Women to constitute 45% of IT workforce by '10, says Nasscom

With the booming IT industry attracting human resources from all over the country, the women employed in the sector is expected to reach 45 per cent from the existing 39 per cent by 2010, according to Nasscom, the trade body of IT software and services companies.

A survey conducted by Nasscom has revealed that more women are joining the IT industry. "As the IT-ITeS sector moves up the value chain, more women are joining the industry. Housewives and educated young women are getting opportunities due to the flexible and progressive HR policies," Nasscom outgoing president Kiran Karnik said addressing the 'IT Women Leadership Summit' on Wednesday.

He pointed out that the percentage of women graduates had gone up, which would facilitate a further increase in the number of professional working women.

"The male-female ratio is also expected to improve to 65:35 by the year-end from 76:24 in 2005," he added.

Karnik said women enjoyed more success in the IT industry due to various factors. "Women are intrinsically suited to work with the IT-ITeS industry as they are good communicators. Being present from the the nascent stage of the industry itself, it helps them attain an on-par status with their male counterparts," he stated.

However, he pointed out that there were fewer women at the middle and senior management level. "The industry is yet to overcome some hurdles. We do not see many women at the top of the IT companies. This is something that the companies have to address," he said.

Earlier, a CEO panel discussion on "Crossing the Gender Barrier" at the summit was of the view that employing women and empowering them should not be seen as a mere fulfilment of corporate social responsibility (CSR) by the industry, but a duty and obligation towards women for achieving social equity and proportionate wealth creation.

Britannia Industries Ltd MD Vinita Bali, Aviva Global Services CEO Teresa Copping, Mphasis Chairman Jerry Rao and Texas Instruments India MD Bobby Mitra said women would make a mark at the top level of their respective companies in 2-3 years.

"There are a couple of women, who can take up our roles in the coming years. This is the same case with many other companies. We are seeing the emergence of women at the top level of the management," they said.

Mitra pointed out that TI had a great contribution from the women workforce: "In the last three years, TI India's women employees filed for 25 patents in the US. The spirit of innovation among women is very high. They are moving up the technical ladder very fast."

Nasscom announced the winners of the first ever 'Nasscom-India Today Women Corporate Awards for Excellence in Gender Inclusivity'. They include Infosys among IT services and product companies; IBM Daksh Business Process Services among ITeS-BPO companies; IBM India for the most innovative project in gender inclusivity and Equinox Global Services for the best emerging company.