Isha Ambani addresses gender gap at Girls in ICT Day India

Ms. Isha M. Ambani, Director of Reliance Industries, delivered an inspiring address at the opening ceremony of Girls in Information and Communications Technology (ICT) Day India 2024, held in New Delhi. The event was organised by the Department of Telecom, the Government of India, the International Telecommunications Union (South Asia), the Innovation Centre Delhi, and other United Nations agencies.

Ambani commenced her speech with a warm greeting to the young girls in attendance, whom she described as the bright minds and torch-bearers of a new India. She underscored the significance of ICT in the rapidly evolving technological landscape, urging the youth to embrace change and consider careers in science and technology as these fields hold the key to the future.

"If we are to survive in this fast-changing world, we must innovate," Ambani stated. She emphasised that the majority of future job opportunities would be in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) and ICT, urging attendees to challenge traditional norms and become changemakers.

Ambani highlighted the transformative power of technology across various sectors, including communications, education, healthcare, business, and finance. She noted that India, with its favourable demographics, has the potential to become a global leader in the Fourth Industrial Revolution, also known as the Digital Era. However, she also pointed out the existing gender divide in India’s tech workforce, which threatens to undercut this potential.

She shared some concerning statistics: According to NASSCOM, only 36% of India’s tech workforce are women. Even more troubling, while 43% of STEM graduates in India are women, only 14% of all scientists, engineers, and technologists are female. Ambani described this as a waste of potential that could hinder India’s progress.

Addressing the under-representation of women in leadership roles, Ambani highlighted further disparities: only 7% of executive-level positions, 13% of director-level roles, and 17% of mid-managerial roles are held by women in the tech industry. She identified limited access to funding and resources for female-led start-ups as a contributing factor to this disparity.

Ambani argued that women possess innate leadership qualities, such as empathy and selflessness, making them potentially excellent leaders and that denying them leadership roles is a hindrance to realising their full potential. She underscored the necessity for systemic changes rather than token representations to foster genuine diversity and inclusivity.

She praised the efforts of the Indian government under Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s leadership, noting a 6% increase in women’s representation in the tech workforce over the last decade. Nonetheless, Ambani called for continued efforts from both the government and the tech industry to reach a 50-50 gender ratio across all levels in technology.

In conclusion, Ambani urged a comprehensive strategy to encourage women's participation in STEM and ICT. This includes strengthening STEM curricula, consulting gender equality experts, and ensuring that learning materials are free of biases. She called on tech firms to ensure women's career progression is unhindered, allowing them to reach their fullest potential.

"By empowering women through STEM and ICT, we can unlock untapped potential and inspire a new generation of leaders," Ambani concluded.