166
of their homes. They can undertake special projects and assignments while minding
their little ones, cooking and managing their traditional “workplaces”.
Other efforts meanwhile will also have to be made by our Gujarati leadership to
empower women through IT education and other employment opportunities.
A well established information technology and telecom infrastructure should be set
up to encourage IT education, the use of computers, the Internet and other related
services by women. The Gujarat Government, for instance, should think in terms
of launching an IT literacy program directed towards spreading computer literacy among
women during the course of the year itself. The Government should also encourage
NGOs to set up B2B and B2CWebsites to promote the interests of women doing business
in the state.
As part of its plan of strengthening the hands of currently non-working women,
the state should also establish training institutes specifically to impart basic level
education on computers to make this potential workforce IT savvy.
Special IT focused training houses to promote advanced, technical courses like BCA
and MCA for women would help enhance job prospects for them in the areas of
software and service companies.
Virtual institutes can be created with special HRD programs to help educate women
to enter the field of IT-enabled services in a more significant way.
The Gujarat Government should make policies where banks and financial
institutions on a proactive basis support enterprising and professionally qualified
women to set up home-based IT services in various areas of IT-led economic activities.
Grameen
data processing centers can also be set up where the government can
outsource the digitization of its records to competent women workers.
Gujarat’s women can be a significant asset for the state in the future. Provided
the relevant environment is created for their growth, women workers can prove to be
a powerhouse and key generator of economic wealth for the home team. Maybe,
to start with, the
Government of Gujarat should set up an IT task force
for women that is chaired by a woman and aims to promote IT amongst
women in Gujarat.
n
