Healing the digital gender divide: now is the time

A pandemic is a disease that has prevalence through an entire country, continent or the world over[1]. It is something that can irreversibly and permanently impair quality of life and life outcomes. This IWD, the parallel is clear: this external limitation is as true of gender inequality as it is of COVID-19.

Gender inequality is an ongoing worldwide ailment that also needs a full-population effort to get under control, ideally a lot sooner than the 99.5-year time frame estimated by the World Economic Forum’s Global Gender Gap Report 2020. And, as with our more usual considerations of ‘wellness’ – which isn’t simply the absence of disease, but is about active pursuit and deliberate choices, in exactly the same way – there must be the same level of intention and focus that we bring to healing gender inequality.

Globally, the COVID-19 pandemic is creating new inequalities as not everyone has equal access to health care or vaccines, which compounds the critical structural failures in employment, policymaking and infrastructure that disproportionately impact women. After all, we may be in the fourth industrial revolution, but we are still wrestling with challenges from preceding industrial revolutions.

For example, there was only a two per cent increase in women STEM graduates between 2006 (27%) and 2016 (29%). The 2020 Australia’s STEM Workforce Report[2] acknowledges that women in STEM have lower incomes than men, higher unemployment rates, and are underrepresented in both management and field roles. Coupled with a global shortfall of STEM workers, this is cause for concern that needs immediate, larger-scale attention. Business and government can create public-private partnerships to foster talented women, who can then be recruited and taught tech while encouraging new ways to work.

This is important because the number of women participating in digital and tech workforces is low, which leads to skills shortages in emerging areas such as cybersecurity[3]. According to the Tech’s woman problem: more than just a pipeline issue report from IT Professionals Australia, 45.2% of respondents believed that unconscious gender bias in workplace culture makes it difficult for women to be recruited into digital, tech and STEM roles, while 59% agreed that women must prove themselves in areas where it is assumed men are capable. In turn, women leave these positions because they are not viewed as viable career pathways.

You do not have to read too far into Measuring Australia’s Digital Divide: The Australian Digital Inclusion Index 2020[4] to see the gender gap still needs addressing. Women have lower levels of digital inclusion – a mix of access, affordability and digital ability – across every age category, which is challenging because of how much COVID-19 has underscored the crucial importance of digital inclusion. The report acknowledges a slight improvement in terms of digital ability, but “slight” is not fast enough to bridge the digital gender divide in a reasonable time frame. Digital and tech leaders must help drive change to provide greater diversity in these fields that will be more relevant tomorrow than they are today. And that change needed to start yesterday.

One of the underlying solutions is education. The pathway is clear whether we are teaching girls at primary school, encouraging young women at high school, empowering women in tertiary institutions, or developing skills via upskilling in the workplace. Women must be encouraged to keep questioning so we can normalise a diverse approach to innovation.

Refreshingly, Generation Zers believe in encouraging and uplifting underrepresented demographics, as well as calling out for more resources and assistance for women. But while this younger generation anticipates an organic rebalancing of gender roles as men play a larger role in domestic life, a more deliberate focus is needed to usher in change rather than wait for it to happen.

That’s the future, though, and today the realities of wage inequality as well as interrupted employment or limited employment opportunities mean that women have fewer financial resources than men. Retirement savings, for instance, are a full third lower on average for women.

Put simply, we need more women in leadership positions. To achieve this goal, a greater sense of urgency is required for inspiring women of all ages so we can accelerate towards distant equality goals and view them as deadlines to be bested and not merely met.

The COVID-19 pandemic has clearly demonstrated that coordinated and focused efforts of government and private sector leaders can change the entire operation of a society, overnight. Why should we now expect less for gender wellness?

#SheBelongs #IWD2021

The views expressed in this article are the views of the author, not Ernst & Young. This article provides general information, does not constitute advice and should not be relied on as such. Professional advice should be sought prior to any action being taken in reliance on any of the information. Liability limited by a scheme approved under Professional Standards Legislation.

[1] The Macquarie Dictionary

[2] “2020 Australia's STEM Workforce Report” | Chief Scientist | www.chiefscientist.gov.au/news-and-media/2020-australias-stem-workforce-report | accessed on 4 March 2021

[3] “Tech’s Woman Problem: More than just a pipeline issue” | IT Professionals Australia | Techs-woman-problem-more-than-just-a-supply-issue.pdf (professionalsaustralia.org.au) | accessed on 4 March 2021

[4] “Measuring Australia’s Digital Divide – The Australian Digital Inclusion Index 2020” | Australian Digital Inclusion Index | digitalinclusionindex.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/TLS_ADII_Report-2020_WebU.pdf | accessed on 4 March 2021