Women in Business and Tech

Earlier this year, I had the pleasure of attending Karen Brady's Women in Business and Tech event in London. Seeing so many female entrepreneurs and pioneers in the tech space was fantastic. However, there is still a huge gap between where we currently stand and what needs to happen for women to be treated equally in business and tech. We need more females at all levels of leadership if we're going to see real change within our industry. In this post, I want to share some stats that I learned about women in business and tech so that you can understand how important it is for us all to support these incredible women who are paving their way through the corporate jungle!

Women account for only 12% of the technical workforce and only 2% of CEOs.

Women are underrepresented in the tech industry.

• They account for only 12% of the technical workforce and only 2% of CEOs.
• According to research from Babson College, only 6% of venture capital deals go to female founders, despite women having founded over half of all new businesses in the U.S.

The number of women in tech is growing, but not fast enough

Women are underrepresented in tech, but that's not all.

Women make up only 12% of the technical workforce and only 2% of CEOs. The number of women in tech is growing, but not fast enough: In 2018, there were 972 female founders who raised $15 billion -- compared to 1,086 male founders who raised $58 billion.

Women face systemic barriers to entry and advancement in the workplace.

A woman's ability to succeed in the workplace is often hindered by systemic barriers. Women are less likely to be hired or promoted, more likely to be asked to do menial tasks, and less likely to receive opportunities for growth and leadership roles.

The lack of women in leadership positions can be attributed to a variety of factors including unconscious bias, conscious discrimination, hiring practices that favor male applicants over equally qualified female applicants, lack of role models within organizations, gender stereotypes about what constitutes "leadership" qualities (e.g., assertiveness); cultural norms around caregiving responsibilities that make it difficult for mothers (and fathers) who want both family-friendly jobs as well as careers with upward mobility

It was great meeting and hearing from a number of women in the tech space.

It was great meeting and hearing from a number of women in the tech space. What their day-to-day struggles are, and how women can support and enable other females in the space. It's clear that we have a lot to do as a society, but it was refreshing to see such enthusiasm for change within this group of individuals who are working hard every day to make sure that change happens.

It's essential for leaders to understand that a gender-biased workforce is only going to effect their company culture negatively

Leaders are often the ones who make the final decisions about hiring and promotion, so it's important that they understand the implications of their choices. If you have an all-male team, you're missing out on half of your potential talent pool--and that means you're likely operating at less than optimal levels of productivity and creativity as well--not just because there are fewer women working at your organization but also because those women can bring different perspectives and experiences than the men in power do (which could lead them to make better decisions).

We need to do more to support women succeeding in tech.

As a woman who works in the tech space, I know how important it is to have other women around. Many people think that women are better at networking than men, but I don't think that's necessarily true--I just think there are more opportunities for them to build relationships with each other because they're so few and far between.

We need more mentorship programs like Girls Who Code or Black Girls Code. We also need role models who can show us what success looks like so we know what we're working towards. The more visibility there is for women in leadership roles within the industry, the easier it will be for young girls (and boys) who may not see themselves represented elsewhere outside their own classroom walls and television screens.

Conclusion

I was inspired by the women I met and their commitment to making a difference in this industry. It's clear that there is still work to be done when it comes to gender equality in tech, but we have made progress over the past few years. With more support from leaders, we can continue this momentum towards a more equitable future for all women in business and tech!

#WomenInTech #WomenInBusiness #WiT #WiB #AustinWerner #FemaleWorkforce