Participation of women in the technology sector in India is considerably lower in comparison with other industries, a BridgeLabz survey revealed. The Tech Employability Quotient (TEQ) survey 2021-22 showed that women are underrepresented in the technology sector with the list showing 21% women in roles of IT executives, 13% in business operations, 13% in project and programme management, 3% in cloud computing, 2% in DevOps, and the least in Cybersecurity with 1%.
The survey further showcased that 79% of women employed in tech roles were actually in non-tech companies, with IT services, despite being the largest reported industry, having only 21% women population.
According to an official statement, the survey was conducted with more than 20,000 engineering graduates from various streams across India. It revealed that the average score of women stood at 27% against 31% of men in 2020, which increased to 40% as against 39% of men in 2021, thereby showcasing how women were better prepared for employment than men. However, in 2020, the average score of women declined to 25% as against 28% of men, the first decline in three years mainly due to the adoption of the hybrid mode of learning.
“At a time when the entire landscape of tech employability is witnessing tremendous changes, the staggering low numbers of women in the Indian tech industry is a huge sign of concern. We feel there is an urgent need to create a gender-represented and equitable workforce and to achieve that we need to understand the needs, wants, and aspirations of the women employees,” Narayan Mahadevan, founder, BridgeLabz, said
He added that instilling workplace diversity owing to increased women’s participation in tech is the need of the hour and the foundations of that begin with reimplementing core office policies and practices. “It doesn’t stop there as moving forward, we need more enhanced focus on a strong command of coding skills foundation along with a problem-solving and critical thinking mindset,” he said.
Furthermore, the survey found that talent from lower tier cities and states have better employability scores than those from metro cities. Mizoram has around 37.8% of ready talent followed by Jammu and Kashmir with 35.88% and Goa with 33.23%. In 2021, Andhra Pradesh had 41% of ready talent followed by Assam with 32% and Bihar with 31%. The average score was 27% in 2020 which increased to 40% in 2021 and came back to 27% in 2022.