Woman to take charge of India’s tech industry
bengaluru — In a sign of the times, the organisation that speaks for and champions India’s $167 billion IT services industry will soon get its first female head.
Intel veteran Debjani Ghosh takes over as president of the National Association of Software and Services Companies in April — 3 decades after its formation. After a 2-decade career at the US chipmaker, most recently as managing director for South Asia, Ghosh will lead the trade body that represents global leaders in software outsourcing from Tata Consultancy Services to Infosys.
Ghosh promises to advocate for women in a workplace that remains male-dominated. Her appointment underscores how the local industry is waking up to a gender imbalance that plagues the global technology sector, starting with its epicentre of Silicon Valley, and has resulted in harassment and discrimination at all levels.
Ghosh, also an angel investor in a number of startups, argued that changes in the executive suite and mindsets are needed for a level playing field. India’s IT services sector employs about 4 million skilled workers and nearly a third of those are women. But that imbalance becomes starker the higher up the rungs one goes: none of India’s largest IT services companies have ever been headed by a female. Part of the problem is talent drain, she said. — Bloomberg