International Women's Day 2023 Live Updates: Women Tech Leaders on "DigitALL: Innovation and Technology for Gender Equality"

Shilpi Vatsa, co –founder spring people

"DigitALL: Innovation and Technology for Gender Equality" is about creating a more inclusive and diverse tech industry. By promoting gender equality and creating opportunities for women in IT, this program is helping to unlock the full potential of the industry. It is important to remember that gender equality is not just a matter of social justice, but it is also an economic imperative. The tech industry is a crucial driver of economic growth and innovation, and it needs the full participation of women to reach its full potential.

Sreevidya Satish, Co-Founder and Vice President-Operations at Dhiway

New opportunities for women to acquire education, participate in the workforce, interact with others globally, and exchange information have been made possible by technological advancements. But in order to truly benefit from technology, it is crucial to give women and girls the knowledge and training they require to thrive in the digital era. Verifiable credentials can change the game in this area because they offer a safe and impenetrable method of identifying and validating talents and accomplishments.

Saroja Yeramilli, Founder & CEO, Melorra 

Entrepreneurship is an extremely tough journey- be it for women or men. My advice to women entrepreneurs would be to remain confident in one's abilities and have high resilience. Women tend to be tougher on themselves - this would only create unnecessary additional pressure. Entrepreneurship is a marathon and not a sprint. So, pace yourself well. Women are naturally strong multi-taskers. This is a very strong asset in being a successful entrepreneur. So, take advantage of natural skills. Women entrepreneurs should create a supportive eco system around themselves and should freely ask for help in personal and professional life - women are usually reluctant to do so and that hesitation to seek help should be dropped.”

Saumya Singh Rathore, Co-Founder, WinZO games

Online gaming requires use of cutting-edge technologies such as artificial intelligence, machine learning, and computer vision to create more immersive and engaging gaming experiences. The need to develop low latency apps, irrespective of the kind of device used by the consumer, makes it extremely complex. In India, the representation of women in these fields is low. Studies have shown that only 28% of STEM graduates in India are women, and only 14% of the STEM workforce is female. However, the number of women participating in the digital industry is increasing. As the number of female gamers in India is increasing, there is an opportunity for more and more women to take on leadership roles in the industry.

As one of the few women leaders in the industry, I’ve had to win many battles around gender stereotypes. Like any other problem, my strategy to solve this one is to gather all my resources - an enabling co-founder, meritocratic team that doesn’t remember your gender, and a cap-table that believes in capabilities and business model and can see the company beyond your gender. On difficult days, I remember my growing up days as a kid from a typical Indian middle class family. With all hurdles and limited resources in a competitive environment, you had no option but to excel. At times the only option is to get through with a lot of hard work and all your supporters and believers by your side helping unlock real potential.

Harsha- founder & CEO at AllFive

Women are often excluded from employment opportunities in lucrative sectors like tourism. In this sector we see a lot of women-owned enterprises that are the local businesses that have been founded by one or more women and that provide employment opportunities to other women in the community. We support such businesses through our tech innovation by providing them opportunities to come online & be entrepreneurs and serve this space and we hope to ensure greater income equality and bring about greater equality in opportunity for future generations.

Anjali Byce, CHRO, STL 

In technology, there have been some barriers to entry for women, effectively halving the available talent pool. This needs to be proactively rectified. At STL, we take pride in leading the way towards a diverse and inclusive workforce. We are looking at skills required for a role in an environment where organizations are looking at fungibility of resources and building capabilities. 

We strongly believe that women in HR tech are at the forefront of this movement. We recognize the critical role that technology plays in promoting gender equality and creating an inclusive workplace. By leveraging technology and data, we make better decisions regarding workforce planning, recruitment, and employee engagement. We have implemented technology-driven policies and programs to support women employees, including mentorship, training, and leadership development initiatives. Additionally, we utilize AI-based resume screening tools. This eliminates any bias in the selection process, streamlining the time-consuming task of reviewing resumes to identify the best candidates.

At STL, our job evaluation process is empowered with a scientific and fair approach for leveling roles across our businesses, functions, and geographies based on role complexity. This helps us to implement all our policies and benefits aligned to grade levels in a fair manner. We are convinced that by building a culture of inclusion and implementing the latest HR tech, we can attract, retain, and develop female talent, ensuring that our workforce is diverse and inclusive.