Agriculture has always been the foundation of the Indian economy. It still holds a prominent position in the country's economic engine. With the rapid advancement of agricultural technology and innovation, the nation is waking up to a new era — "agriculture 4.0".
However, this technological revolution is also heralding a massive shift in gender roles. The agritech sector is leading the way for women to become a part of the ongoing agricultural revolution by laying down the groundwork for gender-smart new-age solutions that are flexible and inclusive.
Women have always been an essential part of the agricultural workforce but a number of sociological and economic hurdles have hitherto restricted their roles, thus, limiting their responsibilities and opportunities. However, technological interventions can help in overcoming these challenges and spur the formation of gender-inclusive frameworks that can encourage the participation of women in the agritech workforce.
The agricultural sector offers enormous prospects for women professionals, across verticals like processing, sales, marketing and other post-harvest domains. It also has the potential to increase the female workers' participation rate across rural and urban India.
The agritech sector also offers immense scope for women to traverse into managerial and leadership roles in agriculture, especially in the post-harvest space. With a slew of appropriate policies and programmes being enacted into action, India is witnessing the rise of a digitalised agricultural vista that is heralding a new dawn of economic empowerment and social upliftment for countless women.
The biggest challenge is forging a culture in which every employee feels welcome and included irrespective of their gender and social standing. By aggressively hiring talent from across the lengths of the country and extending opportunities to daughters of farmers to join the agritech community, agriculture technology is also introducing them to various deep tech technologies which they otherwise might not get a chance to access.
By fostering an environment that values talent, abhors discrimination and provides a secure place for people to rise in their professional careers, we are increasing our productivity levels with each passing minute by tapping a diversity of talent from across the country.
Here are some key takeaways that all aspiring and established HR leaders must take into perspective:
There is an urgent need to break away from the shackles of primitive HR conventions and embrace the modern rules of the game.
With old principles being cast out, it is necessary to adopt contemporary HR practices to stay ahead of the game.
This means HR professionals must be cognizant of the evolving workplace dynamics and should respond accordingly. Taking into account the changing industrial scenery, it is essential to inculcate novel HR tools and techniques in the present-day workplace.
These are some ethics which can help all employees, irrespective of their gender, reap equal opportunities and ascend the professional ladder.
(The author is the chief of staff of an agritech start-up)