Women can play a bigger role in the tech industry

When we celebrate ‘International Women’s Day’, as a country we must be proud to benchmark our nation as the first to have a female Prime Minister Sirimavo Bandaranaike. Also, we have produced a female Executive President in Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga. More recently in 2018 a Sri Lankan-born investment banker Shemara Wikramanayake became the highest paid Chief Executive Officer in Australia’s largest investment bank – Macquarie Group and the first female Deputy Inspector of Police Bimshani Jasin Arachchi. 

What we need as a country also is to have more women tech leaders who have pioneered innovation and technology-based industries to take Sri Lanka forward into the Digital Era. Sri Lanka’s history records the first woman from ancient era Princess Kuweni who pioneered cotton thread spinning. Today Sri Lanka is a country that earns nearly $ 8 billion from apparels and foreign worker remittances that has a women participation of 70%-80% in both industries. 

In this Digital Era gender plays a vital role in access to Information Communication Technology (ICT) and the Internet. Although both genders have almost equal access to ICT and online services across the globe it is evident according to research that women have a lower rate of participation in technology-related education, employment, income, and in social activities than men.

ICT industry 

Experts highlight that ICT is a powerful transformative tool and it has revolutionised the way people think, behave, work and also advocate for change; therefore, it is very important that we can have more women involved in technology-related services. And as we position our country to grow and develop as a Knowledge Economy it is important to have more women leaders or women pioneers in technology. 

According to statistics Sri Lanka’s labour force participation in economic activities rank similar to those of other South Asian countries, which stands around 35% of working age women. This rate is much lower compared to the educational fulfilment of the female population in Sri Lanka. It is also important that policy makers and authorities take effective steps or implement programs in order to encourage increased women participation in economic activities. 

However, it is commendable to note that Sri Lanka already had produced top female leaders in technology who have pioneered or cofounded tech-based ventures such as IronOne Technologies and zMessenger in Sri Lanka. However, there is still vast opportunities available for Sri Lankan females to lead technology ventures. It is also essential that initiatives are launched by tech companies or agencies such as ICTA to encourage women founded ventures in Technology and ICT to aide them with seed or venture capital and mezzanine financing opportunities. 

Global tech giants such as Microsoft, Apple and Huawei have launched initiatives globally to encourage and inclusion and diversity with more women representation in the technology sector. ‘Women in the Digital Era’ is a symposium held in Europe by global ICT giant Huawei that brings together speakers and contributors from the world of science, business, academia and politics to discuss key issues affecting women in this new tech-dominated age. The initiative titled #HuaweiI4Her proposes concrete ideas to truly unlock the potential of European women and girls interested in science and technology. It is a series of opportunities that aims, to make women feel that they are welcome in, and a key part of, the tech industry. Huawei is an ICT company that is trying to encourage and inspire young girls and women to become tech scientists, tech experts, innovators and leaders of the digital age. 

According to a study by the European Commission in 2018 revealed that only 24 out of every 1,000 female graduates have a degree in ICT or a related field, with only six pursuing careers in ICT directly. It is a must that we challenge the stereotype that women are not good with technology, and empower women by giving them more opportunities and helping them learn basic skills to compete in the digital economy. New technologies may result in more freedom for many women.

New technologies such as 5G, Artificial Intelligence, the Internet of Things, Smart Home and Robotics systems, should all play a role in democratising the home and giving women greater freedom to pursue external careers and business activities. Perhaps the fight for equality starts way before entering the professional world. It starts in schools and colleges and on social media or homes, when female and male kids get their first mobile phones.

Way forward 

As we improve ICT infrastructure of our country, it is important that civil society organisations working on gender promotion have greater opportunities to build social enterprises and make a difference at the grassroots level to encourage women to participate in more technology-oriented industries compared to making them work in domestic households in Middle Eastern countries. Even in terms of foreign exchange earnings to Sri Lanka, a professional tech female employee would earn at least three to four times more than of an average domestic Sri Lankan female worker in a Middle Eastern or a European country. 

Thus, it is important for authorities to take solid steps towards developing professionally qualified females in the labour force to cater to the future demand of technology and ICT industry as the world is moving forward with technologies such as 5G, Virtual Reality and Artificial Intelligence. It is vital that the barriers to women accessing and having careers in the technology or ICT industry must be broken down. This needs to start at the grass roots level, through education and training, giving girls and young women the opportunities and skills to enter the technology world. This will certainly contribute to Sri Lanka’s long-term prosperity.

(The writer is a PHD student, ACMA and a lecturer at the University of Buckingham.)