Indian women in tech to head 3 NITs across India

It is no secret that women in technology and other STEM fields are very small in percentage. The reasons for this are numerous and almost totally irrational and to combat this, many academic institutions and companies across the world have been taking measures to advance more women in these sectors.

In an effort to do this National Institute of Technology (NIT), for the first time has appointed top women executives of Indian technology firms as chairpersons of the board of governors of five NIT branches across the country.

Highly placed officials told Times of India, “Getting women to head NIT board of governors will have an impact in making these institutions more attractive for girls. Since many of the new chairpersons went to technology institutes and have worked at the highest levels in technology firms, they are best placed to break the stereotype that engineering is essentially a male profession. The HRD ministry is focused on increasing enrolment of girls in engineering institutes. CBSE has already launched 'Udaan', a scheme to attract girls to the engineering profession.”

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The three executives that are chosen for the job are, Vanitha Narayanan, IBM India, who will head NIT-Suratkal, Aruna Jayanthi, Capgemini India will be the chairperson of NIT-Calicut and lastly, Kumud Srinivasan, Intel India, will be the chairperson of NIT-Trichy, according to the Times of India report.

All these three women have been high achievers in the field of technology.  Narayanan did her masters in business from Chennai and Houston and is currently a member of IBM's integration and values team selected by the IBM chairperson. Srinivasan on the other hand, has worked with Intel for over 25 years and is responsible for making India the largest non-manufacturing site outside of US. Jayanthi is the CEO of Capgemini and heads 40,000 employees.

ORIGINAL SOURCE: Times of India

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/home/education/news/Women-tech-honchos-to-head-5-NIT-boards/articleshow/45017332.cms