Technology is said to be an equalizing force and rightly so. When a program is run on a computer, the outcome solely depends on the written code, irrespective of who has written the code. In essence, a computer or a machine is oblivious to the gender of its user. One would thus think that by virtue of its nature, the field of technology would be inclusive and diverse. However the reality is far from that.
Even in today's times, STEM is considered a man's field. Although today we see close to 40 percent women graduating from STEM disciplines, yet they form only 14 percent of the total scientists and engineers in research and development institutions in India.
A recent report by AISHE saw that although the enrolment of women in BSc and BCom was at par with men, yet engineering colleges did not fare so well. Speaking specifically about enrollment of women in B.Techprogrammes, for every 100 men just 42 women enrolled for these programs.
Various social structures come into play that affect the representation of women in STEM and technology workforce. First there are stereotypes about the capability of women when it comes to technology which are aided and abetted by other factors such as infrastructure policies and low-powered incentives. In Indian colleges especially the ones exclusively reserved for women we still see that programs in Arts and Commerce feature in majority.
But we are moving in the right direction. The Bihar state government recently announced its decisions to reserve about 33 percent of seats in all engineering and medical colleges for women. Similarly talks about diversity and inclusionary driven onboarding of the workforce across various modern organizations is also bringing about a marked change.
But we are moving in the right direction. The Bihar state government recently announced its decisions to reserve about 33 percent of seats in all engineering and medical colleges for women. Similarly talks about diversity and inclusionary driven onboarding of the workforce across various modern organizations is also bringing about a marked change.
We also have several role models and mentor like figures in the industry today who are changing the perception that women are not at par with men when it comes to the field of technology. As a young journalist listening to Kirthiga Reddy give a key note speech at the 2012 Grace Hopper Convention in Bangalore, I was awestruck by her story of success as the then India head for Facebook.
Listening to her made me believe that women can be anything that they want to be. And we hope that through our venture, i.e the Women Entrepreneur India magazine, we can bring more such success stories to the world.
Do let us know your thoughts.
