Blog

By Saumya Sanjeev

Today’s rapidly growing Indian economy has given rise to a burgeoning middle class that transcends across urban towns and countryside (affluent villagers). Even though the patriarchal nature of society hasn’t changed significantly, with access to education and higher disposable incomes, women in these families unlock opportunities making their lives more meaningful.  They not just excel at managing their household but are also a force to reckon with at work and in terms of earning potential. Interestingly, one of the main enablers of such a change is technology.

Technology adoption has been pervasive (with varying degrees) across classes in India – urban and rural. Both men and women build and consume technology, yet women are falsely presumed not to understand it. The reality is that the modern, middle class woman is not just an effective consumer, but also a knowledgeable supplier and a crucial decision maker when it comes to procuring technology for use. The rural woman on the other hand, may not be as adept but is getting exposed to the technology proliferation gradually.  

The effective consumer

Women are able to afford luxuries like cars, televisions, computers and other consumer goods which make life more efficient.  Technology like toasters, stoves, ovens, mixer grinders make kitchen chores manageable without compromising on likes and dislikes of family members. It also makes them intuitive enough for men to pitch in and help out. Computers, internet and mobile phones have made communication and work easier and faster.

The web today plays an important role in simplifying life and making it more efficient. For example, shopping can now be done on a click of a button. With more women joining the work force and having independent bank accounts, shopping and payments now happen in less than a minute. A lot of the new business models have been targeted especially keeping women in mind and their needs. Since women are known to be proficient savers, a number of banking services are especially targeting women. With a potential mobile penetration of over 70% by 2016 as per Gartner, women are being encouraged access to a number of services including banking via mobiles.

The knowledgeable supplier

Information technology has made a tremendous impact on the training and employment of women. More women are enrolling for IT education programmes and seeking employment, despite the glass ceiling that they may face at a later stage in their careers. In urban India, as per Nasscom, women account for over 30% of the workforce in the software industry. They are highly skilled professionals with equal parity with men in terms of wages and roles. There are over 60-70 tech start-ups being run by women today. For example: Sadhana’s Meddiff Technologies, Sangeeta Banerjee’s Apartment ADDA etc. The proportion of women CEOs and MDs in Indian companies has risen to 21% in 2013 up from 11% in 2009 as per a study by global executive research firm EMA Partners.

Apart from IT, Banking and Financial services is another sector where women occupy a commendable proportion of the top leadership as compared to men (29% of the 52 companies as per a press report covering a survey by EMA Partners International Study). The largest government bank (SBI) as well as private banks in the country are headed by women. Women have made their mark in other technology intensive fields such as pharma –Kiran Mazumdar Shaw and medicine as well.

While these may not signal empowerment entirely, it is worth noting that a significant number of women are contributors in various capacities. Statistics show that even though a high number of women are hired at entry level, their proportion as compared to men at senior leadership level drops significantly. This drop or lack of persistence can be attributed to cultural and social grooming that begins at an early age influencing women choices and inclination towards playing senior roles. Women have come a long way from the medieval times. However the journey is still long and the climb is rather steep.

The informed decision maker

Given that majority of the responsibilities at home, such as child rearing and homemaking, are shouldered by the woman (a key consumer of related technologies) is now an earning member of most urban households. The education and economic liberation makes her an informed influencer or decision maker when it comes to use of technology. In addition, given the increased use of the Internet and social media by women, they are an important target segment for a number of b2c companies today.

Women certainly influence how the family allocate their expenses; spending decisions could include food & grocery, medicines & health of family, vacations, new investments such as home, bank accounts etc. She can choose to buy machines and tools like a washing machine, vacuum cleaner, food processor which makes her work easier. Else, she can advise her spouse or other members of the household to make the required purchases.

Furthermore, beyond the domestic environment, it is important to note that the Government of India now mandates companies to have at least one woman on their board. This is creating opportunities for women as well as facilitating balanced decision making at company levels.  Unfortunately, the proportion of women in India having access and flexibility of this nature are few. However, given that they are self-enabled, theirs is an inspiring example for others to follow. 

Rural woman – epitome of strength in the face of adversity & neglect

The rural woman today is slightly behind on technology adoption due to the cultural stereotypes and lack of adequate education. Statistics reported also understate the contribution of women to the overall GDP of the country as workers. It’s interesting to note, as per the census 2011, women account for greater than 80% of labour force in the agriculture and allied sectors, with 30% as cultivators and 50% as agricultural labourers. As per report, women accounted for 80-85% of total employment in dairying in India. Women also constitute 70% of total employed in the livestock farming.

Unfortunately, most of the work undertaken by them is manual labour. Their jobs are the most vulnerable when processes are automated.  In this sector particularly, social stereotyping impacts the success of women directly. In the dairy sector for example, due to lack of ownership of land, animals and resources, women are not accepted as farmers. They are not involved in the decision making, nor have access to credit and the required training to run a cooperative effectively.

However, the picture is not all grim for women in rural India. Technology is prevalent in all aspects of agriculture, dairying and fishery industry. Even though the proportion is small, women do play an important role in running cooperatives. Some of these are ‘Women-Only’ cooperatives. Information technology enables a number of facets of these cooperatives such as testing and weighing of the milk, automation of milk collection and payment procedures etc. The weighing and quality determination procedures have become more transparent which makes pricing more objective. Today farmers use mobiles and TVs to access weather reports, information on betters seeds and fertilizers as well as markets with better rates for their produce. Women are quick to adopt technology in the fishery industry. As per a paper by ‘Center for Research and Training in Poverty Alleviation and Women's Welfare’, women are trained today in fish processing, fish culture as well as other fish products. This includes post-harvest technology for low cost fish and shell fish. They participate in transporting and commercializing the products as well.

In conclusion, it’s commendable how women are unconsciously adept at technology usage sometimes even without a formal education. One of the main reasons holding a woman back is the lack of recognition that they can play leadership roles in technology well. Also, the general stereotype that men are more competent in male type settings (engineering, sports) and positions of authority puts men at an undue advantage as compared to women who are traditionally seen as homemakers, nurturers and care bearers. However, today there is a great mix of professions with men working as chefs and fashion designers and women working as astronauts and pilots: a testament to the fact that given the opportunity, one can pick up a profession or skill irrespective of their gender. 

Saumya is a STEM woman with over a decade of experience in technology and consulting. She is not only an advocate of gender neutrality but also a strong proponent of education and well-being of women to have a healthy next generation. A technologist at heart, she believes a lot of complex problems involving societal and cultural norms can be solved with simple technology enabled solutions. A globe trotter, she is also an avid reader and enjoys eclectic taste in music.