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

 

Dr. Preeti Singh

Professor, Jagannath International Management School, Kalkaji, New Delhi - 110019

*Corresponding Author E-mail: preetisingh15@gmail.com

 

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.

 

KEY WORDS: Diaspora, Cultural, Social, Migration, Employment.

 

 


INTRODUCTION:

This paper is a case study of Indian women who were educated in India in the field of Information Technology (IT) but made a shift to USA after their basic under graduation degree. 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. A large number of women who were already recruited got married and joined their husbands who were settled in USA.

 

Most of these women wanted to become financially independent and USA was a dream that came true. IT sector professionals moved out of India after 1991 when India opened up trade and the new policy reforms of globalization, liberalization and deregulation set in. Globalization is international integration that includes social, political and economic changes in a country through development of communication, transportation and technology. It involves integration of economies of the world through uninhibited trade and financial flows, and mutual exchange of technology and knowledge. In context to India, it allowed Indian companies to have foreign collaborations and joint ventures with foreign business partners and IT sector was the fastest to develop but at that time the women felt that their basic engineering degrees from India would not be recognized worldwide. Therefore, they decided to move to USA to study as it was a developed country and had a large number of job openings in this sector. Other women did not have a choice as they got married and went to USA. California attracted Indians for two reasons. It was popularly called Silicon Valley and it was a hub for many professional IT companies. Secondly their climatic condition was similar to India having warm sunshine and was not very cold. This study discusses some of the changes in the lives of the Indian Women Diaspora in the liberalization and globalization phase in India when they moved out of India to settle down abroad.

 

OBJECTIVES OF THIS STUDY:

The objectives of this study are to find out in what way this decision of movement from their home country affected them. What is the type of employment of these women, their relationships with family and the socio cultural changes through interaction between people of another country? Their attitudes and perceptions, values and role identities were explored at the workplace, within the family and in the peer community. Did their dream come true? It depicts some of the aspects in which they are empowered and the positive and negative effects of movement.

 

MATERIAL AND METHODS:

This study is based on interviews of 100 women from urban India to find out what movement means to them and whether it has empowered them in their lives. This study is exploratory in nature and does not consider the effects on rural women as the impact would be completely different.

 

This is an empirical study of women working in the IT sector between the age group of 25 and 50 years. These women moved out of India at a young age around 25 to 30 years and they see India in the changing sphere of work, home and culture from outside their country of origin. Questions were asked on their personal background, job opportunities, education, and cultural and social values, mobility and migration, marriage and dress to find out the effects of change to another country. The findings show that there have been some favourable aspects on the lives of Indian Diaspora and some negative impacts on their lives.

 

Section I takes into account the movement of women from India to USA, their aspirations and emotions. Section II discusses women working in IT companies and the financial security as a driving motivator to continue to stay in USA. Section III discusses a very important aspect of the life of an Indian Woman. It discusses the marital status of women Diaspora. In India, a lot of importance is given to marriage and from this point of view it is useful to find out this angle.   Section IV is the family living style of women in the IT sector and the dream of life in USA.

 

REVIEW OF LITERATURE:

Kurian and Srivastava (1983)1 did a comparative study on the adaptive and adjustment patterns of the Indian immigrants, and show how differences arise and vary with places of destination, in adjustment patterns, lifestyles and attitudes.

 

The nexus between migration and development is receiving renewed attention from policymakers and academics alike. In broader terms, migration implies a change of place of usual residence and development refers to a dynamic process involving growth, advancement, empowerment, and progress with the goal of increasing human capabilities and better living conditions. Assessing the relationship between these two concepts is not an easy task (IOM, 2004b; Skeldon, 1997). In this context Diaspora studies become important to undertake.

 

O.P. Dwivedi and others (2011)2 wrote about Indian Diaspora writers and the change in one’s life brings the anguish of losing one’s identity and the migrant finds it difficult to adjust in the new image and finds it difficult to face people.

 

M.K.Gautam (2013)3 studied the Indian Diaspora in Europe and how they maintained their ethnicity and identity. He found some discrimination from the host country towards the Diaspora.

