VMware announced a partnership with She Loves Data (SLD) India, a not-for-profit organisation that helps women overcome competency, confidence, and leadership gaps by providing training on essential skills. As a part of this collaboration, VMinclusion Taara and SLD will offer women on a career break, an opportunity to learn and take advantage of all the programmes offered by SLD, in addition to the courses offered by VMinclusion Taara. Since its launch in 2019, VMinclusion Taara has risen to be one of India’s leading upskilling programmes for women looking to re-start their careers.
While VMware’s VMinclusion Taara aims to upskill women by providing free technical education and certification courses in Cloud Management & Automation, Data Center Virtualization, Networking, and Digital Workplaces, SLD will help more women become data-literate through their signature programmes on technology, mentorship, essential skills development, and offer networking opportunities.
As per a report by the International Labour Organization (ILO) dated February 2022, the current global labour force participation rate for women is just under 47% as compared to 72% participation rate by men. From an economic perspective, reducing gender gaps in labour force participation could substantially boost global GDP the report added.
This partnership aims to reintroduce talented women to the technology field and give them access to free upskilling courses, so they have a fair chance at restarting their careers. The collaboration will also help women accelerate their career growth and co-drive the economy.
“50% of women in India’s IT industry leave employment after 5-8 years, and the majority never return because they lack the necessary skills. A major factor in the expansion of the Indian economy is women in the workforce. VMware’s VMinclusion Taara offers upskilling courses to support women who are on a professional break and aiming to make a successful return to the workforce. Our partnership with She Loves Data will further help Taara candidates increase their prospects to restart their careers as it provides networking, mentoring, and training opportunities. We believe that by working together, we can empower more women and enable them to achieve their goals, said Craig Dobson, Vice President, Professional Services – APJ & Diversity, Inclusion Lead for APJ.
“We are deeply committed to fostering greater diversity, equity, and inclusion within our organization as well as in the industry. I am particularly heartened by the support this program has received from the industry. Every Taara graduate who returns to work reinforces our belief that training and upskilling is the answer that women on a career break are looking for. We are delighted to partner with She Loves Data to help more women looking to restart their careers”. said Ramkumar Narayanan, VP Technology and Managing Director, VMware India.
Due to circumstances like marriage, childbirth, moving, caring for the elderly, or a lack of domestic support, women are more likely to take lengthier career breaks as the primary caregiver. Sabbaticals are a kind gesture, but they also come with a fear of missing money, professional opportunities, and contemporary skills, according to Mital Khona Kaul, co-leader of the She Loves Data India chapter. She further added, “Women stand to benefit from having a strong support structure and focus on learning opportunities, if they want to progress professionally. With our strategic partnership, we hope to provide networking opportunities and skill-building opportunities for women on a career break. We want to offer women a safe space where they can learn about technology, data, and other essential growth skills.”
“This collaboration marks an important milestone for She Loves Data, following the launch of our India chapter in May this year. We strongly believe that by partnering with tech corporates like VMware, we will be able to harness the strengths and capabilities of our respective organizations to truly move the needle in greater gender diversity in the tech industry. There is so much for us to do together, and I look forward to having more partners in India join us in this movement,” said Jana-Marle Zizkova, Founder of She Loves Data.
