Can women really be as good as men in technical work?

India in particular sees a huge gender bias when it comes to technology. It’s a commonly held belief that boys are naturally better than girls at maths and science, that engineering and machines are a man’s domain, that women cannot understand technology, women aren’t ‘interested’ in technology and more such statements that unfortunately turn into self-fulfilling prophecies.

This is a commonly held misunderstanding that has its roots in a socially-rooted bias against women. In our work we’ve come across women from different walks of life who not only understand technology, but also enjoy working with it. Most of the young girls we’ve worked with so far have come to our workshops because they were drawn by a desire to learn how to work technology, so we’ve found that all the questions about women not ‘getting’ technology are generally baseless!

FAT believe that women are as capable of understanding technology as men, and would like to create as many opportunities as possible for women to engage with different aspects of technology in a relaxed and non-judgmental space. The more women are acquainted with technology, the better they will be placed to use it to improve their own lives, the lives of their families and the communities they live in.

We would also like to see more women creating and using technology in a professional space – either in offices, research & development wings of corporations, applied in agriculture, engineering, laboratory research, entertainment communication and technology – we are quite sure the possibilities are endless!