Women in tech, why businesses should be championing female techies.
It’s no secret tech is big business. Tech businesses, Tech start up’s and specialist tech networking events are everywhere! Studies in Computer Science are on the up, the field is growing.
However, top tech talent is still proving difficult to find, but is the industry missing a trick? Is it time to close the tech gender gap?
PWC recently produced an interesting report, they say only 3% of women say a career in technology is their first choice, only 16% of women have had a career in technology suggested to them in comparison to 33% of their male counterparts and only 5% of leadership positions in the technology sector are held by women! Read the full report here.
PWC’s key findings have uncovered that females aren’t considering a career in tech as no one is championing them, they aren’t given enough information about what working in the sector involves and with few female leaders in the industry who can they aspire to be?
The Tech sector is famous for feeling like a men’s only club, it’s a masculine environment which is known for the long hours, always-on culture, but this isn’t right. Women who are working in tech have already defied the gender norms by the fact that they are there in the first place, but they shouldn’t be viewed this way.
So far there aren’t many attractions for women to join the tech industry. So how can we change that?
Firstly the biggest challenge is that girls and young women are put off pursuing tech careers, the industry needs to understand why they are put off at such an early point in their educational and career journey, is it a lack of knowledge about tech or a lack of women in the industry to aspire too. Tech Companies with female leaders or employees could consider talking in local schools to persuade more girls to consider furthering their education in the tech field.
A report by training provider Digital Mums, published in November last year, indicated that one in four (28%) mothers faced a skills gap that prevented them from going back to work after having children. Employers need to look in detail at the whole of the journey of women in their organisation, including attracting, retaining, developing and advancing them says Lauren Allison, CEO of #techmums, a not-for-profit organisation that helps to upskill mothers through digital literacy programmes.
Tech Companies should be setting the example around combatting the always-on culture, by setting clearer boundaries around work and life and finding the balance. There is no reason any tech-related positions should stick to the standard 9 to 5 office hours or always being on. Tech companies have everything in place to provide their employees with flexible working which new parents crave.
The industry is taking steps in the right direction towards closing the gender gap, but what else can be done? Join the conversation.
Contact us.
If you’d like to explore how we can help you find your next career move in tech or are looking to hire the best tech talent to contact our Technical Consultant Magda King on 01392 790725 or email magda@kingrecruit.com.