By IANS,
Bangalore : Indian IT majors Infosys Technologies and IBM India Wednesday won the corporate excellence awards instituted by the industry’s representative body Nasscom (National Association of Software and Service Companies).
Announcing the awards at the third annual ‘IT women leadership summit 2008’ here, Nasscom president Som Mittal told reporters Infosys bagged the award in the IT services and product companies category, while IBM’s Indian subsidiary for the most innovative project in gender inclusivity.
“IBM Daksh business process services (BPS) has been selected for the award in the BPO companies category, while Ajuba Solutions and ADP Ltd are the joint winners in the best emerging company segment,” Mittal said.
A jury of representatives from the industry chose the five companies for the awards on the criteria of business rationale, senior leadership support, communication, accountability and measurable results.
Employing about two million people across the country, the Indian IT-BPO is a diverse and inclusive industry, with world class human resources policies in recruiting, training, retaining and promoting as a strategic business plan.
“Women, who account for 28 percent of the total IT workforce, are a vital part of the resilient industry. The gender inclusivity awards recognise companies doing outstanding work for inclusive growth,” Mittal said.
A recent Nasscom study shows the percentage of women employees in the Indian IT-BPO sector has increased to 28 in the last fiscal (2007-08) from 24 percent in 2005-06. At the entry level, women accounted for 46 percent of the total hiring in 2007-08 as against 24 percent the previous year.
“The percentage of hiring women freshers is projected to go up to 55 by the end of this fiscal. The long-term goal is to see women constitute about 50-55 percent of the total IT workforce,” Mittal said.
To create a future pipeline for a steady supply of women workforce in the long term, Nasscom hopes the IT industry will target the bright and talented youth graduating from professional colleges, technical institutions and universities.
“In the changing demographic profile, young girls or women account for 45-50 percent of the total 435,000 students graduating every year. With exceptional qualities, discipline, loyalty and integrity, women workforce will turn into a demographic dividend for the industry,” Mittal noted.