Women in Tech ... Women in the Workplace

The tech industry has long been recognised for its innovation and rapid growth. However, it continues to face challenges in achieving gender diversity and supporting the unique needs of women in the workplace.

I have been a long-standing advocate for everything related to people, culture, and diversity and inclusion in the workplace. I choose to work for companies that are impactful in every sense. Working for Lewes FC was a real turning point in my career. In 2017, Lewes Football Club became the first – and currently only – professional or semi-professional club in the world to start treating its women footballers the same as its men, with equal playing budgets, pitches, and training facilities. I realised that if football can make a change, so can all workplaces, including the tech industry!

ASquared was a significant success in my career, where I led initiatives and supported the agency on its journey to encourage and support gender diversity. We increased the representation of women from 27% to 56% and represented five nationalities within three years.

Now, I'm on a new journey to continue disrupting the tech industry at Dootrix. We drive growth, innovation, and efficiency with intelligent technology, offering cloud-native solutions to transform businesses, unlock data, and improve the customer experience, one step at a time.

What are the Challenges?

Women entering and maintaining careers in tech, more often than not encounter a range of challenges such as Gender Stereotypes and Bias, Implicit Bias and Leadership representation.

?? Women in tech often confront long-standing stereotypes that suggest tech roles are better suited for men. These stereotypes can influence hiring practices, team dynamics, and even the self-perception of women considering careers in tech.

?? Implicit biases in recruitment and promotion processes can hinder women’s career progression. Women may be less likely to be hired or promoted compared to their male counterparts with similar qualifications and experience.

?? The underrepresentation of women in leadership roles perpetuates the cycle of gender bias. Without role models, it can be difficult for women to envision themselves in senior positions.

?? The Women in Tech 2023 survey shows that 77% of tech leaders were men despite a whopping 90% of people believing the tech sector could benefit from a gender equal workforce.?The tech industry still has relatively few women in senior or visible technical roles. This lack of representation means that female mentors are scarce.

?? A report by McKinsey found that companies in the top quartile for gender diversity are, on average, 15% more likely to have above average financial returns. The findings also highlighted that companies with female leadership teams outperformed less gender-diverse companies by a staggering 48%.?

As the technology industry continues to grow, so does the number of women working in it.

What are we doing and how are we doing it?

• ?? We are redesigning our job ads to be more inclusive and appealing to a wider range of talent - not just women. This includes using gender neutral language, emphasising our commitment to diversity, and showcasing our warm, welcoming and inclusive culture.
• ?? Blind Hiring: Blind hiring removes all personal and demographic information from the hiring process so hiring managers can assess candidates based on ability alone.
• ?? We encourage everyone to continue developing professionally, and our journey includes role-specific career frameworks that support the development of our people. At Dootrix, we support our employees by offering Circuit Traineeships and Apprenticeships. We believe in supporting our employees' growth, whatever that looks like, and maintaining a healthy work-life balance, regardless of gender or caregiving responsibilities, whether you’re a parent, a pet owner, or neither.
• ?? Putting Our People First! Our 'People First' initiative underscores our belief that our employees are indeed our greatest asset. This initiative focuses on creating a supportive, inclusive, and engaging workplace where everyone can thrive and be happy. We want our employees to enjoy coming to work. If they’ve got the 'Sunday Scaries' – a form of anticipatory stress, essentially worry about what lies ahead – then we’re doing something very wrong.

Work-Life Balance

• ???? Many women face challenges when taking maternity leave and returning to work, with concerns about job security, career progression, and maintaining work-life balance being significant stressors. At Dootrix, we support new parents and encourage open communication with our new mums while they are on maternity leave. By keeping them in the loop with company or project updates, we help them prepare for their return to work. While we encourage taking Keeping in Touch (KIT) days (up to 10 in total), we understand that not all new mums want to discuss work while bonding with their newborn. Regardless, we plan a supportive and flexible return to work to ensure a smooth transition
• ?? Not all workplaces offer the flexibility needed to help women manage their professional and personal responsibilities effectively. At Dootrix, we are a remote-first and flexible working agency, which is a game-changer in accommodating diverse needs and lifestyles while trusting our employees to get the work done. In addition to our flexibility, we have two offices and co-working memberships at Spaces. Our team members can maintain a healthy work-life balance whether they’re parents, pet owners, or neither

Pledging our Support to our Employees

We recently signed up to and actively promote (and talk about!) several DE&I pledges, including:

• ?? Living Wage Employer ~ Brighton & Hove: We are a Living Wage, Brighton and Hove Employer and are on a journey to become a Living Wage Accredited across the UK. The Tech industry remains one of the sectors with the biggest gender pay gap, currently standing at 16% compared to the national average of 11.6%.

• ?? Menopause in the Workplace: We are one of more than 2,700 employers, including the BBC, Tesco and Royal Mail, who have signed the pledge. Around one in 100 women experience the menopause before the age of 40. The ‘peri-menopause’ is the phase leading up to the menopause when a woman’s hormone balance starts to change. For some people, this can start as early as their twenties or as late as their late forties.
• It is estimated that there are around 13 million people who are currently peri or menopausal in the UK (Wellbeing of Women) which is equivalent to a third of the entire UK female population.
• The menopause can cause a wide range of physical and psychological symptoms that can last for several years. Most menopausal people experience symptoms to varying degrees and can last for several years. We are promoting an open and supportive environment for our employees experiencing menopause.

• ?? Pregnancy and Child Loss: Providing compassionate support and flexibility for employees dealing with pregnancy and child loss.

• ???? Mental Health at Work Commitment: At Dootrix we are serious about prioritising mental health through our EAP, support from our SIX Mental Health First Aiders, and open (very open) conversations.
• ??Endometriosis Friendly Employer: We are aiming to become an Endo Friendly Employer. 67% of 18-24 year olds have said that endometriosis adversely affects their mental health. 63% of endometriosis sufferers claim that they are not believed when they talk about their symptoms. Given these statistics, there is no doubt that conditions such as Anxiety and Depression are so rife in our community.

?? We don’t just pay lip service to these pledges; this is not a tick-box exercise for us. We have real people in our business who have experienced early menopause, child loss, mental health challenges, and endometriosis. So, why wouldn’t we pledge to support our employees?

We believe that employee wellbeing is fundamental to our success. We are currently auditing our benefits and perks but have already implemented several initiatives to ensure our team feels supported, valued, and empowered