Why women are employees of choice in technology firms

Bringing in women brings diverse perspectives which an otherwise homogenous set of people may miss at times, says KV Sudha of Dell India

Technology companies, especially IT ones proliferated in India from the mid-nineties. To be a technology leader today, average experience is about 15-20 years and if you look at the ratio of girl students in engineering colleges two decades ago, it was less than 25 per cent on an average.

The social landscape in India (not very different from other countries) which expects the woman as the primary care giver of the family leads to drop outs at different stages of career. So a combination of low numbers at entry level coupled with a leaky career pipeline has led to a situation of not many women tech leaders in India, said KV Sudha, executive director-systems management engineering, Dell India, during a High Tea session, a career chat platform on TimesJobs.com.

However, the situation has changed in recent times where women have emerged as employees of choice in technology.

Sudha said that in recent times, there is a lot of emphasis in companies on diversity, especially gender diversity. Companies have realised that a homogenous set of people may miss lateral thinking, out of box solutions and perhaps give uniform perspectives. So bringing in women naturally brings these diverse perspectives.

“We also see that women have become active consumers of many technical gadgets and great users of internet. So having women employees help the company to cater better to this segment which could as well constitute a big part of their customers,” she said.

Justifying the break period

More often than not, women find it hard to justify their break period and convince the employer during the interview. And it is one of the biggest hindrances for women employees to rise in their career.

On being queried about the break period, Sudha mentioned that when you talk about your break in career, be genuine and explain the reasons very clearly. Make sure the employer understands that you are serious about your career and have kept yourself abreast with the latest in your domain even if you have had a break. Please also give enough confidence that you are committed to your profession and will give your best given the opportunity.

So viewed in the long run, a break of a couple of years or so is not a career limiter. But what is important is that how do you position yourself once you get back from the break. “Make sure you acquire new skills, keep in touch with your friends in industry during the period, give confidence during interview that you are committed to the long term career. If you can show all these, your break period will be an insignificant blip in one’s career.”

Traits for success

According to Sudha, for women to be successful in technology, one has to walk the talk, listen and learn as well as have the ability to communicate with different levels and kinds of people with ease. While being empathetic and inclusive comes naturally to women leader, it is important to be objective for a leader.

Source: techgig.com