 

Many studies of Indian women working in the IT sector in India have been undertaken. Some of these are the following:

Kelker and Nathan (2002)4 observed that Indian women in the IT sector had become empowered and looked for opportunities for advancement of their career. They were mobile and migrated from one country to another and also helped in increasing their household income.

 

Jadine Lannon (2013)5 discussed the Indian women working in the IT sector in India. The study has been made by analyzing six software companies in India and has researched on the economic empowerment of women in the IT sector in India. Another study on Indian women in the IT industry was taken up by Asmita Bhattacharyya and Dr. Bhola Nath Ghosh (2013)6. According to them the IT sector has a large volume of employment of women and least discrimination against them so it becomes an important area for research. They have studied the women empowerment in this industry in India. 

Many studies made have been on Indian Diaspora, Indian Diaspora writers and on ethnicity and identity of Diaspora. Many studies on Indian women working in the IT Sector in India have been made. It is imperative that a study on Indian Women Diaspora in the IT industry should be made on those who are living outside India. The present paper tries to fill in the gaps by taking this employment area of importance. It takes into consideration the Indian Women Diaspora in the Silicon Valley in California in USA. This does not appear to have been researched in any earlier studies. This study discusses some of the socio economic and cultural aspects referring to Indian women working in the IT sector.

 

RESULTS AND DISCUSSIONS:

Section I : Indian Women Diaspora and Impact of Movement from India

Indian women in the IT industry stated that they went to USA either after marriage or to do their post graduation degree. 60 women in my study went to USA post marriage and were very unhappy in the beginning as they did not have a working visa or they did not have a job. It was a culture shock to go to USA after the Indian conditions. Family life was disturbed as parents were far away and they were no friends from India. After living in USA for a minimum of 3 years they were able to get their bearings. Some decided to work since they had a basic engineering degree from India and they entered into the IT industry in USA. Typically, an Indian University degree holder starting in the USA was offered less salary than if they had degrees from USA even though they already had some working experience in India.

 

Those women who joined the employment arena also wanted to do higher studies after gaining work experience in USA. The most popular courses for IT professionals was to do Masters in Business Administration (MBA) or post graduation in engineering.

 

Those Indian women who went directly from India to study for their post graduation degree were 40 in my sample and were absorbed in the IT industry immediately and could stay in USA till the time that they paid off their education loans. These women continued to stay in USA then applied for a longer time visa and after that their job continued in the USA and their salary increased and they could not find a similar job which had the same environmental facilities or high salaries in India and slowly got accustomed to the daily life in USA.

 

Section II : Work and Financial Security of Indian Women Diaspora in IT Sector

Indian women shifted to USA with a dream of high paid salaries, good working conditions, and job satisfaction. Typically, a developed country would offer a better structure and a good work climate. 80 women under this study who had moved from India felt that they were satisfied with their work climate in USA and felt that IT industry was far more taxing in India. The working hours in India were 8 hours per day but the work was so enormous that each employee had to work for 12 hrs or more and even worked on weekends. Typically in USA the employees do not work on weekends. For them there is a life beyond work where they can rest and pursue their interest in sports, music or relaxation in parks. In India a typical middle class family work is life and hobbies are limited. There are no refreshing parks or sports complex as these cater only to certain areas and certain sections of the society. No interest can be pursued or sustained as the distances are high and traffic jams are there due to high population and to reach even short distances takes an endless time. The women felt that in India, the favourite past time is to sleep on weekends if they are off from work. Although it is a complex study to make a comparison between American and Indian IT organizations yet women felt that the salary structures and work environment between the two countries was very different and the American organizations were preferable.

 

Further there were product companies and service IT companies. The product companies paid higher than those the service oriented companies but the salary in both types of companies was higher than in India.  They joined product based or service based IT industry. They worked as engineers or later branched out as managers and in both type of roles they felt they had a better chance to work in USA rather than in India from the point of view of remuneration.

