Enrollment of women in engineering has been less than 1% of total till 1960s; it rose to 8.3% by the mid 1990s and in 2000 it has come to 16.2% (Kumar, 2007).
Of the 25-30% women employed by IT sector, less than a tenth are in middle management, while a tiny 5% occupy senior-level positions. (IMRB Intl)

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The Story

Background:  In 2008, FAT organized a 10-day workshop for teenage girls in the Lajpat Nagar basti (or slum) in Delhi. Sixteen girls came together to learn basic computer skills, such as turning on and off the computer, word processing, and even got a taste of the power of the internet in a project on social issues.

Three girls went on to be hired after the workshop on their newly-acquired computer skills.  One young woman, Saraswati, joined the FAT team as our office assistant, providing crucial administrative support. Most importantly, the participants told us they overcame their fears of computers and gained in confidence as a result.

After such a positive outcome, and after hearing about all the other girls who wanted to learn, we decided to expand the workshop to a full-time offering. So the Tech Education Center was born.

Goal: The Tech Education Center will provide a place for underprivileged girls to learn and explore technology. Despite their ambitions, the girls in the basti face many economic and social obstacles to learning. Girls' education is not prioritized,  and many are married young and left with low-skilled livelihood options such as housecleaning.

According to research conducted by the International Center for Research on Women, technical knowledge not only improves women's economic situation, but also their access to information and confidence to advocate for themselves.

Through a combination of talking to the girls and learning from our experience, the Center will focus on the following:

  • Computer and Internet skills: The foundation.  We'll teach everything from basic skills (turning a computer on/off, word processing) to internet searches to desktop publishing and graphics.
  • Life skills:  We've found that for the girls to successfully get jobs, they need additional training, such as English speaking, office etiquette, interpersonal skills, managing money and many other skills they might not have exposure to otherwise.
  • Social issues:  Armed with cameras, a video camera and their internet and computer knowledge, the girls can research and report on social issues important to them (such as teenage marriage and pregnancy) and their community.  We're also developing a website to showcase this work.
  • Everyday technical skills: Mobile phones, electrical wires, etc. are among the objects these girls come across everyday.  Training in these as well as computers will give them more employment opportunities and insight into the technology of their daily lives.

Where we can use your help:

We're opening the center in May, in a space in the basti.  We have four computers and several volunteer trainers to get us started, but we need your help to expand the program into something more robust and effective. 

We're aiming for a permanent, part-time staff and our own space, as well as more tools for learning.  These girls already have the drive and desire to learn to accomplish more in their lives. You can help make this a reality. Donate.