Women in technology in India have increased from nine lacs in 2012-13 to 20 lacs today, accounting for 36% of the worldwide workforce. In the last ten years leading up to 2023, Indian women have more than doubled their involvement in the tech workforce.
The credit goes to multiple factors that have facilitated this growth in India’s technology sector. For instance, the increase in the number of colleges teaching computer science courses, the visibility of women in leadership, companies coming up with induction policies to hire more women, and government-backed policies enabling women to take night shifts.
States such as Tamil Nadu have seen a doubling in the number of women enrolling in computer science. Telangana, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, and Odisha are some of the states that have made provisions for women working night shifts. Some of the major reasons why there is a sudden shift towards computer science are because of the nature of work, the rise in the number of companies looking for talent in tier-2 and tier-3 cities, and the emphasis on hiring policies of women which has resulted in about 50 per cent rise of women in the overall workforce in tier-2 and tier-3 cities.
Organisations are also taking efforts to boost women’s participation in their workforce by introducing them to skilling and upskilling programmes, back-to-work skilling programmes, and programmes that help identify and promote women leaders.