Six NGOs Advancing Digital Literacy for Women in India

By: Supraja Mohanty, Senior Correspondent

Explore how EmpowerHer, BMSS, Amrita Devi Foundation, TechDiva Foundation, Go Girl Organisation, and Womenite are contributing to Women's capacity-building in the digital space by imparting computer skills, coding education, raising awareness on digital safety, and providing technology-enabled livelihoods.

Digital literacy for women matters more than ever today.

As India fast-tracks its digital transformation, digital literacy has become essential for accessing education, healthcare, financial services, jobs, and government schemes.

Women in the country and beyond continue to face barriers that hinder their participation in the digital economy. The GSMA Mobile Gender Gap Report 2025 found that women in low and middle-income countries are 14% less likely than men to use mobile internet and 885 million women worldwide lack internet access. South Asia has one of the largest digital gender divides.

India's progress: India has made strides in improving internet access to women. According to the National Family Health Survey (NFHS-6), the proportion of women who have ever used the internet increased from 33.3% in NFHS-5 (2019-21) to 64.3% in NFHS-6 (2023-24). However, access does not often mean active participation.

The National Statistical Office's Comprehensive Annual Modular Survey (CAMS) 2024-25 points out that women, especially in rural areas of India, are still far behind men in terms of personal mobile phone ownership and internet usage. Aspects like affordability, lack of digital skills, language barriers, safety concerns, and restrictive social norms remain major obstacles to digital inclusion.

Expanding scope of digital literacy: The scope of digital literacy has significantly widened; today, it is not only about knowing how to use a smartphone but also includes skills like carrying out online transactions, accessing government services, communicating through digital means, discerning misinformation, protecting private data, and even using technology for earning a livelihood.

Understanding this issue, various non-governmental organisations in different parts of India are running specific programmes that train women with hands-on digital skills.

Women Entrepreneurs Review team takes a look at 5 organisations working to improve digital literacy among women in India. through targeted initiatives, these organisations showcase how education in technology can empower women to be more productive in the digital economy.

EmpowerHer: Community-Based Digital Literacy for Economic Independence

• Headquarters: Rishikesh, Uttarakhand
• Founded: 2012
• Primary Beneficiaries: Women and girls from underserved communities
• Core Focus: Adult literacy, digital education, and livelihood development

EmpowerHer supports women and girls from disadvantaged communities by facilitating their access to education, jobs, and basic life skills. The group focuses on raising adults' literacy, providing job-oriented trainings, and leading community development projects that help women become more self-sufficient.

Their vision aims at women with limited formal education and will allow them to get basic proficiencies that are conducive to their economic freedom in the future.

Digital Literacy Initiatives: EmpowerHer is integrating computer education in its adult literacy programmes so that women will be able to actively participate in the digital world.

Women are trained on basic computer operations, typing, internet browsing, email communication, and productivity software. The organisation also links digital education with livelihood opportunities, so that women can use technology for employment, entrepreneurship and accessing online services.

Through community-based learning environments, EmpowerHer makes it possible for first-time technology users to develop digital confidence through a supportive setting.

Berojgar Mahila Sewa Samiti (BMSS): Digital Skills for Employability and Financial Inclusion

• Headquarters: Bhilai, Chhattisgarh
• Geographic Reach: Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, Odisha, Bihar, Jharkhand, Maharashtra, and Assam
• Target Beneficiaries: Women from economically weaker and tribal communities

BMSS focuses on enhancing the living conditions of women and other marginalized sections of society by offering them training in various skills, education, facilitating their journey as entrepreneurs alongside the social welfare programmes.

One of the major areas the organisation addresses is women's employability. To this end, they deliver hands-on, market-driven training sessions for women from economically disadvantaged backgrounds.

Digital Literacy Initiatives: BMSS considers digital literacy as an important employability skill and makes available computer education programs that concentrate on hands-on applications.

Besides basics of computers, women are also trained in the use of various applications of Microsoft Office, browsing the internet, sending mails, and creation and handling of digital documents.

The organisation further extends the training to the use of digital financial tools including UPI transactions, online banking, digital payments, and availing of government e-services. This helps women to be self-reliant in dealing with their financial matters and getting to know and using the elements of digital public infrastructure.

