The Women in Tech: Breaking all Barriers
"Women Hold Up Half The Sky,” is a declaration greatly to demonstrate that our women are a deserved resource that not only be devoted to the family but also good at the professional fields.
Tech has always been a predominantly male industry. However, women are also playing a huge part too and more and more women are entering both regular and high-level positions in tech, with the big global firms. A lack of women in technology can lead to a decrease in performance and profits, creating a missed opportunity for those businesses (Tucker, 2016)
This article will outline the excellent roles of women in the tech industry and what can be done to make women feel more valued within the field. Let's see how women are advancing on their journey to achieve roles in the advancement of technology.
How many women are working in tech?
20% of all tech start-ups across the world were founded by women.
83% more women joined Microsoft in 2015, compared to 17% of men.
Only 5% of leadership positions in the technology industry are held by women. While 18 percent of undergraduate computer science degrees and 26 percent of computing jobs are held by women.
More than two-thirds of US start-ups have no women at all on their board of directors.
Why do women leave tech?
30% blame working conditions, such as long hours, a low salary and no opportunity for career progression.
27% put it down to work-life-balance, stating they do not have enough time with their family and there is too much travel involved.
Some of the other top reasons were a loss of interest in their job and problems with the company environment.
24% of women who leave a tech role go on to a non-technical role in a different company and 22% become self-employed in a tech field.
Over a quarter of women students say that they have been put off a career in technology because they view it as too male-dominated. We urgently need talented women role models in tech to challenge this perception.
The impact of having more women in technology
A recent study by PwC and the Crowdfunding Institute showed that campaigns led by women across the world in 2015 and 2016 were 32% more successful than those led by men across a wide range of sectors, geography, and cultures. Remove the bias of the institutional investor, listen to the crowd, and women thrive.
Nowhere is this shortage more apparent than technology. So, gender diversity is good for a company.
Women in technology were especially well-represented. Ratings for the leadership effectiveness of women versus men were the most pronounced in information technology, where women had a percentile score of 52.1 compared to 42.0 for men.
While many organizations understand the myriad benefits of having women in leadership, women remain significantly underrepresented at senior levels across industries.
So how can we encourage more women to reach that stage? Morgan Stanley (2017) indicated that Greater gender diversity in technology can impact businesses’ bottom lines, It shows the influence of women in the workplace, particularly women collaborating in groups and leadership roles, thereby highlighting the need and impact of having more women in the technology field.
What can organizations do?
Offer mentoring programs and networking opportunities can help staff to seek encouragement and assistance from others in the industry.
Providing opportunities for personal development is a large factor that people look for in a job and scope for promotion will improve retention rates.
Intel is collaborating with global and local partners through the She Will Connect program, which aims to close the internet gender gap and connect millions of women to opportunity through technology. Girl Rising Intel, a global social action campaign, is mobilizing investment and action to expand education access for girls.
Girl in Tech is a global organization focused on the education, and empowerment of women in technology, They support initiatives that encourage women to get and excel into technology, and they’ve sponsored numerous coding programs across the country to speak about their careers and assist in recruiting.
Beyond strategic initiatives, organizations can take steps to ensure women are interviewed for each technology role opening, establish a blind resume screening process to reduce the potential for unconscious bias, and measure and evaluate female recruitment efforts.
Diversely is working to improve gender equality within businesses across Asia by connecting them to professional female talent. These platforms help organizations measure the impact, improve effectiveness, and reduce the time and cost of their diversity and inclusion programs from sourcing candidates to hiring their next employees.
There need to be systematic and sustained efforts, from schools to universities and workplaces, to encourage women into technology careers.
What can women do?
There are a number of steps that women can excel to position themselves for technology roles and long-term careers :
Expand network. : Participate in formal programs and non-profit global organizations aimed at improving gender diversity, such as Girl In Tech, Diversely and National Center for Women & Information Technology, etc
Stay aware of and open to growth opportunities. Embrace new opportunities as they arise and be confident in your ability to succeed. Cultivate relationships with recruiters who can present you with new avenues of advancement.
Be confident: Don’t be afraid to ask for help or advice. Look for opportunities to develop and mentor up-and-coming women. Be willing to suggest qualified women you know for leadership roles.
Don’t wait until you’re ready. It is an often-quoted statistic: Men apply for a job when they meet 60% of the criteria; women only apply if they meet 100% of them. Pursue roles even if you only feel you only have 70% of the capabilities.
When women are unleashed in the tech world, new ways of living, of seeing the world, and of doing business reveal themselves. But that needs more than just warm words. Today’s generation of tech leaders needs to invest, create new opportunities, and think critically about how to fundamentally change this culture.
Colibri Growth recognizes how the diversity of perspectives leads to better decision- making and better business performance. As a firm, we have recruited great female candidates and staff to work with.
Beside that, Connecting with Girl in tech ; Diversely organization, as well as play an important role in the organization.
Most of our women represented the high in the technology, media, and telecommunications industry globally and information officer placements. We are passionate about this issue and dedicated to advancing the conversation about how to best cultivate and attract diverse technology leaders. We welcome your feedback and look forward to partnering with our clients and candidates on continuing to change the face of tech talent.
Are you a talented, ambitious, International-oriented tech talent in Vietnam, interested to work with startups to develop tech products and want to join a diverse, fun, and healthy team? Feel free to Reach out.