Established in 2008, Feminist Approach to Technology (FAT) has worked with girls and young women from socio-economically disadvantaged and marginalized communities in four states in India to build agency, collective leadership, and access to technology and STEM edcation. Since its inception, the organization has been guided by a fundamental question posed by our founder, Gayatri: What would it take for girls and young women from marginalized communities not only to access technology, but to shape it, question it, and lead through it?
The answers did not emerge from a strategic plan alone. They emerged through conversations, experiments, and collective learning with the girls and young women who participated in FAT's earliest workshops. Over the year, the participants' reflections, evaluations, and their experiences informed the curriculum, pedagogy, and organizational philosophy that continue to shape FAT today. In this sense, the organization was built not only for girls and young women, but with them.
Today, FAT has three interconnected programs, each responding to the intersecting realities of patriarchy, socio-economic marginalization, and unequal access to technology at different stages of girls' and young women's lives. Together, they form the FAT Model—a continuum of learning and leadership shaped by nearly two decades of practice and the experiences of participants themselves.
The organization's first major community-based program took shape in 2010 with the establishment of the Tech Center in Lajpat Nagar, New Delhi, following two years of community engagement and workshops that began soon after FAT was established. What started as a space for girls to learn computer and internet skills quickly evolved into a safe feminist space where conversations about technology became inseparable from discussions on rights, education, mobility, gender norms, violence, aspirations, and leadership. Through years of reflection and curriculum development, this work was formally launched as the Young Women's Leadership Program (YWLP) in 2015. Since then, more than 2000 girls and young women have participated in the program.
As participants expressed a growing interest in science and technology, FAT undertook research in 2013 to understand the barriers girls faced in STEM education. The findings led to the creation of Jugaad Labs in 2014, which later evolved into the Girls in STEM (GiSTEM) Program, creating hands-on learning spaces where girls build confidence in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics while challenging gender stereotypes.
As successive cohorts completed these programs, many returned as facilitators, mentors, and community organizers, demonstrating that leadership flourishes through long-term engagement rather than one-time interventions. Building on this learning, FAT evolved the Collectivization Initiative (CI) in April 2022, creating pathways for young women to organize, mentor, and lead within their own communities.