Ek Bharat Shreshtha Bharat club at Indian Institute of Management Sirmaur organized a panel discussion on the occasion of International Women’s Day on the topic, “Is technology a boon or a bane for women empowerment?” The panelists Dr. Urvashi Rathod, Dr. Alka Chaddha, Dr. Advaita Rajendra, & research scholar Mudabera Gulzar, were moderated by PhD student, Ms. Divya Soni.
The discussion began with Dr. Urvashi Rathod. She spoke about the role of IoT and AI in healthcare. She explained that they are benefiting society as a whole, however, it has highlighted women’s use and access to it on a much bigger level than before.
The moderator then moved to Dr. Alka Chaddha, asking her if technology has helped women overcome illiteracy. She emphasized that ICT is not going to be the equalizer for an unequal system or the panacea for the gender divide. Rather, we have to focus on overcoming the digital divide as well.
The session continued with Dr. Advaita Rajendra’s focus on the role of tech and access to information for rural women. She spoke about how technology has brought both positive and negative things into play and highlighted how almost all AIs reflect biases, even the names of our virtual assistants.
Then, research scholar Mudabera Gulzar was invited to share her thoughts on how technology facilitates the upbringing of a child. She spoke about the idea of a collectivistic society and the importance of both genders in a household.
Dr. Karthikeyan Balakumar was also called up from the audience for bringing in a different perspective into the discussion. He spoke about female independence in terms of financial inclusivity and the ease of access to and holding of money.
The panelists also had a fun rapid-fire round with questions on lunches with Nobel prize winners, the best attributes of men, what being a man for a day would be like, and more.
The institute was delighted to host some of our most brilliant women faculty for the discussion. Our students surely gained a deeper perspective on gender, technology, inclusion, and their effect on each other and society as a whole.