 

The women working in the IT sector had many opportunities after they shifted to USA. Most of them were from middle class families in India. They could have not think of purchasing a house and having luxury cars at a young age. However in the IT industry in USA, they worked hard and had the educational qualifications to get good jobs. They were able to save and purchase beautiful homes in USA. The financial security was high and women were highly independent. There was no comparison with Indian conditions where they would not have been able to reach this level of financial security. The starting salary for a fresher of an IT engineer in India would be 4 to 6 Lakhs per annum whereas in USA it was $ 40,000 to $60,000 per annum.

 

Due to financial security, the Indian women Diaspora has been able to send remittances to its family in India and this has given them a great satisfaction and the reason to be in USA. Many women stated that it was indeed a boon for them to be in USA. Their families would have never accepted their contribution to the household whereas being independent and earning well in USA has given them this chance of giving luxuries to their families. All the 100 women under this sample study have either sent monthly amounts to their families or sent air tickets so that their family could visit them or provided their family home with items beyond the income capacity of their family.

 

Section III : Indian Women Diaspora and Marital Status:

Out of 100 respondents 40 respondents were married, 15 were separated / divorced and 45 were single. This distinction of marital status of women was important to understand similarities or differences in their perceptions.

 

Amongst the 40 married women, 15 women had married for a second time after divorce from the first one. They were well adjusted in their second marriage. These women explicitly said that this chance they would not have got in India as people in India were too conservative and men did not favour getting married to divorced women. Out of the 15 remarried women, 7 of them had married known Indians and 8 married foreigners be it American or European. Those who were separated or divorced lived like single women but some of them were open to finding a life partner again. They had not closed their options. The single women were in their thirties and they had delayed getting married as they were busy in their career. 12 women in the sample who had come as students made friends with other Indians and got married. These women did not marry within their community but a Punjabi woman for instance found a Gujarati man or a person from Kerala married a Punjabi woman. The very thought that they were Indians was sufficient for them to acquire the marital status. This would have created some problems if they were in India as families in India prefer a Punjabi woman marrying a Punjabi man and not a South Indian. However as they were far away from home there were less restrictions and less choice of finding an Indian partner. Women found a comfort zone with Indian men even though they were not from their community as it was better than marrying Europeans or Americans which had different cultural and social habits. The men and women from Europe or America were good people but the thought of living together was not comfortable for everybody. This could not be said for all the women as there was a preference by some Indian women for foreigner men.

 

The women in US often delayed having children and programmed them in a way that it would not disturb their career. Postponing of marriage and family life with children was quite common.

 

The choice of life partner and the freedom to live with full rights of a woman was high compared to Indian situation. This itself was a big motivator to continue to live in USA.

 

Section IV: Indian Family Diaspora Living Style:

There were different styles of life of women. Out of the 100 respondents, 55 women lived in clusters where Indian families lived in California. They felt that living in the close proximity of other Indians their culture, festivals and common problems would be similar and they would be more comfortable. Such women lived the Indian family way. They celebrated Indian festivals like Diwali, Holi, Janmastami etc together. They wore heavy Indian clothes and celebrated weddings in the Indian way. They loved India and wanted to come every year back home and show off to their friends and relations that they were well off. Although they pined for India when they came they realized that they could not live in India permanently. They felt displaced as the culture and home environment was quite different. They made comparisons that the town in USA was very clean and developed. However, home services such as housekeepers, were better in India than in USA where they had to do all the work themselves.

 

Some Indian women who were brought up in upper middle class families and in large towns did want to come back after they got their American citizenship as household help was much better in India. They wanted to live in India for a few years and go back and retire in USA as retirement benefits were better there compared to India. They wanted to get the best of both worlds but not all families succeeded in getting such benefits. They either continued to stay in USA or decided to come back for good to India. Many families tried to reconstruct their life in India but could not adjust and went back to USA.

