Women And The Future Tech Landscape

In the movie Hidden Figures, when the West Computing Group in NASA is about to be dissolved thanks to the introduction of the IBM Computer, manager Dorothy Vaughn is unfazed. In that time of crisis, she exhibits true leadership—she is prepared, she learns how to use the new computer and more importantly rallies her team to learn as well.

She tells them, “There's Only One Thing To Do: Learn All We Can.” And NASA soon realises that only this team of women can tame that beast!

Technology is rapidly advancing—then and now. What does it mean for women and women leaders as they navigate this ever-changing landscape? How different is it from Vaughn’s time—almost a century ago? What can founders, leaders, organisations and governments do to support women thrive in the workplace of the future?

I think education has had a huge role to play in the increase of the female labour force participation to 37% in 2023. Although there is significant progress in the last couple of decades in educating the girl child, there is still a need to do a lot more. India will play a huge role in providing an inclusive and diverse talent pool to the world. To accelerate this, corporations could work even more closely with the government to educate and empower girls in the rural and semi-urban areas. Computer literacy, exposure to the latest technology, programming lessons, communication and life skills can provide many more opportunities to girls and enable them to make career decisions after education.

The latest edition of McKinsey’s Women in The Workplace report says that while women are getting ambitious, the representation in the industry has increased relatively modestly, only to shrink again at the leadership levels. As per the report, the glass ceiling is not the real barrier, but it is the ‘broken rung’ as women climb their way up to leadership roles.

As a founder (and a proud former McKinsey alum), I believe that it is a collective responsibility to rebuild this broken rung through sustained mentorship and coaching programs, sponsorship opportunities, focus groups to specifically identify barriers that women face and find answers, and finally consciously create a supportive environment for them to work.

As leader, I strongly believe that one of my responsibilities is to nurture other leaders in your team. Identify individuals who can assume responsibility, establish frameworks and coach them to lead and take their own teams forward. While this applies to all, identifying women with leadership potential, providing them guardrails, and a supportive work environment will tackle the current absence of women in the boardrooms!

Furthermore, as much as organisations strive to build inclusive and supportive environments, the responsibility to grow and thrive also rests on our own shoulders.

The current and future tech landscape is being disrupted by several technology and deep-tech startups, and I believe the playground is big enough for a lot more women to wear an entrepreneur’s hat. While the existing numbers are low in India, we see that about 18% of startup founders are women; I am happy that this is changing too.

According to this Pitchbook dashboard, women garnered only 2% of the venture capital handed out to entrepreneurial ventures—the number is pretty similar in India as well. I personally have experienced no bias or distinction as a woman co-founder seeking funding. If we build a strong product and have a compelling value proposition, we’re there.

Having said that, it would be great if there are increased efforts in the startup ecosystem to nurture women-led startups further and bring in equity.

It is always a great time to learn new skills and strengthen existing ones. As AI and deep tech evolves, there will be a greater need for data scientists, machine learning specialists, UI/UX designers, cybersecurity experts, etc. in the market. As per the Future of Jobs Report 2023, “Demand for AI and machine learning specialists is expected to grow by 40%, or 1 million jobs, as the usage of AI and machine learning drives continued industry transformation.” And with organisations looking at strengthening their diversity and inclusion narratives, it will open up significantly higher opportunities for women trained in tech. I encourage women in the workforce to constantly learn and stay updated to take on new responsibilities.

Several studies, including one by McKinsey, prove that diverse and inclusive teams are smarter, process facts better and harbour greater innovation. Even at leadership levels! A Credit Suisse analysis of 2,400 organisations found that those with at least one female board member yielded higher return on equity and net income growth.

The writing is on the wall: We all need to show up to make it happen—organisations, governments, associations and women ourselves.