485 Women from the field of Technology attend the GHC/1 Delhi

The Anita Borg Institute (ABI), a non-profit organization focused on the advancement of women in computing and technology recently organized GHC/1 Delhi-NCR , a one-day technical conference focusing on the career, research and entrepreneur interests of women in technology. GHC/1 is modeled after ABI’s flagship conference, the Grace Hopper Celebration of Women in Computing that takes place in the US and India every year.

The conference was attended by 485 women in technology professionals across all career stages, students and entrepreneurs from New Delhi and the National Capital Region (NCR). The event also witnessed strong participation from corporates, government and academia.

The conference was organized, under ABI’s latest initiative called the ABI.Local. The ABI.Local communities are self-organized groups that focus on growing and supporting current and aspiring women technologists. ABI.Local communities are currently active in many cities around the world, including Amsterdam, Boston, Chicago, London, Los Angeles, New Delhi, Pune, Hyderabad, Seattle, Silicon Valley and Tokyo, to name just a few . ABI.Delhi-NCR was launched in 2015.

The centre of all discussions and sessions during the day was focused on technology, entrepreneurship, career development, leadership and advancing a gender diverse technology workforce. Attendees got the opportunity to attend thought provoking keynotes, technical sessions on the digital revolution in the consumer space, Big Data and the rise of Fintech, Text Analytics and the role of innovation in entrepreneurship. There was also a focused workshop on ’The Art of Storytelling’ and how each individual can use the power of stories in their personal and professional lives.

The focus at the conference was to not only get more women into senior level positions in the IT sector, but also to work towards making larger group of women ‘digitally fluent’. With the IT sector providing one of the most conducive environments for working women, there has to be concerted efforts to draw them into the sector considering that ‘digital revolution’ is on the horizon. Speakers at the conference were of the view that big data & text analytics would play a key role in human resources and it was imperative for the young professionals to be in sync with these developments.

New Delhi and the neighboring area of NCR is home to several leading technology organizations, startups and education institutes. Today, this region has established itself as one of the largest tech hubs in the country with a constantly growing pool of talented women in technology. All industry leaders present at the conference unanimously agreed that the inclusion of women in the technical workforce is integral to innovation and business growth and were committed to driving a gender diverse technical workforce in the area of New Delhi and NCR.

“Global economies and societies including India are witnessing a revolutionary change at several levels, thanks to technology. At the Anita Borg Institute, we envision a future where the people who imagine and build technology mirror the people and societies who use it. The inclusion and empowerment of women in technology is crucial for sustainable innovation and growth,” said Geetha Kannan, Managing Director, Anita Borg Institute, India.

“Seeing the high-levels of participation and engagement at the GHC/1 conference only makes our case and the inevitably of inclusion of women stronger. We hope that all women present here today were able to build valuable networks and gain insights to build a rewarding career in technology .” added Geetha.

ABI’s programs focus on advancing the careers of women in technology. After the success of their annual flagship conference the Grace Hopper Celebration India that has been held since 2010, ABI looks forward to reaching out to more women technologists across India through platforms such as the ABI. Delhi-NCR chapter.