Girls at the grassroots level must be equipped with technology if women entrepreneurship is to be given a boost. This was the consensus that emerged out of a panel discussion among women experts at an international conclave in Kovalam in September.
The participants noted that women have only a minuscule representation in the technology sector at present. They were speaking at a panel discussion on ‘She is the Boss, She Loves Tech’ on the sidelines of ‘Huddle Kerala 2019’.
According to Kiran Bhat, Founder and MD, Xebec Communication, schools should encourage the adoption of technology by girls. She pointed out that bank finance, and learning and mentoring opportunities are available for women to pursue technology. Underlining the need for more women start-up networks, she said industry experts should come forward voluntarily to mentor women.
Pooja Ravishankar, Head, Category Marketing, BigBasket.com felt that there is a need to unshackle women from typecast roles assigned to them and involve them in jobs such as repairing vehicles and electronic goods at home. She noted that when this becomes a culture at home, it will bear fruits in 10-15 years.
Ravishankar highlighted that women employees have an attention to detail, but it is very hard to find talented women in mid and higher levels. She cited BigBasket’s initiative to employ women delivery executives.
Shruti Kannan, Head, Launch pad Startup Accelerator, CISCO, also emphasised on the need for women to break away from stereotypical roles. According to her, the more the number of women, the greater is the quality that they can contribute to the workforce. She also talked about empowering men so that they can support the women.
Anju Chaudhary, Director, Enterprise and Alliances, Builder.ai, spoke about encouraging women and joining hands to make them more powerful.
Content Team
Himanshu
Shree Lahiri
