Microsoft to skill 75,000 women developers in India in 2024

Nadella reached Mumbai on February 7 on a two-day visit, an annual ritual, with the theme for 2024 set as AI and opportunities arising out of it

Technology giant Microsoft will provide skilling and certification to 75,000 women developers in India in 2024, its Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Satya Nadella announced on January 8 in Bengaluru.

“It is not just about skills, it's about being able to create economic opportunity for an increasingly skilled workforce,” Nadella said at the company’s “Microsoft Build” event in Bengaluru, addressing its India developer community and technologists.

Nadella reached Mumbai on February 7 on a two-day visit, an annual ritual, with the theme for 2024 set as AI and opportunities arising out of it.

The training will be an expansion of an existing Microsoft programme named “Code; Without Barriers”, launched in September 2021.  Microsoft, along with 13 companies across nine Asia Pacific countries, launched the programme to help close the gender gap in the region’s fast-growing cloud, artificial intelligence (AI) and digital technology sectors.

“The program provides support, training, and networking opportunities for female developers and coders, and those in other technical roles to contribute to inclusive economic growth, encourage innovation, and reflect the region’s social makeup,” the company said in a release.

Nadella said Karya.ai, incubated at Microsoft Research, is taking AI jobs to rural India.

Karya creates datasets in several Indian languages to train AI models and for research while creating jobs for Indians, mainly in rural areas.

Manu Chopra, CEO and cofounder, Karya.ai, said his company pays 20-times over and above the Indian minimum wage, which amounts to roughly Rs 400 per hour, to record sentences on their smartphones. Workers receive royalties if the data created by Karya is resold, Chopra said in a video played after Nadella’s speech.

“Our mission to empower every person and every organisation in India starting with you all as developers,” he said.