In an interview with Forbes, Ciara Harrington, CPO at Skillsoft, an online training platform, said about women in tech, ‘A big focus for us is with our frontline managers and ensuring that they’re getting brought up to speed on the soft skills to pair with the technical skills. Part of this means there’s both technical training and training on power skills. And the two together are equally important. It is not technical or non-technical that can do with those power skills and managerial skills required to lead a team to performance, manage a team to do organisational design, and all of those things that come with it. It’s important that our leaders in tech receive that same level of power and skill development as leaders in other organisations. Also, as a company, it’s important to have an inclusive culture, where women don’t feel like they’re either in the massive minority or are being treated differently because of their gender.’
Persisting Barriers
1. Although the percentage of women in technology is increasing, there is still a huge gap in representation, especially in leadership positions. Women CEOs in the tech sector are at an abysmal 3 per cent. It is important to encourage young girls to pursue STEM at the school level, so that there is a robust workforce of women entering the tech sector.
2. Despite equal capability and effort, equal pay is still a far-off dream for women pursuing technology. This is because women need to be more aggressive during the hiring process while negotiating salaries. Career breaks are another reason why women don’t have pay parity. This needs to be remedied at an organisational level, where companies implement transparent salary frameworks.
3. Workplace inclusivity measures aren’t fully implemented as well, with at least 25 per cent of women experiencing microaggressions at work, with limited mentorship opportunities and slow career advancement.
Small Steps
Although there are significant barriers that women face in the tech sector, there have also been baby steps to supporting women in tech by the Indian Government. According to the Ministry of Science and Technology, the WISE-KIRAN (Women in Science and Engineering-KIRAN) scheme is a comprehensive program designed to support women at various stages of their scientific careers, ranging from the WISE-PhD to the WISE Post-Doctoral Fellowship (WISE-PDF) and the WISE-SCOPE, which encourages women scientists and technologists to address societal challenges. Through grants and opportunities, women are encouraged to further their technological ambitions.
The Government also provides institutional support through CURIE or Consolidation of University Research for Innovation and Excellence, helping to establish state-of-the art research infrastructure to create excellence in science and technology.
Even private companies like Wipro have launched programmes such as ‘Begin Again’, which aids women’s return to work after maternity leave, resulting in a whopping retention rate of 99 per cent.
One of India’s foremost pathbreakers in technology is Tessy Thomas, responsible for creating the Agni IV missile. She stated in an interview, ‘Working as a scientist, I always say science has no gender. It is the knowledge and technical expertise that matters, and if you are willing to learn, women can excel and succeed in this field.’