Women in Tech - Challenging the status quo

Technology is one of the most influential and powerful sectors in today's world. It shapes our lives, our economy, our society, and our future. However, technology also suffers from a glaring gender gap that limits its potential and impact. Women are underrepresented in tech fields, especially in leadership positions, engineering roles and start-ups.

I know we have just celebrated International Women’s Day a week ago, and there were thousands of messages celebrating the role of women and appreciating their contribution. However, I am someone that goes by numbers.

Here are some shocking global statistics for you, which show how well we have performed, as a society to ensure an equitable opportunity for all.

Looking at these statistics, you may have a counter opinion that “Women cannot take the same level of strain or stress, as a man” or “Women have a lot of responsibilities to manage, besides work”. In my 21 years of experience, I have not faced these situations with the women in my team. On the other hand, I would prefer to hire women over men. Why? Because they are more structured, they have better ideas, and most importantly, they bring about a balance and calm to the team, which is so important in today’s crazy world.

Yet today, women face significant barriers to advancement in tech careers, such as lack of mentorship, sponsorship, role models, networking opportunities and recognition. Women also experience higher rates of discrimination, harassment, bias, and burnout than men.

The underrepresentation and underutilization of women in tech deprives the sector of a valuable source of talent, creativity, and diversity. Research has shown that diverse teams perform better than homogeneous ones on various measures such as problem-solving, decision-making, innovation and profitability. Diversity also fosters a culture of inclusion, collaboration and respect that benefits both employees and customers. Furthermore, having more women in tech can help address some of the social issues that technology can create or exacerbate such as digital divide, cybersecurity threats, ethical dilemmas, bias and inequality.

I am proud to say, we have some good role models in the Middle East

·???????? Ambareen Musa : The Founder and CEO of Souqalmal.com, an insurtech company that provides comparison services for insurance, banking and education products in the Middle East.

·???????? Nadine Mezher : The Co-founder and CMO of Sarwa, a robo-advisory platform that offers low-cost investment solutions for young professionals in the Middle East.

·???????? Lara Noujaim : The COO of Game Cooks, a game development studio based in Lebanon that creates mobile games with social impact themes such as refugees and war.

·???????? Rana el Kaliouby, Ph.D. : The Co-founder and CEO of Affectiva, an artificial intelligence company that analyzes human emotions from facial expressions and voice tones.

·???????? Leila Serhan : The General Manager of Microsoft UAE, where she leads the company’s digital transformation strategy and cloud adoption initiatives.

·???????? Maha Abouelenein : The Founder and CEO of Organizational Consultants, a strategic communications firm that advises tech giants such as Google, Netflix and Spotify on their regional presence.

·???????? Mona A. : The Founder and CEO of Mumzworld.com, an e-commerce platform that offers products and services for mothers and children in the Middle East.

·???????? Dana Salameh : Chief Transformation Officer of Energi Lab, a company that focusses on producing memorable learning experiences designed to address the skills, abilities and mindsets needed to dramatically change the way people think.

Our benevolent leaders in the UAE have shown us that they trust women in the highest positions as well. I was reading an article about women in the UAE driving the space program - H E Sarah Al Amiri , Nora Al Matrooshi, Fatma Hussain Lootah, Muna AlMheiri and Fatma AlYammahi, which is a testament that nothing is impossible.

These are just a few of the many women and there are a lot more (apologies for not adding more) who have changed the tech world with their brilliance, creativity, and courage.

In my opinion, women can bring different perspectives, experiences, values and skills to design, develop and deploy technology solutions that are more accessible, equitable, responsible and humancentric.

One example of how women are making a positive difference in tech is LinkedIn's Women Connect program. This initiative aims to empower women professionals in tech by providing them with mentorship, training, networking, and career opportunities. The program also celebrates the achievements and contributions of women leaders and role models in tech through events, podcasts, blogs and awards. LinkedIn's Women Connect program has helped increase the representation and retention of women in tech roles within the company by 30% since its launch in 2018. It has also created a community and a culture of support, inspiration and empowerment for women across the tech industry. Programs like LinkedIn's Women Connect are examples of how companies can take action to promote diversity and inclusion in their own organizations as well as across the sector.

We should also celebrate the achievements of women a lot more than we do today. Forbes has released the list of the 100 Most Powerful Businesswomen 2023 in the Middle East . Their achievements are so inspiring. Women have proven time and again that they have what it takes to succeed in any field they choose; Tech should be no exception. Let’s make it our responsibility to give women a fair chance and opportunity.

I promise you – you will not regret it.

References:

[1] https://www.womenintech.co.uk/women-in-tech-top-10-latest-statistics

[2] https://techjury.net/blog/women-in-technology-statistics/

[3] https://builtin.com/women-tech/women-in-tech-workplace-statistics

[4] https://www.womentech.net/en-us/women-technology-statistics

[5] https://www2.deloitte.com/us/en/insights/industry/technology/technology-media-and-telecom-predictions/2022/statistics-show-women-in-technology-are-facing-new-headwinds.html

[6] https://www.mckinsey.com/industries/technology-media-and-telecommunications/our-insights/repairing-the-broken-rung-on-the-career-ladder-for-women-in-technical-roles

[7] https://engineering.linkedin.com/blog/2020/linkedin-women-connect--empowering-women-to