By Prateek Shukla
For most women, career choices have long been shaped by circumstance. Teaching, banking, and commerce were considered safe paths. Arts and social sciences offered respectability without risk. However, in technology, representation has been sparse, particularly at senior levels. In India, women’s representation drops sharply at senior levels. While they make up about 46% of entry-level roles, only around 19% reach C-suite positions. The pay gap across genders still exists, with women being paid substantially less than men for equivalent positions.
But change is underway. The image of the ideal technology professional is changing too, as modern tech-skilling programs, outcome-focused learning models, and open digital era platforms are opening up pathways for women to join the upcoming tech-related functions. Interestingly, courses in data science, artificial intelligence, full-stack development, and digital marketing are opening doors for women from diverse educational and professional backgrounds.
From Conventional Careers to Tech Pathways
One of the most promising developments of recent years is the movement of women from non-tech roles into technology. Commerce graduates, teachers, and professionals from the arts are retraining in formal programs and stepping into positions as developers, analysts, and digital specialists. These transitions, however, showcase that individuals are no longer bound to their prior academic specialisation.
What matters is attitude to learning, the availability of meaningful skilling paths, and the support systems that allow such transitions to happen when they make sense for people in financial and logistical terms. This opens doors for women aspiring for careers in the tech industry.
Why Tech Needs More Women
The technology sector worldwide is worth trillions, and it is growing rapidly. However, women still fill around 35% of tech jobs, and the figure shrinks to 22% for roles in artificial intelligence. This underrepresentation is not just a question of fairness. It has direct economic and innovation consequences.
As per studies, mixed-gender teams achieve higher productivity, more inventive thinking, and larger profit margins. Moreover, firms that elevate women to meaningful leadership roles routinely outperform those that do not, while research-driven, gender-diverse teams get fresh innovations to market more quickly. In straightforward terms, technology moves forward when women are not just included in the room but are valued as experts whose knowledge shapes the direction of the industry.
Breaking Barriers with Technology
For decades, the barriers to women’s advancement, such as discrepancies in pay, scarce role models, and inflexible organisational structures, have kept talent untapped and ambition stalled. Yet the same technology once seen as a threat to work-life balance is now, unexpectedly, a quiet ally in change. Digital micro-courses allow women to acquire coding, leadership, or marketing skills whenever there’s a spare hour, hence keeping career trajectories from derailing whenever the school bell rings.
The support extends beyond the virtual classroom. AI career-path apps intelligently match women with mentors who resonate with their specific industry and life stage, and suggest bite-sized courses that pave the way to promotion. Meanwhile, cloud workspaces and thoughtful hybrid policies permit project deadlines to coexist with dinner rituals. Collectively, these innovations are not only removing age-old barriers. They are knitting a modern, inclusive fabric in which women no longer sneak in through the side door: they step confidently through the centre and keep the door open for others to follow.
Reskilling for an Inclusive Growth Agenda
To protect the G20’s long-term economic prosperity, closing the STEM gender gap is urgent; the World Economic Forum warns that inaction could cost over $11 trillion in the next decade. As a result, the imperative to reskill is evident, yet the accompanying opportunity is just within reach.
We can accelerate progress by expanding education initiatives that focus on measurable outcomes, developing robust mentorship channels, and designing workplaces that embrace inclusion as a core principle. Synchronising public, private, and civil-society efforts with localised, culturally responsive action will be the engine that keeps progress on course.
The digital economy is reshaping the world of work, and women must be at the centre of this transformation. New-age skilling programs are making it possible for women from all walks of life to step into high-demand technology careers. The decisive question is not if women can excel in technology but how rapidly equitable routes to these careers can be expanded. When we invest in skill development and respond swiftly to emerging opportunities, we can ensure that every woman is empowered to design the future industries that will shape our shared destiny.
(The author is Co-Founder & CEO, Masai)
Disclaimer: The opinions, beliefs, and views expressed by the various authors and forum participants on this website are personal and do not reflect the opinions, beliefs, and views of ABP Network Pvt. Ltd.
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