It was women’s day out in the Silicon Valley of India, as a multitude of the fairer sex were spotted holding on to their CVs while beating the heat in the long queues to the counter. They were there in response to the advertisements concerning the walk-in interview posted on behalf of IBM India for all women engineers in the city. Designed ‘only for women,’ the recruitment drive was for technical posts in the India Software Labs (ISL). ISL was on hunt for women techies for middle management and senior technical roles.

This was a first time in India that an IT organization was inviting only women applicants on a large scale. “Though we have held this kind of spree before, it was never on this large a scale,” said Chitra Jayaraman, Staffing Partner - ISL, who was ecstatic at the response the walk-in recorded. “There are very few women in technical roles today and this was IBM’s way to get the raise in count, if not bring to par,” she said. According a recent NASSCOM study the male-female ratio in the Indian IT industry was at 76:24 last year and is expected to rise to 65:35 by the end of this year.

And the women were not complaining. “We need this to happen more often so that we too get opportunities,” said Haritha, a two-year experienced techie working for an MNC and a hopeful candidate. “I am the only woman in the technical team in my office,” she added.

Agreed Harpreeth who currently works for a well-known IT firm in the city. “These kind of walk-ins would encourage women who would otherwise not work after completing their engineering course. It might not make a big difference yet but it is a first step.”
However, many others were slightly put off by the un-due advantage. Says Kasthuri, a two-year experienced engineer: “By giving us this advantage, the company might be indicating a discrimination, positive or negative.” She, like many others, was unaware of the ’women’s only’ tag till she reached the venue.

“There are few women in the current Indian IT industry and if such walks-in would ensure an increase in this figure, I don’t see anything wrong with it,” retorted Jayaraman. The walk-in saw over 600 candidates and the team at ISL is certain of a larger audience the next time they hold such a drive.