International Women’s Day is a time to celebrate the incredible achievements of women around the world. It’s a day to acknowledge the progress that has been made in gender equality, but also to recognize the challenges that still remain.
One area where women have made significant strides is in science and technology. India, in particular, has seen a surge in female science graduates in recent years.
It’s inspiring to see that India produces the highest number of female science graduates compared to other developed countries like the UK, Germany, or France. However, the unfortunate truth is that women in technology still face significant obstacles when it comes to advancing to top management positions or becoming tech startup founders.
According to a report by SkillSoft, only 7% of the 1,004 women tech professionals surveyed were in CIO, CXO, and CISO positions, while 13% held managing-director level positions. These statistics show that there is still a long way to go in terms of gender equality in the tech industry.
We are still rooted in the belief that technical abilities are somehow linked to gender, despite evidence to the contrary. Hence, there is such under-representation of women in the tech space. The correct narrative should be that women can do anything if given equal opportunities and education. It’s crucial that we continue to raise awareness of this issue and work towards breaking down these barriers.
If we take the report by Cybersecurity Ventures into consideration, cybersecurity jobs are projected to grow by 32% by 2028 in India, yet the talent pool falls short by 42%. Women represent only about 21% of the country’s cybersecurity workforce. These numbers are concerning, but this is where initiatives like CyberShikshaa come in and make their mark.
Launched in 2018 with support from ‘ISEA’ an initiative of Ministry of Electronics & IT (MeitY) -CyberShikshaa Cyber Security Training Program provides women engineering graduates from Tier II & III cities and rural areas with the skills they need to succeed in this growing field. Despite the challenges posed by the pandemic, CyberShikshaa has continued to train women in virtual batches. To date, the training program has spanned across 22 batches from 13 cities across 11 states in classroom and fully virtual mode.
The success of CyberShikshaa led to the launch of the ‘Privacy Module for Women on Break’ program in 2021 in collaboration with Microsoft India, which helps women professionals make a comeback in the industry after being on a prolonged career break due to medical, personal, or other reasons. The program trains them for the DSCI Certified Privacy Professional (DCPP) certification, which is recognized in the industry and helps them make a career in data privacy. About 100 participants have been trained in this initiative so far.
The overwhelming response from the industry to these programs is a testament to the talent and potential of women in technology. More than 80 recruiters from across the tech industry have hired CyberShikshaa students for different roles, and the alumni of the program are working with tech giants like Standard Chartered, Microsoft, EY, KPMG, Accenture, Oracle, PwC among others.
The success of the program has not gone unnoticed in the tech space. In 2022, DSCI and Microsoft documented various milestones and the journey behind making CyberShikshaa an accessible platform for women candidates in the form of a Coffee Table Book and presented it to Mr. Brad Smith, President and Vice Chair of Microsoft Corporation, and Mr. Anant Maheshwari, President of Microsoft India.
The project was also appreciated and recognized by Mr. Satya Nadella, CEO of Microsoft during his visit to India earlier this year.
Now that CyberShikshaa has entered its sixth year, its expansion plans are going strong. From this year, the program will focus on scaling up, leveraging industry partnerships, and conducting specialized training for careers in the BFSI sector. Expanding its reach into semi-urban and rural locations of the country, the program will also offer AI/ML training for cybersecurity product development.
The success of CyberShikshaa is a reminder to us that we must continue to support and promote initiatives that are doing incredible work in nurturing women talent in the technological space. Only through our collective efforts, we can make gender equality a norm in the industry, and not an exception.
Visit the website to know in-depth about the programs offered under CyberShikshaa.
References:
- https://www.skillsoft.com/resources/2022-women-in-tech-report-india
- https://cybersecurityventures.com/jobs/