Praxis Business School launches Women in Tech Scholarship Program

By: WE Staff | Friday, 28 May 2021

In order to encourage and support women participation in tech, data, and management careers, Praxis Business School has launched the Praxis Women in Tech (WiT) Scholarship Program.

A woman candidate who is accepted into any of Praxis's prestigious PG programmes and meets the WiT eligibility criteria will receive a Rs 1 lakh scholarship as part of the Praxis WiT Scholarship programme.

Praxis Business School is driven by the goal of developing resources that will guide India's digital transformation. It provides a two-year full-time AICTE-approved PGDM programme as well as postgraduate, full-time programmes in Data Science, Data Engineering, and Cyber Security. The Praxis PGDM is ranked second and sixth among PGDM programmes in Kolkata and Eastern India, respectively.

The Praxis Data Science and Cyber Security programmes are ranked second and third in the country among full-time programmes.

If one looks into the history of computing, one will discover that women played significant roles in the United States' World War II war effort. Because men were drafted into the war, many of the ‘computers' (those who computed manually) during WWII were women, many of whom had degrees in mathematics. However, there has been a steady decline in the number of women in technology since then.

According to studies, women make up only one-third of the IT workforce, and their numbers are dwindling. The gender gap is even more pronounced in new age, in-demand, and high-paying skills such as data science. According to some international studies, women hold as few as 10% of executive leadership positions in the technology industry, compared to 23% across all industries.

On the other hand,  Several studies conclude that diversity, including gender diversity, is simply good for business. In 2019, the top quarter of companies with gender diverse executive teams were 25% more likely than their counterparts to have above-average profitability.

Given this digital world, it is critical that women participate in greater numbers in the tech and data domains. People skilled in technology and data are poised to take on leadership roles in shaping the world, and women must participate in this leadership role.

Despite global and national conversations about gender diversity in the workplace, women are disproportionately underrepresented in the fields of technology and data – and this must change. More tech and data talent is needed in the world; women must fill this void by pursuing long-term careers and financial independence.

Diversity fosters greater innovation and problem solving – more women in technology imply better solutions to global issues. This is consistent with the belief that gender diversity in the workplace adds significant value to the organisation, the economy, and society.