Indian Women Diaspora Working in the IT Sector: Living the American Dream

Abstract

Information Technology sector has put India on the global map. It has brought about a vast and new knowledge and interaction between people of different countries. Indian Women are working in the IT Sector both in India and in many other countries. Despite being an important area of employment in India, people go abroad to work in this sector. The objective of this study is to find out the life of the Indian Women Diaspora working in this sector and living in United States of America (U.S.A). It will assess the cultural and social changes in the lives of women who have moved out of India. It looks into their role in employment, remuneration, decision making, health and participation both at work and home. The methodology of this study is to cover 100 women working in this industry between the age group of 25 and 50 years. It is based on interviews and questionnaire and the findings relate to the advancement, development, empowerment and changes in the life of Indian women living in USA. Although the Indian women Diaspora are living in many countries, work culture and home relationships are different in each country. Therefore this paper confines itself to just one continent that is USA covering the Indian women working in California in the IT Sector. The reason for interviewing women in California was that a large number of start-ups and established IT companies are situated in this State. Several Indians have moved from India and our working in large companies like Google, Apple, Qualcomm Inc., Facebook etc which are situated in California. Mobility and migration has definitely been an impact of globalization. The findings of the study are focused on women empowerment in job participation, education and financial security. What type of life do they have? What regional similarities and changes do they find in their life structure after moving from India? Some glimpses of Indian family life have been discussed in the American context.