Why aren’t there more women in tech? Dr Shalini Chandra shares her take.
Gender disparity has existed in many aspects of life, including recruitment in the technology and computer sciences sector, with only about 20% of tech jobs being held by women as reported by Small Business Trends. Here’s an exclusive interview with Dr. Shalini Chandra who is the Assistant Professor (Undergraduate) at SP Jain School of Global Management (SP Jain Global). She has successfully pursued IT in her field of further education and career – teaching Computer Skills at SP Jain Global.
Q: Tell us a little bit about yourself. How long have you been teaching Computer Skills at SP Jain Global?
Dr. Shalini: I have been working in SP Jain Global for 6 years. That’s quite some time.
Q: I’m sure you’ve had many amazing moments throughout that period. Which has been the most amazing memory with SP Jain Global students this 2018 batch?
Dr Shalini: With every batch, I have amazing memories with students. It has always been nice. I think the most unforgettable memory will be of the first day – Orientation. This is when I first see my students; and the saddest day is when each batch moves on to Dubai. This is what we have been doing for many years – seeing batches come and move. Somehow, we have developed a huge bond with every group in every batch.
Q: I’m sure you are aware that men outnumber women in IT all over the world. Despite that, you chose IT to further your education and even became a professor, which is so admirable. What was your motivation to choose IT as your major?
Dr Shalini: I do not believe that IT and Computer Sciences is just for men. I think Computer Sciences is the most liked field for women nowadays. In my case, maybe the reason was that I had studied Computer Sciences in my undergraduate program as well, so I just picked it up on the way for my further education.
Over the years, the angle completely changed. I am not so much into programming, but rather into the management aspect of technology, so this is what I do. Point is, I don’t believe this field is just for men.
Q: In your opinion, what are the reasons that not many girls and women are choosing this field for their education and career?
Dr Shalini: I think the fear comes from the fact that they have to study Mathematics. I think Mathematics has never been a favourite topic among women. Somehow, it seems like Mathematics is more for boys. So maybe, Mathematics might be one of the reasons.
Q: From your experience, how would you encourage women to pursue a career in IT and other scientific fields?
Dr Shalini: Of course, because I strongly believe that women can contribute more to these fields.
I think we can increase digital literacy in every possible way by giving women and female students hands-on technology. More than that, being resilient rather than just learning to read and write is also important for them in this century. Technology keeps moving and changing. We should encourage them to adapt themselves to the technology’s future.
Q: As an educator at SP Jain Global, how does SP Jain Global help to prepare our student for the digital future?
Dr Shalini: We help students learn soft skills and to be resilient, which all business schools – especially SP Jain Global – are really strongly promoting.
Through this, we automatically provide students with digital literacy to move towards to the future. Technology comes in many forms every day. No one can prepare what to learn in the future, so we should know how to adapt ourselves to the changing world. There is so much to do and so many things which keep changing at a high pace.
About the Author: Anh Ngoc Nguyen
Anh Ngoc Nguyen is a current undergraduate student at SP Jain School of Global Management. She has always believed in the pursuit of being a global citizen with creativity, openness, a global mindset and confidence.
