Developers from different manufacturing sectors have started to realize that half of their clientele is mostly underrepresented. When only a small percentage of women are involved in making of a product that is meant for both the genders, the product wouldn’t be as well received. Employers across the globe have started understanding that even though most of their products are made gender-neutrally, the way women use it is very different from men.
Raghvendra Saboo, an entrepreneur who develops digital visiting cards and tags told Economic times that his architect wife played a major role in materializing his business plan and is currently the head of the logistics division of the company. A month into the business he is already getting over 20 orders everyday and he believes as his business grows he will need more women employees.
Another San Francisco based associate professor of Internet Commerce at The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania (who has also been a part of six startups), agrees with Saboo. “The scarcity of women entrepreneurs implies that nearly half the customer base (women) is being ignored or being serviced by the other half that doesn't fully understand their needs and wants… It was important 10 years back. It is important today and it will be important 10 years from now.”
Despite of the unimpressive current state in the Indian Tech sector, statistics show a promising future. In the last decade, up to 2010, over 2.76 lakh women took up technology courses- double since the previous decade. This is a great achievement for India, especially since in the US it has gone down from 23% to 15%. To further support more women participation, companies like Microsoft, Nasscom and Google, who understand the importance of having women on their teams-, are making constant efforts.
ORIGINAL SOURCE: Economics Times