OPPO Opens New Avenues for Women in Tech

For over a century, India has nurtured the some of the greatest talents in the field of scientific development. Names like Kadambini (Basu) Ganguly, Anandi Gopal Joshi, Kalpana Chawla and Shakuntala Devi were synonymous with excellence in the field of science. Women today are slowly but surely owning their territories in the field of technology as well.

As per NASSCOM's Women and IT Scorecard – India “Women represented 46.8% of the postgraduates in IT and computing during 2014-2015 in India. This was more than double the rate seen in the UK.” Furthermore, “Women now make up 34% of the IT workforce in India. The country is now almost at 50:50 gender parity rate in STEM graduates. The next challenge is retaining gender diversity through into middle management and leadership roles.”

That’s where we come in. Taking on this challenge, OPPO is thrilled to create an ecosystem that encourages women working in the technology sector. Here are two success stories that make us immensely proud of!

Kajal’s journey as a chief engineer with OPPO - A defining chapter in her life

Beginnings can be challenging even for the bravest. In her first few months, Kajal was unaccustomed to working in an environment where men only interacted with men. Kajal figured that a woman chief was a new experience for them as she faced teething challenges. With time, Kajal managed to create a unique place for herself.

Today, Kajal is on a path to renew her skills to keep up with the fast-changing technology markets. OPPO provides support to all its employees to ensure they get the best training in the field. Kajal has shown her counterparts that gender is inconsequential to determining a human’s caliber. On days that she’s expected to put in extra hours, Kajal fulfils her duty admirably. OPPO ensured that Kajal visited China multiple times to receive the best training available which gave her the much-needed exposure. She was also recently awarded the Warrior of the year Award in 2019 and received the Benfen Award for her relentless efforts to the R&D team. 

Similarly, Saritha Bandaru found a canvas at OPPO to showcase her skills

OPPO’s Saritha Bandaru is a proud member of the camera application team. When Saritha left home she was scared and in constant self-doubt. Her mother had made immense sacrifices, invested everything in her daughter’s education. OPPO gave her a platform to polish her skills in embedded systems, and experiment with the latest technology. She’s worked on OPPO’s flagship models, AI-based technological advancements in OPPO’s products and features like face beauty for phone cameras.

Saritha believes that there’s no substitute for hard work, irrespective of whether the job’s being done by a man or a woman. Saritha ensures that she shares her valuable inputs and in return, her team appreciates the experience she brings to the table and her quick-thinking skills that help resolve complicated technical issues.

Women like Kajal and Saritha are paving the way for future women leaders in tech. These women have taken the first seemingly brave step to enter a field that has been viewed for centuries as a “man’s job,” but their will and passion has only proved that gender is a construct that we are forced to consider when choosing what drives our dreams. A determined eye on the goal and the intention to constantly adapt and learn are the key factors that matter when trying to ace any job, irrespective of gender.