The amount of women in the tech space are few and far between and it is the responsibility of the industry to prove that there is indeed a place for them. Clare Hickie, Chief Technical Officer for EMEA at Workday, explains how the technology industry can implement more effective DE&I strategies that drive real progress to close the gap.
Diversity in the workplace has improved in the past decade, with female representation largely on a forward trajectory. However, women have undoubtedly faced challenges in the workplace including glass ceilings and even glass cliffs. But, as progress is made towards Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DE&I) goals and more employees from Generation-X enter the workforce, many are shining a light for the next generation of women in tech to follow.
There are reasons to be encouraged about the future of women in the industry. A study by McKinsey in 2020 found that companies in the top quartile for gender diversity on executive teams were 25% more likely to have above-average profitability than companies in the fourth quartile.
Anecdotally, many female leaders talk about having had to work twice as hard as their male counterparts just to get on a level playing field. I know from personal experience not only how dedicated women are, but how committed we are to achieving success.
Progress slowed by the pandemic
According to Deloitte, in 2022 the tech industry will close the gender pay gap by 2% on 2019’s figure, reaching 33% of female representation in the workforce by 2023. Even though this figure may seem low, it represents a significant stride forward when you take into consideration that the pandemic seriously damaged female employment rates.
The Office of National Statistics (ONS) in the UK cites that 232,000 fewer women were employed in October–December 2020 compared with January–March 2020, representing a fall of 1.5%. The pandemic affected the workplace on an unprecedented scale and, for one reason or another, women felt the full force of it. That said, the tech industry was better equipped than most when it came to being able to work from home. As a result, many large organisations managed to keep female representation on a forward trajectory.
Diversity progress in tech
Diversity progress in tech is evidenced by many of the big tech players, including Apple Meta and Tesla, taking steps to balance diversity by publishing their annual progress against DE&I goals.
However, we know that the major tech companies have more funding, resources and an extensive recruitment team compared to most organisations, helping them to boost female representation. Unfortunately, this leaves many smaller companies behind, particularly in the aftermath of the pandemic.
On the surface, it looks like gender imbalance in the workplace is levelling out in tech and that women are being represented fairly. But, when you delve deeper into the statistics, there’s still considerable work to be done. According to Deloitte, women comprise just 25% of the workforce in large tech companies, equating to 1 in 4 employees.
The facts show that there still isn’t gender parity. The large corporations are making headway, but it begs the question – what more can they do?
Solving the issue
The most obvious way to make progress is to first and foremost ensure that the industry is more attractive and appealing for women. This means going beyond leaving out gender in application forms and implementing blind CVs – both effective ways of limiting bias – and altering the language companies use in job descriptions to attract female talent.
A survey conducted prior to the pandemic from Women in Tech showed that nearly 50% of women said benefits such as working from home, flexibility, opportunities to grow, training and salary would make a job description stand out to them. A third of women said a company’s culture, how diverse they are and examples of equality would entice them to a role. Working from home was a constant theme throughout.
The next generation of female leaders
Crucially, there needs to be more successful women in leadership roles for young women to aspire to. According to Mckinsey, only 19% of women hold leadership roles in the industry, with 15% being CEOs. This is often cited as a reason why many young women choose not to go into tech.
It’s easy to name male role models such as Elon Musk, Mark Zuckerberg, Steve Jobs or Bill Gates. Female role models in business, on the other hand, don’t seem to roll off the tongue as quick. However, this is changing thanks to the likes of Gwynne Shotwell, President and COO of SpaceX, and Susan Wojcicki, CEO of YouTube. These women are paving the way for the next generation of aspiring women in the industry.
The current generation of women in tech could move the needle on female representation and be the catalyst that inspires young girls. But they can’t do it alone, there needs to be major changes in education systems around the world to encourage women into Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) subjects. If there is to be a ‘next generation’, job attractiveness, opportunities and potential to grow need to be ingrained at an early age so that young girls can truly believe the sky’s the limit.
Reasons to remain positive
The representation of women – not only in tech, but in leadership roles – may not have progressed as fast as hoped but there is optimism for brighter days ahead. Events such as Women’s Voice, International Women’s Day, Women in Tech Week and Woman of the Year celebrate the outstanding contributions women make. Events like these present a chance for aspiring young girls to see role models and what possibilities are available in the future.