In rural conservative parts of Haryana and Rajasthan, women are increasingly being empowered by seeking and finding employment in various backoffice jobs such as data entry and research, thanks to various initiatives undertaken by the rural business process outsourcing industry.Teekli and Bagar, dusty hamlets in Gurgaon and Jhunjhunu, where most women are found in purdah and are not permitted to venture outside their homes are gradually witnessing a silent revolution through BPO that allow women to find jobs within the boundaries of the village and in turn become financially independent.
"Elderly males were initially hesitant about the idea as they believed women could not operate computers and also they were anxious about what society would think if women started to assert their rights after gaining employment," says Biplab Saha, who heads an all-women BPO in Rajasthan, 'Source for Change'.
Beginning its operations with 10 women in Bagar, Jhunjhunu, in September 2007, the BPO has met with considerable success with its total employees swelling to 45 full timers and 20 who work part time.
Meanwhile, in another village Teekli in Gurgaon another all women BPO HarVa set up in 2009 also faced difficulties in breaking the traditional patriarchal set-up of society.
"Relationship and confidence building was a challenge and but once the shackles were broken, the ride has been smooth since than," says Ajay Chaturvedi, an MBA who founded the venture.
About 200 women in Teekli were trained in English and computer skills for free and 30 women currently working at HarVa were selected from this pool. Both BPOs manage to rake in profits ranging from Rs 3,000 to Rs 8,000 per month.
"Some of the women who work here earn more than the men in their families. They now have a voice at the table and help run the family," says Saha.
Sonam, 19-year-old undergraduate from Islampur village in Rajasthan says, "I am the first woman from my village to have a job.
"My parents were against women from their families working in offices but I managed to convince them otherwise and told them that it was essential in this era of computers."
Following Sonam's example, five more girls from her village joined the BPO.
Biplab
Saha recalls an incident where one of his employees even turned down a marriage offer because she did not want to leave her job at the BPO.
Another woman Suman Devi employed at the BPO in Teekli says she is proud to be supplementing her driver husband's income at home.
"I can buy things that my children want and afford education for their good future," she says.
However, for Ajay Chaturvedi, equality and empowerment are just words used by different people according to their convenience.
"When starting HarVa I had in mind that since women in the rural areas were said to be better workers, more dedicated and efficient and have a community feeling in them, they could do a nine hours job in seven hours as they have lesser distractions," he says.
According to industry observers, access to loyal women employees is an important reason rural India makes sense for the BPO industry.
Not only are women equally adept at handling IT tasks, they have also proved to be more loyal employees, say industry experts.
"The already-low attrition rates can be brought down even further by employing women. They are less likely to move away to urban areas," says Shrot Katewa, who works with 'Source for Change' BPO.
Even though both the BPOs have gained enough clients they say they still face lack of faith from potential clients.
"Urban India's mistrust of rural India is a reality. Many urbanites still do not trust a high quality product to be delivered from a rural area," says Saha.
With state governments and industry supporting the cause for employment generation, the future village-level BPOs seems to be bright.
"Companies are seeking ways to even further reduce their costs. Rural BPOs present the ideal solution. The lower cost of operation and lower employee attrition rates are key factors of the rural BPO landscape," says Saha.
Chaturvedi says he believes the rural BPOs cannot be a stand alone industry but has to be an expansion of urban BPO to succeed in rural areas.
