As India eyes semiconductor glory, companies chipping away at gender gap

With the government initiating efforts to make India a semiconductor manufacturing hub, companies in the sector are looking to close the gender gap as they bet their chips on innovation-focused talent to make the most of the opportunity.

A host of companies including AMD, Texas Instruments, Analog Devices, and Synaptics are making concerted efforts to build a pipeline of female talent through targeted recruitment drives, mentoring, employee resource groups, pay adjustments, and leadership development, industry executives said.

According to the 2022 Semiconductor Gender Parity Study from Global Semiconductor Alliance and Accenture, there is an urgent need for innovation-focused talent in the industry, and women represent a significant opportunity to provide that talent.


However, building a pipeline for recruitment continues to be the largest challenge, executives said.

In June, AMD India launched a mentorship programme called I-WIL (India Women in Leadership). Under this initiative, selected employees are assigned a dedicated mentor from the senior leadership team for a period of six months, Fathima Farouk, HR head of AMD India, said.

The diversity ratio at the Santa Clara-headquartered firm is over 20%, and the company is looking to improve this number through focused drives to recruit skilled women engineers from college. The company also runs a women's forum, which provides opportunities for women to lead and promotes engagement with the company and beyond. Over 1,000 women employees in India are a part of this forum, Farouk said. According to a report by India Electronics and Semiconductor Association, the country's semiconductor market is expected to more than double to $64 billion between 2021 and 2026.

Texas Instruments has rolled out programmes like WiSH (Women in Semiconductor and Hardware), a one-month mentoring initiative for female engineering students who have completed at least two years of study at the college. Last month, the Dallas-headquartered firm hosted 100 students from 22 colleges, more than twice the number of students the previous year.

"The programme encourages more women to pursue core engineering careers by offering them exposure to and guidance in the semiconductor and hardware industry," said Santhosh Kumar, president and MD of Texas Instruments India. "During the month-long programme, students get hands-on experience on simulation projects, lab visits, and technical discussions, along with networking sessions with leaders."

Analog Devices is reviewing its hiring practices to ensure that women have a fair chance at being considered for open roles, said Marc Salarda, MD, human resources - APAC, at Analog Devices.

"We also continue to invest in Elevate, our flagship leadership development series for women," she said. "Participants in the programme develop professional skills and business acumen through a combination of 360 feedback, action learning, mentorship, and coaching."

Meanwhile, Synaptics is in the process of rolling out a women’s ERG (employee resource group) that will help with strategy and programme development. The firm is also building a curriculum for people managers based on learnings to support existing employees and increase representation across all levels in the organisation, Lori Stahl, HR head of Synaptics, told ET.