Microsoft India partners with Standard Chartered to offer women cyber security jobs

By Leandra Monteiro

On the occasion of International Women’s Day, Standard Chartered Bank announced its partnership with Microsoft India and Data Security Council of India (DSCI) to offer cyber security roles to 18 young women professionals from Tier II and Tier III cities in India. This initiative will be undertaken as part of the CyberShikshaa programme.

CyberShikshaa is aimed at providing women graduates who come from smaller communities with adequate skills. Graduates with an engineering degree but with lack of access to opportunities are considered and trained to be employable in the industry.

Keshav Dhakad, Group head and General Counsel, Microsoft India, said, “Microsoft is deeply committed to bridge the gender gap in technology and to create viable career pathways for women in technology. Our partnership with DSCI on the CyberShikshaa program is a strong step in that direction. Cyber security is a sector that has grown manifold in the last few years, leading to rise in the demand for skilled workforce in the sector. Our mission with CyberShikshaa is to equip young women professionals with the skills needed for a career in cybersecurity and the special recruitment drive by Standard Chartered will help create a strong momentum to encourage more women in Cyber Security.”

Under the programme, women graduates complete a curriculum that includes an interactive, four-month training course combining theory, case studies and practical hands on projects led by Centre for Development of Advanced Computing (C-DAC), NIELIT and other training partners. The initiative also covers mentoring and soft skill workshops.

Standard Chartered, a partner in the programme has committed to hire Cyber Security talent who have completed their training program. Commenting on the partnership, Yuval Illuz, Group Chief Information Security Officer & COO, Trust, Data & Resilience, Standard Chartered said, “Attracting women to take up Cyber Security careers require a range of efforts. More importantly, increasing women’s participation in Cyber Security is not just good for women, it’s absolutely important for the business and our society. Therefore, it’s our shared responsibility with Microsoft and DSCI to create and support very strong career pathways in this domain for these future women leaders.”

Rama Vedashree, CEO, DSCI added, “CyberShikshaa is a collaborative initiative between DSCI and Microsoft India which bridges the current talent gap and draws more women into Cyber Security careers. This special recruitment drive by Standard Chartered is a great commitment shown towards supporting the ‘Women in Cyber Security’ cause and nurturing young talent. This will serve as an example urging other enterprises to join the momentum and create career opportunities for young women professionals. As we expand, we’re constantly enhancing and evolving the programme to meet the industry needs from training to placement.”