   

Indian Women and USA Life:

Although Indian women did come to India quite often yet after they had stayed in USA for at least 10 years, their family ties in India became weak. Some women got their parents to shift to USA. Children of Indian origin where at least one parent was Indian born in USA were typical Americans and spoke in English the way Americans do and did not have the same bonding as their parents for their Indian relatives. They enjoyed American food, dress, education system and habits and were nowhere the same as their Indian counterparts. They never wanted to come back to India although they were of Indian origin. Some Indian women felt displaced when their children were young but changed and adapted themselves completely when their children grew up as there was no chance of return for them. Their children were Americans and life revolved around bringing them up. Since, the children had the socialization process in USA and would not like to go back the families continued to stay in USA. They had dreamt of USA and now it had become a reality. 

 

The Indian Diaspora women in IT sector felt that they had lot of independence in matters of travel, choice of clothes and food. In India, they were afraid of travelling alone as many people around them made uncomfortable passes at them. They had the choice of dressing the way they wanted to whereas in India they had to wear clothes according to suit the choice of their families. Neighbours also intruded their privacy whereas in USA there was no intrusion to their personal life. These were the positive aspects but the negative aspects were that they had a lot of domestic chores as there was no help to do the household work. They often felt tired trying to complete their chores. Even after getting help in India the Indian women still preferred to live the American dream and as they found it more comfortable there. There were no day to day discomforts like power cuts or problems in heating, air conditioning or in catching trains.

 

CONCLUSION:

·      The Indian women Diaspora left India post marriage or to study for a post graduation degree as they felt that IT engineering education was better in USA.

·      They joined the IT industry as engineers or matured as managers and in both type of roles they had work satisfaction in USA especially from the point of view of remuneration.

·      Women felt that they had a choice of selecting their life partner and getting married in USA whether they married an Indian or a foreigner. Divorced women felt that there was no stigma attached to a second marriage or a third marriage in USA and in this respect this choice was not possible in India.

·      A lot of women in IT industry lived in a close proximity of other Indians and they celebrated the Indian festivals like Diwali, Holi etc. This reminded them of India and culturally they felt part of the same community.

·      Women felt that conveniences in USA were high but there were no household services and such services were better in India.

·      Many Indian families wanted to come back to India but could not adjust when they came back and after a temporary stop at the home country they left again for USA.

·      The women felt that in USA they had a luxurious life as they could afford luxuries like a good car and house at a young age which was not possible in India.

·      Women planned their life and postponed marriage and having children for their career prospects.

·      Although India was the homeland and was very attractive because parents and families brought about bonds of childhood yet the new abode in USA became home because the next generation had become part of USA and did not have any linking or bonding with India except lineage

 

REFERENCES

1.     Kurian, George, Srivastava, Ram P. (1983), Overseas Indians. A Study in Adaptation, Vikas, New Delhi.

2.     O.P. Dwivedi (2011), Literature of the Indian Diaspora, Transnational Literature Vol. 4 no. 2. (Archived at Flinders University).

3.     Dr.M.K.Gautam(2013), Indian Diaspora: Ethnicity and Diasporic Identity, Carim India – Developing a Knowledge Base For   Policymaking on India-Eu Migration, Co-Financed by the European Union Indian, CARIM-India Research Report 2013/29.

4.     Kelkar, G. and D. Nathan, Gender Relations and Technological Change in Asia‟, Current Sociology, 50(3), 2002, 427- 441.

5.     Jadine Lannon (2013), Research Initiative: Women in India's IT Industry, The Centre for Internet and Security (http://cis-india.org/internet-governance/blog/women-in-indias-it-industry).

6.     Asmita Bhattacharyya, Dr. Bhola Nath Ghosh (2013), Women in Indian Information Technology (IT) sector: a Sociolog-ical Analysis, IOSR Journal Of Humanities And Social Science (JHSS). Volume 3, Issue 6 (Nov. - Dec. 2012), PP 45-52

 

 

 

Received on 29.06.2016               Modified on 11.07.2016

Accepted on 15.07.2016                © A&V Publication all right reserved

Asian J. Management. 2016; 7(3): 164-168.

DOI: 10.5958/2321-5763.2016.00025.1