Guste Sadaunykaite on Investing in Women in Tech
Why is it important for the technology sector to invest in closing the gender gap in entrepreneurship within their industries?
Where do we see the issue
As much as the gender gap might seem to be a bit of a tired subject, it’s still there and it still needs addressing. Even today, personal athletic sports achievements at Rio Olympics by women are attributed to the success of their husbandsand the ‘good fortune of being a wife’, while female athletes also earn less than male ones. While cartoons emphasising the ridiculousness of sexist double standards that women face at work every day might just seem like a good laugh, the issues they raise are serious ones. They are issues which are deeply rooted in society’s (both men and women) conscious and subconscious values, and which need careful attention if anything is going to change.
Unfortunately, sexist tendencies are found in many sectors, including technology. Gender imbalance in IT jobs has been recognized as an issue since at least 2005. However, men still hold 82% of leadership positions, on average, at Google, Facebook, Twitter and at the other massive companies in the sector. Despite an increasing number of organisations such as “Girls Who Code” and others, the major contributing factor remains the education pipeline, where, from a very early age, there is a lack of encouragement and support for girls to go into STEM subjects. I believe big tech companies and corporations like Google, Facebook, Microsoft, etc. should have special scholarships to encourage potential future female employees to complete higher education degrees in science or at least to get the relevant coding course to enhance their future career.
Further causes of the problem
Currently, in the UK, only 17% of girls do computer coding at school. Then only a small section of them takes up an IT subject for their university degree, so an even smaller number become computer science graduates. On average, for an IT job, only one in twenty candidates is a woman. Then there’s the hiring process, which, apart from already being quite selective, faces an unconscious gender bias against equally qualified applicants, as men are twice as likely to hire a man over a woman. And that’s not all…
Job specifications can also favour male applicants, for example if they require five or more years of consecutive experience. This can exclude female applicants who have taken time off to give birth or raise young children. Companies should re-evaluate job descriptions, as well as descriptions of qualifications and responsibilities, because the wording can often attract or repel certain candidates. ‘Bro-like’ descriptions are usually discouraging and unattractive for women, as they feel threatened or unwelcome from the very beginning. There might not be a universal ‘right’ answer here, but it’s something that every tech company should pay more attention to, as changing just one word could help you to create a more diverse environment for your company.
The appreciation of women via pay raises and promotions remains a gender equality issue. A survey by Deloitte in the UK states that 37% of women in IT say that they have been passed over for promotion because of their gender. Another problem is retaining the women in their roles in the technology sector. Many workplace policies, such as marathon coding sessions, are not suitable for women who have childcare responsibilities, and a sexist ‘lad culture’ can eliminate healthy competition by encouraging favouritism and, thus, creating an uneven playing field.
Why is gender equality important?
A recent study by Catalyst found that, in relation to ROI, companies with the highest percentages of women board directors outperformed those without at least by 66%, with a 42% greater return on sales, and a 53% (or more) return on equity. Tech companies find themselves under justifiable pressure to address the gender imbalance in their teams, as women bring an aspect of diversity and many studies have shown that a diverse workplace might ultimately lead to better results, which is crucial for the tech industry and startups in general.
The Pew Research Center survey on women and leadership found that most Americans find women indistinguishable from men on key leadership traits such as intelligence and capacity for innovation, with many saying they can even be better than men in terms of being compassionate and organised leaders. Arguably, women also excel at compromise, which is also very important for business growth and retention of the employees.
How investment can bring about the change?
Encouraging workforce collaboration through mutual respect for colleagues, without regard to culture, work style or ethnicity, is another way to foster appreciation for diversity, which in turn translates into a more productive workplace. That is usually a clear indication of greater organisational success, demonstrating integrity and good business practices, which builds a solid business reputation. Consequently, this helps with growing your customer base, as it creates a universal appeal. By virtue of your diverse workforce talent, you can achieve your goal of appealing to a wider audience as well as understanding different angles and insights.
Speaking about leadership, women are much more inspired by other women, so when a business hires a few more women it can lead to a snowball effect where women in senior positions attract more women to join the company and the gender gap closes faster and faster. It is undeniable that the situation has been changing for the better in the past few years. Senior women in tech, particularly high-profile female C-level executives, are becoming role models and mentors for women and girls thinking about a career in IT. This helps to start closing the catch-22 situation by encouraging girls to think differently and consider an education in STEM. Investing your time and resources in this process accelerates this very important change, which will lead to a more equal and open future for all of us. Nevertheless, the process is slow.
Guste Sadaunykaite, Head of Brand and Communications @ TransferGo
