Published April 24, 2025
By : Staff Writer
In February 2025, the National Association of Software and Service Companies, a key entity within the Indian technology sector, held its Technology and Leadership Forum.
The event brought together industry leaders, innovators, and visionaries to converge and explore cutting-edge advancements—from AI and cybersecurity to quantum computing and data privacy.
Under the theme “Tech-Driven, Human-Centered,” the forum examined how these technologies can drive business transformation while enhancing human lives and addressing the ethical challenges of the digital age.
Artificial intelligence, data analytics, cybersecurity, and digital marketing are just a few of the science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) fields shaped by Information and Communication Technology (ICT).
Knowledge, education, and skills are the currency of future creators, innovators, and changemakers in ICT.
The fourth Thursday of April is the International Day of Girls in ICT annually.
According to Kumar Anurag Pratap, vice president of corporate social responsibility at Capgemini Technology Services India, inspiring stories are emerging of girls building mobile apps to solve local problems, learning to code in school-based labs, and exploring careers once considered out of reach.
Pratap said that as the digital economy expands and reshapes industries, it holds immense potential for everyone. However, girls, particularly those from marginalized communities, still face barriers to accessing ICT-related education and pursuing relevant careers.
Reports indicate that women and young girls have less access to mobile phones and the internet. Consequently, fewer girls enroll in computer science and related courses, and even fewer complete them.
Capgemini partners with companies to transform and manage their business by unlocking the value of technology.
Tech4Development is creating work for Africans. On Thursday, they announced the launch of the Women Techsters Initiative—a holistic program designed to equip girls and women across Africa with the digital, soft, and leadership skills they need to succeed in the tech ecosystem.
Two weeks ago, Tech4Dev welcomed the next generation of African tech leaders to Women Techsters Bootcamp Cohort 4.0. Over 2,000 women from 30 African countries embarked on this transformative learning journey!
Year-round, WOC Online celebrates incredible achievements everywhere as we raise awareness of outstanding individuals you have probably never heard about.
The 30th anniversary of the WOC STEM Conference in October 2025 will mark an exciting milestone as we reflect on three decades of inspiring stories.
WOC STEM award winners bring invaluable insights into the dynamic world of disruptive technologies and innovative strategies that are revolutionizing our future.
We proudly honor past honorees and new leaders highlighted in WOC Magazine, showcasing the remarkable rising stars in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM).
Dr. Asha Goyal was named Technologist of the Year at the 2004 WOC STEM Conference. Months after signing on to lead the Quality team at IBM's Global Services India in 1999, the software designer propelled her division to become the first IBM unit to achieve recognition as a Software Engineering Institute Capability Maturity Model Level 5 organization.
The institute developed the metric to assess the performance of organizations developing complex commercial software. The fifth level of the Capability Maturity Model is the highest rating.
Dr. Goyal's team also won a Level 5 rating under the People Capability Maturity Model. Continuing that winning trend pushed it onto a Level 5 rating under the more involved Capability Maturity Model integrated standard.
Dr. Goyal, a Six Sigma Blackbelt in quality control, also led the team to reach that standard. Asha was attacked by polio at age two, but she refused to be prevented from chasing her goals.
Seeing no obstacles, she rolled through elementary and secondary school. She enrolled at the Indian Institute of Technology at Roorkee, where she became the highest-scoring female student on the engineering entrance examination.
Getting around campus had its share of problems, and athletic activities might have seemed out of the question. But she persevered, finishing with a “Best Student Gold Medal” and a bachelor's degree in electronics.
“If you can't do something, at least you can enjoy seeing others do it,” she said. “Just like someone who can't sing can at least enjoy others singing well.”
That can-do attitude manifested in graduate school at the Indian Institute of Technology at Kanpur, where she pursued a master's degree in electrical engineering and then a PhD. in computer science.
Faced with the need to learn to swim, she took classes and mastered three strokes in 15 days, becoming skilled at diving too. Dr. Goyal was so good that she became an instructor, teaching others her techniques.
Campus mobility still presented challenges, so Dr. Goyal, undaunted, set out to develop her wheeled transport, trying a bicycle, rickshaws, contraptions made out of hospital equipment, and finally, a moped she called Luna.
Adding an extra wheel for mobility, the young Doctor-to-Be Goyal raced around campus, switching to “cycle mode” and dragging the car to her destination if engine trouble shut it down en route.
Two mechanics constantly on call for emergencies fashioned a “knife-like” spark plug cleaner and an adapter that let her use campus compressors to inflate the tires.
Later, she discovered automatic transmissions in America and fell in love with cars. Unable to take an American car to England on assignment, she hunted up an older transmission from a Morris Mini and had it shipped to India for installation in one of the readily available Fiats.
Corporate assignments took Dr. Goyal to many countries, and she has vacationed in many others. Eighteen, all told.
She's gone up the Swiss Alps by cable car and ridden the rides at Disneyland. She was a senior consultant at Tata Consultancy from 1971 to 1994.
She quickly established herself as a leader and innovator in software development for the Indian domestic and export markets. Among other projects, she led an initiative to design and build a countrywide counterpart to the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation's Criminal Information Center, the first in India.
In 1994, she moved to Fujitsu ICIM India. Over two and a half years, she set up a development facility at Software Technology Park in Noida, India.
She also led software experts for the healthcare line of the business. She engineered a legacy of healthcare information systems with a graphical user interface.
From April 1994 to October 1996, she led a team servicing large healthcare clients in the U.K., New Zealand, and Australia. In October 1996, Dr. Goyal joined HCL Perot Systems as executive vice president for software development, continuing her rigorous drive to create the best possible software for clients.
In 1999, she joined IBM. She became active with the Institute of Informatics and Communication, Delhi University, and a Fellow of the Institute of Electronics and Telecom Engineers, an organization awarding government-recognized engineering degrees and taking up educational activities in technical areas.
Goyal retired as vice president of quality from IBM Global Services India in 2006.
“I would like to share a quotation,” Dr. Goyal told Women of Color magazine in 2007. “It's part of a Sanskrit shloka (a Hindu prayer) from the Gita: 'Karmanyeva dhikaraste, ma faleshu kadachanam.' This means we have a right to our work and duty, but do not have a total claim on the results and achievements.”
Dr. Goyal has served as president of the Lioness Club in Roshni. Her specialties are CMMI, PCMM, and Process Models. Roshni works alongside the International Association of Lions Clubs and is a part of the Lioness Club India in social work and charity.
Before this, she was vice president for quality at Nucleus Software Exports Ltd. between 2007 and 2010 and served the software company in its international banking products.
Happy International Girls in ICT Day 2025!
— Tech4Dev (@Tech4DevHQ) April 24, 2025
This year’s theme, “Girls in ICT for Inclusive Digital Transformation,” is a call to action—and at Tech4Dev, it’s a mission we live out every day.
In a world where digital skills are no longer optional, inclusion isn't just ideal—it's… pic.twitter.com/QIGeiXZEjd
