Dear GKD Colleagues, I thought you might find these stories, which come from NIIT's International Women's Month Newsletter, of interest. For more information, please see the newsletter at: <http://www.worldcomputerliteracy.net/iwm/>
Best regards, P. Rajendran ____________ All's "fair" in love and IT literacy! IT literacy promises new "swaraj" for women It's a special initiative for the "fairer" sex, designed to give them more freedom and empowerment and it's taken a company like NIIT--with its supportive attitude towards women issues--to bring it to India. International Women's Month in March is the most significant exercise we have witnessed yet to bring women and computers together. And it was flagged off on March 4 at an exclusive, "almost all" women's event, featuring luminaries, political leaders and media. It was a poignant moment when three very key Indian women lit the lamp of knowledge, at a ceremony organized by NIIT at the Indian Habitat Center. The symbolic gesture--involving the country's dynamic minister of information and broadcasting Mrs. Sushma Swaraj, octogenarian NIIT student Ms. Pushp Singh, and youngest learner Sukriti Ghai---set into motion NIIT's International Women's Month endeavor. **From digital divide to gender divide** March is the month that NIIT has dedicated to the women's IT literacy cause, where the company will ensure that the computer literacy lights up the lives of thousands of Indian women across the country. After initiating a revolutionary movement on December 2 that helped over one lakh Indians cross the digital divide, NIIT is now looking at narrowing the gender chasm. Statistics thrown up by WCLD had shown that seven out of ten people registering for the Swift Jyoti program were men. Women lagged behind with a score of three! In dedicating March to helping women join the ranks of their more IT literate male contemporaries, NIIT is attempting to redress this imbalance. The initiative has been launched against the backdrop of International Women's Day which will be celebrated globally on March 8, 2002. **Calling women to embrace IT: Smt. Swaraj shows the way** Addressing a select gathering at the launch event, Ms. Swaraj congratulated NIIT on conceptualizing International Women's Month and its timeliness and relevance. "It will bring into focus the importance of making the women of India IT literate. The time has come to tell women that computers are not difficult to learn, in fact they are a baayen haat ka khel. Currently, a mind set exists where women believe technology is not for them. This mind set has to change and women have to be made aware that they too can be technology-friendly," she said. Ms. Swaraj lamented the fact that even where the computer had arrived into the home through the route of the child or the male member, women had chosen to ignore it. "The computer is rarely approached by the woman who doesn't believe she can work on it. I include myself in this category of women," she added. Speaking at the inaugural event Ms. Swaraj said that in the emerging technology environment, it was becoming absolutely necessary for women to know computers. "Technology is becoming all pervasive. Women who do not know it will lose out and get left behind. Tomorrow all job opportunities will get linked to computer knowledge. Women who are computer literate will get the plum posts, while those who are not will miss the bus. Our productivity, our efficiency in the work place will reduce if we do not use computers," Ms. Swaraj stated. The minister also emphasized the fact that increasingly women will be able to work out of home. "IT is now allowing women to work from home, away from conventional 9-5 environments. For technology savvy women, new means of livelihood are emerging," she said, adding that NIIT ought to enroll her as its first student. **The NIIT commitment** According to Shampi Venkatesh, NIIT was possibly the most relevant platform for the launch of an "all women," IT literacy effort. The company recognizes the special talents of its women personnel, and has created an environment conducive to the growth of this force. "Only NIIT could have taken up the daunting task of making every woman in India computer literate. NIIT, with its internal focus on women personnel and its women centric HR schemes such as Little NIITian Care Leave, Day Care for infants, and telecommuting, has built itself up as an ideal workplace for women," Shampi said. She added that women had made important contributions to NIIT over its last 20 years and it was no surprise that over 50 percent of its education and training division was constituted by women. "In the IT era, computer literacy is a question of survival for women. After all, it is the woman who nurtures the citizens and leaders of tomorrow," Shampi said. **Women and IT: getting along fine!** Talking at the launch event, Raji Pawar focused on the need to bring women and IT together. "In the post industrial era it is being recognized that as opposed to muscle and brawn, positives such as empathy, warmth, sensitivity, creativity and integrity are becoming crucial. Women have these qualities in much larger measure than men. The time has come therefore, to focus attention on the existing gender divide, and push women forward based on their capabilities and talents." Raji added that today one was seeing outstanding examples of leadership by women. "Within the IT industry too, women are playing a more and more important role. Apart from the specialists, even ordinary women are volunteering to participate and engage in the IT sector and finding it's something they can do very well," he added. ------------ ***GKD is solely supported by EDC, an NGO that is a GKP member*** To post a message, send it to: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To subscribe or unsubscribe, send a message to: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>. In the 1st line of the message type: subscribe gkd OR type: unsubscribe gkd Archives of previous GKD messages can be found at: <http://www.edc.org/GLG/gkd/>
