Redmond is trying to bring more women in the business

Sep 24, 2014 13:12 GMT  ·  By

Microsoft is one of the companies that are continuously searching for new talents that could help it maintain long-term profitability and bring in fresh ideas, so it is now launching a new program in India that would attract more women in the IT industry.

The new campaign is called Women in Tech and is supposed to train no less than 1 million women and prepare them for the challenges of the IT sector, the company says.

Pramanik, chairman of Microsoft India, said in a statement that women would also get to talk to a number of IT professionals that could help them gain the experience they need to step into the IT industry.

"Today, the IT industry in India has about one million women. Our Women in Tech initiative aims to double that number in the next few years. In the first year, our partners and we will train and mentor the next one million women and help them join, grow and succeed in the IT industry," Bhaskar Pramanik explained.

Awareness sessions, training, and mentoring sessions

Microsoft says that women participating in the program will receive training and access to certification programs, as well as mentoring sessions to discuss directly to some of the most known people in the IT industry.

"Our Women in Tech initiative is aimed at enabling India's young girls and women find suitable careers in IT and accelerate their growth. Through the course of the next year, we will provide one million women access to awareness sessions, training and certification programs, and mentoring sessions," said Joseph Landes, chief evangelist, Microsoft India.

"In addition, through Microsoft Ventures we will also mentor 30 women-led start-up companies and support them in building connections with the broader start-up community in India," he added.

Microsoft also offering scholarship programs for women

In addition to this exciting new program in India, Microsoft is also holding a so-called Research Graduate Women’s Scholarship campaign that includes a one-year scholarship program for women graduate students.

The company explains that these efforts are supposed to "help increase the number of women pursuing a PhD," supporting women in the second year of their graduate studies.

At this point, Microsoft is still accepting applications for this new program until October 17, so in case you want to register, make sure that you check out this page for more information.

Keep in mind that scholarships are only valid for one academic year and cannot be extended or renewed.