upGrad to upskill 1 lakh women in data and technology roles

upGrad for Business, the B2B arm of edtech platform upGrad, on Thursday said it is in talks with corporates to train over one lakh women in data science, technology and management roles.

This is as part of its WISDOM (Women in Science, Data, Organisational behaviour & Management) initiative.

The initiative will enable organisations to enhance gender diversity in these fields which are typically seen as male dominated, a statement said.

"We have 23.3 percent women in the workplace today as compared to 42.7 percent two decades ago. This is alarming in the context of the Indian corporate ecosystem.

"As part of our 'WISDOM' initiative, we aim to bring holistic learning for our women colleagues by melding our Data and Soft Skills expertise," upGrad for Business President, Minaxi Indra, said.

The vision is to empower women professionals to not only thrive but also drive success for their organisations, she added.

upGrad for Business has curated three buckets of women-centric programmes with a focus on young professionals, middle management and business heads.

These programmes will be an excellent addition to data, tech, management and behavioural programmes, it said.

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upGrad offers over 100 courses in collaboration with global universities like Duke Corporate Education (US), Michigan State University (US), Liverpool John Moores University (UK), Deakin Business School (Australia), Swiss School of Business Management, (Geneva), IIT Madras (India), IIM Kozhikode (India), and others.

Founded in 2015, the edtech major has impacted over 1 million total registered learners in over 50 countries.

In April 2021, upGrad raised its first external funding with an infusion of $120 million (about Rs 897.3 crore) from Singapore-based Temasek. Till then, it has been 100 percent owned, funded, and run by its co-founders as a capital-efficient business.

Last month, it acquired video-enabled learning solutions provider Impartus.

(Disclaimer: Additional background information has been added to this PTI copy for context)