Digital India: Why is it good for Women?

 The environment for working women in India is looking great for the first time. It is not that we have achieved 50% of the total employment available or equal salaries for same job to our male counterparts but we are showing up. Recent first page coverage on a leading newspaper showcased few companies who are working with Indian women to put them back on career track after a break (read here).  The entire work scenario in India for its women is better than it was 10 years ago. The challenges for a woman at work due to inadequate child care facilities in reasonable prices, women’s role in relocations with families, elderly care, but the momentum among working women is positive. They are coming up with new definitions on what success means to them and how to deal with the conflicting demands from family and work.The solutions are mostly coming from the women and for the women. Following are the emerging trends that are strongly visible among urban working women in India. A big reason is due to the digital advances that have happened over the years in India. Indian women are grabbing these digital accesses to do more.

Networking with communities:  Growing internet facilities have enabled online communities to bloom where women share their thoughts, concerns, find mentors and jobs too. Women who are at career break and are looking for opportunities to return to career are greatly benefitted from these networks. Sheroes is one such immensely growing platform for women to connect. Women are realizing the spirit of being a team and discuss and find solutions to issues deeply related to them.

Writing: Women (in India and from India) are blogging big time, they are penning down their experiences and thoughts all over in the virtual media. This is creating database of inspiration for other. Bloggers like Nischala Murthy Kaushik (see her blog) or Apoorva Purohit (see her blog) are finding new ways to connect with the working women in India and sharing their views on marketing to humorous ways to discuss the women at work. In addition there are a large number of blogs on parenting, hobbies, travelling, shopping, and technology which are handled by Indian women.

Retail business: Indian working women with more control on finances are overcoming their inhibitions of online shopping and are embracing this very new mode of shopping in India. Many women have stepped up and using the digital retail opportunities to set up their own retail businesses.

Online Services: The online video sharing platforms are providing Indian women residing anywhere in the world to show their culinary skills, arty ideas, hobby skills, music skills, and create their own channels for teaching and training students from different domains. This is also an emerging field for earning money while working from home or part time.  

Digital access is a boon to women of India, it’s about time that the digital access is made available to women living in remote parts of India to share their life and experiences, their artistry work related to weaves, crafts, food which could bring them a window to outer world, to more monetization, and development.

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