Do Women in Tech Matter? Part 2

Two years ago, I wrote a blog entitled ‘Do women in tech matter?’. I challenged the massive gender disparity in tech. Two years on, as International Women’s day arrives again, the sad state of affairs is that nothing has changed.

Nada, zip, zilch.

Everyone is talking the talk, but not many walk the walk. So what is it about the tech industry, above almost all others, that is so against making any tangible change?

I’ve been following the research, here are some recent stats that have lodged themselves in my memory:

? In the tech industry, the quit rate is more than twice as high for women (41%) than it is for men (17%).

? Women receive lower salary offers than men for the same job at the same company 63% of the time.

? After peaking at 36% in 1991, the number of women in computing roles has been in steady decline. (Stats according to NCWIT).

Women in the Hiring Line

In a recent experiment, 5000 applicants were presented to a group of employers. They were presented once with identifying data and once without.

When it was impossible to tell if the candidate was a man or a woman, women landed 54% of interviews.

But, when it was possible to identify women, that number fell drastically to just 5%.

That’s not just an unconscious bias, that’s systematic discrimination!

According to this study, if 100 people apply for a tech job and half are male and half are female, 95 men would get an interview compared with only five women.

Imagine those five women get an interview, ace it and land the job… What happens next?

Women in the Workplace

Despite the earthquake caused by the #metoo movement, tech is STILL lagging behind in holding companies accountable for discrimination.

78% of female founders in tech say that they have been harassed or they know another woman who has been (according to Inc.com).

Story after story hits the headlines and nothing changes. Big companies are more concerned about the bad PR than they are about the women who are the victim.

The fact is we need to get more women into tech, produce more role models and normalise their presence and expertise. The question is how do we achieve this?

How to Get More Women into Tech

Quotas have been suggested as a way of tackling this, and in 2018 California introduced mandatory new legislation that publicly traded corporations headquartered in California must include at least one woman on their board of directors by the end of 2019.

This is a positive step - where Silicon Valley leads, the tech world follows. 

I’m always optimistic, it’s just my disposition. But back in 2003, Norway introduced a law that 40% of board seats must be held by women.

When they introduced the law, only 9% of board seats were held by women. Post-legislation it sits at a much healthier 44.2% which is fantastic news!

There are now more women at board level, but what’s the bigger picture? Well, it’s 16 years later and in Norway, only 7% of companies have a female CEO.

Many think that to affect meaningful change we need quotas introduced for every single level of business. I’m still hopeful that having more women on boards will lead to a culture shift.

We can’t be naive though. These things don’t just happen. So what CAN we do to make sure we get more women into tech?

Proven Solutions

Blind applications and code tests have proven themselves effective ways to reduce discrimination when hiring. Yet, in tech, there are a lack of female applicants coming forward for these jobs.

What is required is a ground-up culture change.

There are movements focused on bringing women into the tech world and keeping them there. ‘Girls who Code’ run a number of programs and initiatives aimed at teaching girls to code and improving inclusivity. Following success in the US, they’ve branched out to the UK as well. Sky run a program called women in tech which consists of a free course, covering coding and theories like agile delivery and object-oriented programming.

I founded a learning technologies business. If there is one thing that has the power to bring about real change, it’s education.

What’s Next?

We need more programs that reach out to girls and women interested in tech. We need more female tech leaders that are willing to be a role model. Young girls need to know that there is a place for them in the tech world.

I know there are girls out there analysing their Instagram accounts and formatting their blog whose skills and interests could be developed into a fulfilling career.

Tech has taken off in the UK. Businesses are desperate for more tech employees. Almost 60% of CEOs in the UK claim to have difficulty hiring people with digital skills, a number that significantly exceeds the 43% of CEOs who claimed the same in the US and the 24% of CEOs in China. It makes no sense to have half the population turn away from a fulfilling career (according to Tech Native).

That would be detrimental for everyone.

Whether it’s tech companies taking the initiative, role models stepping up, or the government intervention in schools, time is of the essence!

We need to wake up and break down those barriers to make tech a great place to be for everyone so we can all achieve more together!

So I’m setting out a challenge to all women working in tech now - how are you going to affect change? Once again it’s women doing it for ourselves, so what would you have wanted when you were considering starting out your career in tech?

Answer that question, put yourself out there, and join me in beating a path for the next generation of awesome female tech leaders.