“Some stakeholders questioned my commitment to my app at the start of my entrepreneurial journey because I was a new mother,” said Aneesha Jyoti while highlighting the biases that women app developers and entrepreneurs face in the industry.
Jyoti, the Co-Founder of the language learning platform Language Curry is among many women who have gone through several biases in the industry. When it comes to app development, India is a hub for the same.
According to a recent survey, 80 percent of US and European outsourcing firms prefer India for app development. Nearly half of Fortune 500 companies outsource a software to Indian companies, according to a report from the National Association of Software and Services Companies (NASSCOM).
When it comes to technology it’s a very male-dominated field. According to a report by AI-driven HR tech platform Instahyre, the gender diversity across tech companies in India is about 25:75 females to males on average.
Further data by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) suggests that about 77 percent of the 12 000 R-based software packages created during the period 2012-17 were produced by teams composed of only men. Women-only teams accounted for a mere 6 percent of such packages.
However, more women are foraying the male-dominated field. Over the last several years, India has encouraged women to pursue education and careers in the tech sector, according to a report by 451Research.
The number of women in India's IT workforce has increased to 34 percent, with most of these workers under 30 years of age, and the gender parity rate among STEM graduates has nearly reached 50:50. Only 7 percent of women tech professionals currently hold executive level positions, while 13 percent hold managing director level positions, according to Skillsoft's 2022 Women in Tech Report-India Region.
Also read: Women's Day 2023: Women in tech share their journeys, challenges and aspirations for gender equality
“Enrolments in technology courses on Coursera by Indian women learners have increased by 25 percent, and by 20 percent in data science courses. They’re increasingly learning skills like machine learning, data analysis, Python Programming and web development to pursue new careers in fields such as IT, UX design, and software development. This is a positive trend that could narrow the gap,” said Betty Vandenbosch, Senior Advisor, Coursera.
Today, the world celebrates International Women's Day. This annual observance serves as a reminder of the struggle for gender equality and the advancement of women's rights. The theme this year is DigitALL: Innovation and Technology for Gender Equality. In line with this year’s theme, we connected with some women app developers to learn about their journey and the change they brought.
Biases that women app developers face
“A woman entrepreneur faces additional challenges both on the personal and professional fronts. There is a lot of resistance from family to choosing a 'risky' path over a conventional career option. I’ve personally had to tackle a lot of hard conversations with some of my dear ones, who thought I should get married sooner instead of hustling at Neend! And if the woman manages to cross these barriers to step into the entrepreneurial journey, she faces similar resistance within the professional ecosystem. The biases against women often result in the woman not being taken seriously — be it for hiring, fund-raising, or selling a product,” said Surbhi Jain, the Founder of Neend.
Jain, who hails from Lawa, a small town in Rajasthan, and is a former IIT Bombay alumnus, came up with Neend after dealing with sleep-related issues caused by COVID-19. Bengaluru-based Neend addresses sleep-related problems and offers stories, soothing sleep sounds, meditation, and more in regional languages to ensure that users enjoy 7-8 hours of sound sleep.
As per Jain, one way to inspire a change in the male-dominated field is by changing how we look at women. Highlighting stories of more leaders who can set an example for aspiring women entrepreneurs will also change the narrative.
Ayushi Sinha, Co-Founder, Alippo Learning, said another barrier women need to cross is self-doubt because of internalised misogyny. “The constant scrutiny by society makes women low on confidence that stops them from achieving their full potential,” she added.
How can more women get into digital innovation?
Resist letting anyone dictate your goals! This is the mantra that Jyoti wants young women to follow. Another important aspect in bridging the digital gender divide is educating women with more digital skills.
As per data by OCED, men have been better endowed with these skills, so commanding higher wage returns in digital-intensive industries; hence the gender wage gap (the wage difference between men and women) is globally higher in digital compared to less digital-intensive industries. Hence educating women and upskilling them with digital innovations becomes the key to bringing change.
“If we want more women as app developers (or doctors or engineers or entrepreneurs), families need to be educated. By sharing stories of women leaders, the perception of the role of women in our society can be changed. Policymakers play a crucial role in how they portray women in their politics as well as policies,” said Jain.
Also read: Women's Day 2023: Female voter percentage, gender focused policies on a rise, but it isn't enough
