The gender disparity in the Indian corporate sector is at all time high with women entrepreneurs taking only up to 31% non tech and 26% tech jobs
NetApp’s Excellerator’s ExcellerateHER initiative that was launched this year is one of the very few women-focused programmes in the country dedicated to women in the B2B deep tech domain
With their first cohort, ExcellerateHER has taken in multiple women entrepreneurs to provide them with mentorship, workshops and a network of senior women entrepreneurs in the industry to build a community
“Gender disparity is prevalent in the entrepreneurial world. People tend to connect better with folks who are like them. The fact that there are not enough women on the entrepreneurial side means this disparity is bound to happen,” — Madhurima Agarwal, director – engineering programmes and leader – NetApp Excellerator at NetApp India.
The issue of under-representation of women entrepreneurs in the startup ecosystem is a longstanding challenge. The numbers are alarming, with female representation being as low as 26% for technical jobs and 31% for non-technical roles. This is when the unconscious bias creeps in, according to Agarwal. “If you’re a woman, you will face additional challenges about managing your family and spouse along with your business which puts you at a disadvantage,” she added.