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News >> Technology >>
More women needed in core R&D
By siliconindia
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Thursday, 08 March 2007, 18:30 IST
Bangalore: Women are making their way to glory in the field of R&D activity in the world of information technology in India. However, these women might not be well known but they are heading key R&D roles of technology giants with their operations in India.
One among them is the suave Vasantha Erraguntla, Engineering Manager, Intel India. She headed an enthusiastic team in Bangalore that led to the development of the 80-core teraflop processor.
Erraguntla points out that there are growing numbers of women who are engaged in core R&D activity and the industry is presenting enough number of opportunities. She feels that meritocracy is the key factor for any women making a mark in the industry.
NASSCOM says that 30 percent of the workforce of the Indian IT industry is women and this is expected to touch around 45 percent by 2010. In BPO sector women make up for 50 percent of the workforce.
Ranjani Ranganath, Senior Managing Director, Cisco India, says, "Women overall need better representation in Indian IT. It's getting better each year, as the numbers of women recruited increases, but there is plenty of scope for improvement."
Cisco has Women's Access Networks (WANs), which offers networking, mentoring and career development resources to women employees throughout their global operations.
While speaking to a national daily, Ranganath said that the challenge for the industry is finding enough women at the entry level and beyond with the right combination of pure sciences, computer science and analytical skills, who can be encouraged to take up R&D activity.