Meet the women in tech in the tricity

Technology is a great leveler, but the tech revolution is incomplete without a woman’s perspective. She makes up half of the world’s population, her inclusion is crucial to the growth of an economy. The future of women in tech will be bright provided inherent prejudices and gaps are addressed. From policy changes, co-parenting, mentorship to work from home, pay parity and cultural shift, Tricity’s tech czarinas give an insight into changes that have and can impact women in tech.

Avneet Jirman

A lot has changed since 2005, when Avneet Jirman first ventured into the field of IT with her business partners Sarthak Aggarwal and Pancham Parashar of CueBlocks. All eyes at business meetings would be on her partners for ‘techplanation’. “Till they were told that I was the tech head,” says Avneet, pointing at a time when women were associated with HR or softer roles.

“There were probably four or five of us in a classroom full of boys, and job opportunities for girls in tech were scarce,” Neha Mahajan credits her mother for encouraging her to pursue engineering, and today, she is an associate test manager with TestingXperts, one of the top five pure play software and quality assurance testing companies in the world today. “I secured my first job in Gurgaon, but after my daughter was born, I had a career gap. A break meant loss of job, or resuming at less salary. Now, company policies are changing, there is a focus on gender inclusivity, diversity, parity, equal opportunity, flexible work hours, and work from home has been a bonus,” adds Neha.

Komal Sharma Talwar

When Komal Sharma Talwar, the founder of TT Consultants, a leading Intellectual Property and technology consulting/due diligence firm, and co-founder of XLSCOUT-XLPAT, an automated patent and technology search and analytics AI based platform, started her business, her HR department could hardly secure a 7 to 8 percent women strength. Statistically, engineering graduates are highest in India and 25 to 30 percent of them are women.

“But the number drops as we go higher. The reasons are manifold – male dominated area, long working hours, difficult jobs, fewer women at leadership levels, cultural biases – this is where companies have to step in with policies that are women friendly,” says Koma created an ecosystem that increased the women employee strength to 45 percent in her company. “Maternity benefits, flexible hours, 100 percent return to work without loss of position or salary. We do understand that when you have a baby, you are weak on your knees for at least one to two years. I have myself handheld women, and told them not to put in their papers,” adds Komal.

As a company policy, CueBlocks is ‘gender blind’ and has created a culture of inclusivity and diversity to attract and retain female talent. They have registered an increase in women employee strength from 5 percent to 25 percent across the board with girls into hardcore coding, designing, testing, programming, heading projects single-handedly. “We offer flexible work arrangements in order to include specific needs of our women colleagues such as work from home, flexible schedules and maternity leave. We also encourage participation in conferences, taking up courses that help enhance tech skillsets and stay upto date with the latest in their field of interest,” shares Avneet. The organisation is also trying to bring in the Czech Republic practice of in house play schools and kindergartens.

TestingXperts, meanwhile, enjoys an equitable gender representation, with Google as benchmark. Its CFO Archana Gupta, who comes with 24 years of experience in finance with over 19 years in the IT industry, walks the talk. “We have special programmes where we keep in touch with our employees throughout pregnancy, specialists to address any issues, HR teams to help them resume work. It’s not only for the organisation, but for the longevity of their careers because eventually children leave, and women find themselves facing an empty nest syndrome. I strongly feel work is essential for self preservation, self esteem, and personal growth,” says Archana.

Archana Gupta

Interestingly, people prefer women co-founders for it brings a cultural balance and attracts more women employees, feels Sunali Aggarwal, who was able to hire more women, including a transwoman. Diversity brings balance to a digital first world and cuts down on biases. A McKinsey study states, “diverse teams gave better ROI, took better risks and drove better profitability.” On the other hand, it is equity, pay parity that encourages women to stay in tech.

“Rising the tech ladder is still a challenge. Although companies are working on their policies, they hesitate hiring young women because of marriage and babies, and the compensation they will have to pay,” says Sunali, the brains behind UX design consultancy Beon Systems, multiple start-ups including one of the first e-wallets Mobikwick and the founder of ‘As You Are’ (AYA), India’s first social networking platform/dating app for the LGBTQIA+.

From facing misconceptions about women not being technically hardwired and not being taken seriously at meetings for investment, Sunali feels women have come a long way in the world of technology. “Women entrepreneurs existed, but only in the world of baking, lifestyle and fashion, there were hardly any in the tech mainstream. 2014 was the turning point when rounds of funding took place in tech. Today, I am continuously seeing women adding to the techforce,” says Sunali. Still, the barriers need to break, because the efficiency with which women work is phenomenal. “They can multitask round the clock. They are problem shooters, solution providers. If you provide them with the same opportunities and pay, they will outshine,” says Sunali.

Software Engineer turned Entrepreneur, founder of SockSoho, a Y Combinator backed fashion-tech venture, angel investor and Global Ambassador by TED talks, Pritika Mehta views the situation from two categories : Tier 1 cities with reasonable number of women in tech at par with men. “The divide is stark in Tier 2,3 cities, in rural India, where girl child education, financial independence, empowerment is yet to take off. The government is trying, for instance, with graphic designing courses that fetch Rs 15,000-20,000 per month for girls, who can earn working from home. Work from home during Covid was an advantage as it kept women in the workforce,” says Pritika.

Sunali Aggarwal

Although Archana has witnessed a sea change in aspirations and empowerment, the game changer is when women too will be respected as breadwinners. “Women need to speak out more, share their stories of struggle and success. Men brag about it all the time,” says Pritika lamenting the societal structure, setting regressive rules for girls and women.

Wheels of change will turn when women are encouraged to think progressive, logically, independently, when they have the confidence of extracting the right price for their work on their own terms. “Negotiation is not their strongest suit. Women undervalue themselves.

This lack of self awareness and ambition is courtesy social conditioning and upbringing, and lack of women bosses and investors. Even today, when women entrepreneurs ask for bigger cheques, eyebrows raise,” says Sunali. Eyebrows raise when women opt to work after maternity too. “Can’t she leave her job? People are too judgemental. Raising the kids is automatically a woman’s job, conditioned to be the primary caregiver,” points out Shakti S Cajla, co-founder of Anuprayaas and Braillemate.

As one rises higher, one will need all the support. “My work is as important as my family. Get rid of your guilt and submissive attitude, be assertive, learn to negotiate, create a good support system,” advises Neha.

Pritika Mehta

Being the boss, rising to the top tech bracket has been a milestone in their careers, but they strongly feel a support system is required. “Men fail to see that helping out with kids is not babysitting, it’s called co-parenting. Household chores should not be gender specific. For some strange reason women are still expected to deliver, to prove themselves at home, at work. I would like to see and generate more opportunities and recognition for them,” says Avneet. Komal agrees it’s about the culture you build and endorse. “Share the load. An empowered person will have the power to choose the right partner, career and life,” says Pritika.

What is missing in India is something Avneet has witnessed first hand in the west – start-ups led by women empowering women to get into IT, reaching out and being active, proactive and helping out fellow women.

Ladies, may the tech force be with you.