International Women’s Day: What Women Tech Leaders Have to Say?

Women tech leaders have come a long way to achieve success and get to the place they are today

The tech industry must always be gender neutral as technology or machines do not care about the gender of their human user. However, still today, only 34% of the people employed in the largest tech companies such as Amazon, Apple, Facebook, Google, and Microsoft are women.  The good news is women can change that percentage for the better. The culture of today's tech companies is collaborative and flexible. The power of influence will take you much further than the power of authority. If women are ready to blaze a path into the tech industry, nobody can stop them. Several studies over the years have established that ensuring that women are well-represented in the overall workforce has numerous benefits. Gender diversity in the workplace leads to a thriving economy. It also makes good business sense since the variety of perspectives allows better decision-making. Let's explore what women tech leaders are saying on this international women's day.

Jayati Roy, Director, HR, Barco

Women Leaders in the technology industry are inspiring other women to pursue and grow their careers in the field of technology. In the past few years, the IT sector has made remarkable progress in hiring women. Organizations are now strongly implementing women-friendly initiatives, designing programs for reskilling and upskilling, and offering leadership development opportunities to empower women employees. There has been a rapid growth in women performing senior leadership roles, with companies offering training in tech and digital innovation across levels and positions, thus helping tremendously in developing the right skills that help women pursue a successful career in technology. 

Going ahead, it will be important for the govt. and corporate to partner strongly to ensure there are progressive policies for women employees to improve the diversity ratio in the field.

Vaishali Phatak, Head – Technical Learning Services & Global Head of Diversity & Inclusion, Tech Mahindra

A culture of equality has a powerful multiplier effect on innovation and growth. Gender diversity shouldn't merely be considered an ethical imperative but a business priority

to drive an all-inclusive growth agenda. The pandemic has brought a wave of transformation, changing the way we work and communicate. The last two years have been a roller coaster ride, full of challenges and opportunities. There has been an increased focus on employee wellbeing, inclusivity, and flexibility of work. 

At Tech Mahindra, we firmly believe that optimizing the capabilities and leveraging the strengths of women are and will always be strategic differentiators for organizations across the globe. D&I is also a part of our ESG commitments, and we have a robust governance structure in place for the same. We are committed to pursuing 'Purpose beyond Profits' by embedding ESG principles into our core strategy, thus creating a long-term positive impact while providing greater value for all our stakeholders.

Rituparna Mandal, GM, at MediaTek

Technology is considered a difficult career choice – with long hours, consistent R&D, and tough deadlines. Women have long been dissuaded from playing an active role in tech, but we are seeing a definitive change in the past few years. Studies state that women now comprise 34% of the Indian IT workforce, a huge jump from where we stood just a few years back and the numbers are rising every year. 

I believe that women are imperative to technology, especially in managerial positions, considering the varied attributes they bring to the workplace, and it is heartening to see how many young women are now choosing STEM-related fields and making a mark in the sector. Given the circumstances, women are doing extremely well, and the onus is now on us, fellow women in technology, and tech companies, to ensure that women receive equal opportunities to realize their tremendous potential.

Esri India- Agendra Kumar, MD, Esri India

Women's representation in tech is increasing. However, gender diversity in tech careers can significantly improve if companies work towards establishing a level playing field for everyone and facilitate talent development. Esri India puts a lot of emphasis on creating an attractive and supportive work environment for women. 

Our efforts span across smooth onboarding/re-absorption of women after career breaks, zero tolerance on sexual harassment, flexible work schedules, and more. These initiatives along with a continuous focus on mentorship, upskilling, and reskilling have helped us to attract and retain talented women professionals in GIS. Currently, over 30% of our workforce comprises women, and we are continuously working towards creating a safer, better, equitable workplace for all.

Shruti Aggarwal, Co-Founder of Stashfin

We've been celebrating the contributions and participation of women in every field. Tech is yet another field where we can see the visible rise of women, particularly in leadership positions. This is significant because now there can be additional female role models for those looking to consider tech as a viable career. There will always be diverse opportunities in tech that'll give women a level-playing field, and ample space and time to learn and grow. What will certainly help, and what this industry is working towards, is to ensure more women are aware of how to use technology to their financial advantage, to ensure their financial inclusion and eventually financial freedom.

Nidhi Mathur, serial entrepreneur and Venture Partner, Axilor

While numbers are telling us an encouraging tale of increased women's participation in technology, what is more, heartening is to see more women reaching influential positions and playing the key roles of technology and business leaders, board members, chairs of industry bodies, deep-tech investors, and co-founders of technology-led startups. These role models and champions are giving young women access to opportunities to observe, learn and grow like never before. This is creating a flywheel effect that is nurturing the next generation to aim higher. 

Women's participation is now increasingly visible not just in numbers and prominent names we recall, but also in terms of the impact they are having across all levels.