Author: Bhawna Rawat, Program Officer, Protsahan India Foundation

India’s digital divide is not just about internet access—it is deeply gendered. While young men are encouraged to explore technology, young women often face barriers due to limited resources, lack of role models, and cultural restrictions. AI is often seen as a high-tech tool used in big companies, but its impact is much closer to home than we realize. For young women from historically marginalized communities, AI and digital skills are not just about jobs—they are about survival, independence, and breaking the cycle of poverty.

Protsahan India Foundation, in collaboration with Ciphermetric Consulting, has been training young women aged 16 to 25 years, many of whom have migrated from Jharkhand, Bihar, and Uttar Pradesh. These first-generation learners recently completed a short-term web development program designed to equip them with digital skills, enabling them to access new career opportunities and achieve financial independence.

At Protsahan, partnerships with CSR leaders like Mule Dreamin, Google, EY, and Salesforce have not only introduced young girls to cyber safety, career pathways, and the role of women in STEM but have also reshaped their relationship with technology. These mentoring sessions go beyond skill-building—they serve as a gateway to breaking generational cycles of poverty and equipping young women with the confidence to navigate the digital world. But often what goes unnoticed is the power of volunteering in shaping these transformations. When corporate volunteers step in as mentors, they do more than impart knowledge—they open doors. The relationships built during these sessions often lead to internships, job opportunities, and long-term mentorship, offering young women access to spaces they might never have imagined for themselves.

Volunteering isn’t just about giving back, it creates a ripple effect. It bridges the gap between corporates and communities, building networks that extend far beyond a single session.  These connections redefine opportunity, proving that access and guidance can change futures

According to a 2024 Forbes article, women make up 29% of the AI workforce globally.  In India, women constitute 34% of the IT workforce. Learning AI and web development is not just about securing jobs—it’s about having the skills to work remotely, freelance, or even start their own businesses. For many, mobility restrictions often limit access to employment, but digital skills offer a way to overcome these barriers.

At Protsahan, education is not just about literacy. It’s a shield against vulnerabilities like early marriage, child labor, financial dependence, and the deep-rooted adversities of caste-based discrimination, gender-based violence, migration, and displacement. India striving for Viksit Bharat, where Digital India is shaping futures, access to technology isn’t a privilege—it’s a necessity. In a world where WiFi is stronger than patriarchy, a smartphone in a girl’s hands isn’t just a device,  it’s a classroom, a job portal, a safety net, and a loudspeaker for her dreams.  True Atamnirbharta isn’t just about a nation’s GDP or technological advancements—it’s about ensuring that no girl is left behind.

Migration is more than just a change of address—it’s the loss of stability, severed connections, and the daunting task of rebuilding life from scratch. For adolescent girls in migrant families, it’s not just about missing school; it’s about being erased from the system entirely.  But digital skills can change that. Digital skills aren’t a charity. It’s a fundamental right. A seat at the table. A voice in the conversation. A path toward a future that isn’t dictated by displacement.

Protsahan’s trauma-informed approach ensures that young women receive not only technical education but also the confidence and resilience to navigate a world that often excludes them. But for most girls, the internet had always felt like an unknown space—something meant for “professionals in big cities”, not for women from working-class neighborhoods.

Here, at Protsahan, something has shifted.  Not in reports, but in real lives. On the ground we see it, girls who once fought for education now face even deeper struggles in housing, sanitation,and opportunities. The world may have moved on, but inequality hasn’t. The barriers are bigger, but so is their ambition. For many young women in last-mile communities, resilience isn’t a choice—it’s survival. They navigate unsafe streets to reach schools, take on caregiving roles at home, and push past social norms that tell them where they belong. Yet, when given the right tools, they don’t just change their own futures but uplift their families and communities. Learning AI-driven web development was one such tool. It wasn’t just about acquiring a skill—it was about breaking stereotypes and reclaiming agency over their futures.

Our champions gained hands-on experience in understanding domain names and servers, setting up websites with AI-powered WordPress tools, managing digital platforms without coding knowledge, and offering professional digital services. A key partner in this journey was Ciphermetric Consulting, whose expertise ensured the curriculum was practical and industry-aligned. Their team provided technical workshops and hands-on guidance, helping the girls not just learn, but apply their knowledge in meaningful ways. The impact was clear, these young women didn’t just learn, they built and they created.

