Women and IT: exploring opportunities

While more women in rural India have taken to micro-credit to start new
ventures, the number of women entrepreneurs in the IT industry is very few.
Could it be that risk averseness increases as one moves up the pyramid? This
question was raised during a TiECon panel discussion on "Targeting the
Indian Woman." The session also featured IT products that could be targeted
for women.

Revathi Kasturi, who heads Tarang Software, said that TiE had recently
started a women's forum to motivate women in IT to take up entrepreneurial
roles. Rajeev Agarwal, Founder and CEO, Innovate, which designs IT products for
consumers, shared his experiences in designing a new woman-centric product.
"IT products are conventionally designed and marketed keeping men as target
customers. We found through study that designs based on product usability
aspects can lead to exclusive women centric design."

Innovate has come out with a mobile accessory that also doubles up as an
attractive fashion statement for women. Called Mite, the product helps users
receive calls. "Indian women find it inconvenient to carry mobile phones
due to their dressing preferences," said Agarwal. He said that the product
has been received well.

On the issue of how IT is helping women in micro finance, Vicar Aula, Founder
and Chairman, SKS Microfinance, said that his organization used Management
Information Systems (MIS) to reduce risk and lower the transaction cost. He also
added that SKS would start pilots along with Visa for cashless transactions
using mobile point of sales.

Yuma Reddy, Chairperson-Training, AWAKE, said that simple training courses in
using a computer to send email and set up web pages could improve the marketing
capabilities of women entrepreneurs. "IT has a huge role to play as
technology tools to enable women in setting up enterprises."

CYBERMEDIA NEWS

BANGALORE