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Diverse Workforce the Need of the Hour
Diverse Workforce the Need of the Hour

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This morning I read an article where Melinda Gates was quoted as saying “Women must be involved in developing new Artificial Intelligence (AI) systems to prevent bias from these technology tools”. She highlighted her fears “I'm very nervous because we don't have enough women, again, who are computer scientists, who have the expertise in artificial intelligence, and without that, we will bake bias into the system”.

This again highlights a point why we need more women in tech. Some more data points that I read in a recent Draup article, which support the above hypothesis.

  • In 2022, 68% of US business leaders acknowledged a lack of diversity in their tech workforce.
  • According to big tech companies like Google, Facebook, and Microsoft, women occupy between 20% and 30% of technical positions.

 

The India Skills Report 2023 also highlighted that despite the higher employability of women in India, their share in workforce remains lower.

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This highlights the problem is not restricted to some countries, but a bigger may be global challenge that we need to solve. This issue can be solved with for more women friendly policies at workplaces. But, before we move there its very important to understand why we need diverse workforce:

 

  • Diverse teams with varied perspectives and experiences drive innovation and creativity by bringing fresh ideas and unique approaches to problem-solving. These companies are 35% more likely to outperform their industry peers.
  • Diverse teams offer a wider range of perspectives, leading to more robust decision-making processes. Racially diverse teams outperformed homogenous teams by 35% in decision-making tasks.
  • Diverse companies are better equipped to understand and serve diverse customer bases, leading to increased customer satisfaction and loyalty. Companies with more diverse leadership teams have a 13% higher likelihood of outperforming their competitors.
  • Embracing diversity helps tech companies tap into a wider talent pool, attracting top talent from various backgrounds and experiences. Companies can discover untapped potential and expertise by expanding recruitment efforts beyond traditional channels.

What are organizations doing to improve diversity at their end which most others can follow:

  • In-house diversity & inclusion initiatives: Many companies have established diversity and inclusion programs to recruit and retain underrepresented talent.
  • Partnerships with diversity-focused organizations: Companies collaborate with organizations to provide resources, mentorship, and opportunities for underrepresented groups.
  • Recruitment strategies targeting underrepresented groups: Companies are implementing diverse recruitment practices, such as actively sourcing candidates from underrepresented groups and using blind hiring* techniques.
  • Diversity encouraging educational programs and scholarships: Initiatives like Amazon’s Future Engineer program and Microsoft’s TEALS program support STEM education in underserved communities to increase diversity in tech-related fields.

Overall diversity in workforce is a need of the hour for a bright future of not only tech but all sectors.

Keep following nasscom community for more such insights. Happy Reading!

* Blind hiring is a process used to block out a job candidate's personal information that could influence or “bias” a hiring decision. Bias can present itself in many ways — both unconscious and conscious — and research says that bias can occur as early as the initial resume-screening phase.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


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Neha Jain
Senior Analyst

Neha Jain

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