This isn’t just about charity—it’s about access. It’s about ensuring that talent isn’t wasted simply because of where a girl is born. At Protsahan, we’re not just witnessing this change—we’re part of it. And if there’s one thing we’ve learned in the last fifteen years is when you invest in young women, you don’t just break cycles of poverty—you reshape the communities.

Shalini (name changed), 19, hesitated to even touch a laptop on her first day. “Mujhe laga ye sirf bade logon ke kaam aata hai.” (“I thought this was only for important people, not someone like me.”) she confessed, her eyes filled with doubt. But by Day 3, everything had changed. She wasn’t just typing—she was creating. From drafting documents on Google Docs to designing her own website, skills she once thought were out of reach were now right at her fingertips.

Then there’s Pushpa (name changed), 21, always curious about digital marketing but held back by a lack of resources. That changed the moment she attended our session on client acquisition. “Humein ye sikhaya gaya ki sirf website banana nahi, balki usko bechna bhi aana chahiye,” (“We were taught that it’s not just about building a website, but also about knowing how to sell it.“) she shared. And now? She’s pitching her skills to local businesses, turning knowledge into income, and stepping into a world where she sets her own value—on her own terms.

When young women from vulnerable communities learn to leverage technology, they bring unique lenses that are often missing from mainstream tech development. They ask questions about accessibility, representation, and inclusivity. They build digital solutions that serve their communities, proving that technology is not neutral—it is shaped by those who create it and also consume it.

What’s Next?

The success of this partnership has been life-changing for our champions, however, the digital divide remains a harsh reality for millions like them. Bridging this gap requires more than interventions, it demands sustained investment in digital literacy centers within communities—safe, familiar spaces where girls can learn without the fear of judgment or harassment.

Government (sarkaar) and CSR (bazaar) initiatives have made commendable efforts to strengthen digital skills, but there remains a need for deeper engagement with the most vulnerable groups. Often, due to limited awareness and accessibility, these opportunities do not reach the communities that need them the most. That’s where NGOs come into the picture (samaaj).

Many girls navigate the risks of gender-based violence, child labor, and early marriage. For them, trauma-informed digital education is not just important—it is essential. For many, this course was also about healing from systematic barriers that had kept them away from these opportunities. Girls who grew up watching their brothers use laptops but never saw themselves in that space now see the possibility. Deepa shared, “Main roz dekhti thi bhai laptop pe kaam karta hai, par kabhi socha nahi tha ki yeh mere liye bhi ho sakta hai.” (“I used to see my brother working on a laptop every day, but I never thought this could be for me too.”)

Today, she has built her first website and dreams of becoming a freelance designer. But her journey wasn’t just about learning—it was about unlearning the idea that tech is not for girls like her.

This is the shift we need—where girls don’t just learn technology but own it, earn from it, and redefine what work looks like for them.

Beyond infrastructure and access, challenging the social norms that keep girls away from technology is critical. We cannot just teach girls-we must engage families and communities to shift mindsets about women’s role in the digital world.  We must make efforts that emphasize why girls’ access to technology is not just important but non-negotiable.

Imagine a future where girls in slum communities don’t just consume technology—they create it. Where they don’t just scroll but code, build, design, and earn. Where digital tools aren’t just a means of entertainment but a pathway to independence, breaking cycles of exclusion with every click.

As Sophia (name changed), one of our champions, put it, “Aaj se pehle main sirf social media chalati thi. Aaj maine ek website banayi hai. Kal shayad main apna business bhi chalu kar sakun.” (“Until today, I only used social media. Today, I built a website. Maybe tomorrow, I’ll start my own business.“)

This isn’t just about access—it’s about agency. It’s about young women rewriting their futures, one line of code, one design, one digital leap at a time.

That future isn’t a distant dream, it is already taking shape, one girl, one website, one digital breakthrough at a time.  But let’s be real. The real glitch isn’t just technology-it’s the gendered gatekeeping that decides who gets to create, who gets to innovate, who gets to even dream. These barriers aren’t just algorithms, they are deep seated biases, systemic exclusion, the everyday “this isn’t for you” that wears them down.

Let’s fix that bug, not with empty slogans or performative gestures of inclusion, but with real shifts- sammaj-sarkar partnerships that don’t just open doors but rewrite code of who gets to walk through  them.