Amrita Devi Foundation: Building Digital Skills for Workforce Readiness

• Headquarters: New Delhi, India
• Primary Focus Areas: Employability, digital literacy, and livelihood creation
• Geographic Reach: Rural and semi-urban communities
• Target Beneficiaries: Women and girls from underserved regions

Amrita Devi Foundation is committed to enhancing women's employability and economic engagement through education and skill-building initiatives.

Its initiatives focus on rural and semi-urban women, enabling them to develop job-ready skills that provide them better access to livelihood opportunities.

Digital Literacy Initiatives: The organisation runs computer courses that covers the basics of computers and other aspects of digital skills, which are most required in the current world of business and working environments.

Women get taught about how to use various software, the way to use digital tools to communicate and how to operate computers. The support centre runs courses on digital marketing, which enable women to get into jobs in the digital world.

With a view to getting jobs through education, the computer-based instruction is joined by group discussion, developing a good personality, and helping in getting a job.

TechDiva Foundation: Introducing Women to Technology and STEM Careers

• Headquarters: Chennai, Tamil Nadu
• Target Beneficiaries: Girls, women, and underserved communities
• Impact Reach: More than 2,500 learners and 75+ schools
• Core Areas: Coding, mentorship, and technology access

TechDiva Foundation is a nonprofit that aims to impact the number of girls & women who are getting into science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM).

It collaborates with schools, community groups and volunteers to initiate programs for women and girls that allow them to discover technology-related careers and develop technical skills.

Digital Literacy Initiatives: TechDiva surpasses simple digital literacy because it introduces coding, computational thinking, and digital problem solving to participants.

TechDiva Classes offer both computer training and computer programming, whereas TechHub CodeLabs enable use of computers and internet connection in addition to offering mentoring. Programs like the All Girls Hackathon allow exposure to technology teamwork and innovative activities. Participants can also get mentoring from professionals in technology via the Techies Without Borders program.

Go Girl Organisation: Making Digital Education Accessible Through Local Languages

• Headquarters: Delhi, India
• Founded: 2018
• Target Beneficiaries: Girls and young women from underserved communities
• Core Focus: Coding education and digital inclusion

Go Girl Organisation is working towards addressing the gender gap in the technology industry by equipping girls and young women with STEM education opportunities.

It collaborates with various learning institutions and organizations to ensure that girls in rural and underprivileged areas get this opportunity.

Digital Literacy Initiatives: Go Girl provides training programs in coding and digital literacy in various Indian languages in order to democratize technology education.

Students receive training in computer basics, HTML and CSS, web development, and programming concepts through practical applications.

The organization also provides mentoring, scholarships, and internship programs which enable participants to convert their digital skills into educational and career opportunities.

Womenite: Combining Digital Literacy with Online Safety and Leadership

• Headquarters: New Delhi, India
• Foundation Year: 2017
• Geographic Reach: More than 150 communities across India
• Impact: More than 3,500 women trained in digital skills

Womenite empowers women and girls by helping them develop through education, leadership skills, health knowledge, and empowerment programs.

These programs are specifically intended to make access easier for women while boosting their self-confidence and self-respect.

Digital Literacy Initiatives: Womenite offers courses in smartphone usage, navigating the internet, communication using computers, and accessing online services.

A significant focus at Womenite is cyber security awareness, where the institution teaches women about safeguarding their privacy and recognizing potential online dangers.

There are connections between digital literacy skills and entrepreneurial ventures aimed at improving livelihoods through technological applications.

Conclusion: Moving Beyond Access to Meaningful Digital Inclusion

Digital transformation in India offers a lot of opportunities for women, but their involvement is more than just getting access to smartphones and the internet.

What women need are concrete digital literacy skills that would enable them to use their phones and the internet to access various financial products, get an education online, gain employment, manage businesses, and utilize other digital infrastructure.

The following six NGOs prove that to successfully engage in such projects, women require tailor-made skills that would ensure that they obtain something from the process. It might be computing lessons, coding classes, financial literacy programs, and so on.

In the wake of continued development in the digital world of India, cooperation amongst various stakeholders such as the government, civil society organizations, academia, and the corporate sector will play an integral role in empowering women technologically.