To increase women representation businesses, policymakers, and the general public need to work together

Madhushree Dutta, Head HR, Pure Storage India
 

“Certainly, the lack of women representation in the tech industry is a cause of
concern. According to NASSCOM, women only make up 26% of India’s IT workforce. In technical and managerial positions, this underrepresentation is particularly pronounced with just 9% of women occupying executive roles in India’s
IT sector.

The pressing reasons for this underrepresentation are many, starting with women’s education including creating the educational path for them to pursue technology. Engineering and technical colleges have a smaller fraction of women.

A smaller fraction of that makes it to the industry and sustains to create a path for themselves. Even with that there are more female graduates in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) at tertiary level in India than in developed nations, there are fewer women tech leaders, role models, and tech startups run by women today. Lack of women representation is accentuated by unconscious biases and stereotypical gender expectations in the society are significant factors that act as barriers to women. Further, women also find it challenging to integrate and balance their personal and professional lives.

“Tech companies should be involved in promoting education at the ground level by collaborating with educational institutions to offer internships, mentorship, and scholarships to girls and women interested in STEM fields. Moreover, creating mentoring and coaching opportunities
for women at engineering colleges can also be a great accelerator for STEM education.

This would help them in gaining real life experience from people in the field and will nurture their interest in the field. Also, collaborating with the government to create policies that will help girls from rural backgrounds to pursue education will also create a huge impact on overall participation of girls in STEM education.
 

To address the underrepresentation of women and encourage more diversity and inclusion in the sector, businesses, policymakers, and the general public must work together.”