How do we drive diversity in IT?
In a recent episode of “The Great Indoors”, Jack Gordon, played excellently by Joel McHale, grinned excitedly whenever he received an email notification on his phone (he also showed his age because the notification was “You got mail”!). I could relate (to both the excitement thing and the age thing), it’s the same feeling I get when someone “Likes” or comments on one of my blog posts, or even my Facebook posts (come on, admit it, you feel it too!).
I recently wrote an article for The People Development Network titled “An Exploration of Diversity in IT”. In it, I share some thoughts and raise some questions about gender diversity in the IT sector, especially in leadership positions. Once the post went live, I started promoting it on my social media channels. Soon, I had a notification from LinkedIn that several people had “Liked” on it, and yes, I probably grinned like Jack. I grinned even wider when I saw the name of one of the connections that had liked on the post. It was a “blast from the past” (there I go, showing my age again)!
Lynne Stacey and I worked together years ago, dare I say a lifetime ago. Our careers had taken us in different directions, but when I first started my blog “Rivers of Thought”, she was one of the most prolific readers and commenters. However, it had been years since she had liked or commented on anything. Grinning, I clicked on her LinkedIn profile to see what she was up to these days. Her profile indicated she was not currently in the workforce, but was looking to re-join it.
After exchanging a few emails, I realized my long-lost colleague was facing one of the typical challenges women in the workplace face. She had put her career on hold to raise a family. Yes, she had a job or two during the years spent nurturing her sons, but not in the field of IT. Now, trying to re-enter the workforce, she had the feeling of starting all over again. Technology changes at the speed of light, the platforms are different, the languages are different, even the processes are different. Couple that with the fact one of her sons is still at home so she needs a flexible work schedule and you have an excellent case study of some of the challenges that confront women in IT.
For Lynne, I was able to provide some insights and guidance, including referring her to an area coding academy to help jump start her introduction to the new languages and by introducing her to several CIOs and IT leaders in town who need talent and have flexible work environments. Her journey is not over by any means and I will continue to assist her wherever I can, but she at least has some steps in mind as she starts down the path.
Gender diversity in IT is a significant problem. In its annual report on gender diversity in IT, SmartAsset listed Indianapolis (the metropolitan area in which Lynne and I both reside), as fourth in the nation in the percentage of women holding IT jobs at 28.5% against a national average of 26.2%. While it is good to be fourth, when compared to a workforce made up of 57% women overall, it points out the tremendous job still to be done. When you look at management and executive leadership positions the percentages are dramatically smaller. And, to top it off, the numbers are getting worse, not better (2011–27.1%, 2014–26.5%, 2017–26.2%).
All of this has spawned a great deal of thinking on my part and many conversations with female colleagues and peers. In one such conversation, a female co-worker described the feeling of walking into an IT Networking event and being the only woman in the group. She said, it is uncomfortable and something you never quite get over, you just learn to accept it if you want to achieve your goals.
On Thursday night this week, I had the opportunity to put that to the test. As founder of the Indy CIO Network, I had become concerned over the low participation and turnout of the women members of our group at our events. I raised the concern with Teresa Conroy-Roth. Her response? Well, let’s ask them! Teresa invited about 20 women IT leaders and me to dinner. As the day arrived, I found myself getting more and more nervous. Really ?!!?? I knew most of these women already. Why was I nervous? Would my being there change the dynamic? Would anyone feel “cheated” of a ladies night out?
We had a fantastic dinner sharing stories, laughs and yes, some great conversation. Uncomfortable? Walking into the room, yes. As more attendees arrived and I either greeted them or was introduced to them, yes. Ten minutes into the event, no! Each and every one of them made me feel welcome, engaged me in conversation, and was open with their candor regarding the challenges they face. I came away some appreciation of how a woman feels entering a room and being overwhelmingly outnumbered by men. In fact, one of the nuggets of enlightenment I came away with was “one of the reasons we don’t attend some events is that we are tired. We have walked into rooms full of men all day long, why would we want to do it one more time?”
If you are reading this to find answers, I am sorry to disappoint you. I don’t have the answers, but I do have lots of questions. Today is one of the most exciting times to be in Information Technology, so much is changing, so fast. How do we drive diversity in IT? How, as leaders, do we create an environment that encourages and supports all of our team members regardless of gender or ethnicity? How do we encourage young girls (and boys) to embark on a career in IT? I would honestly like to hear from you. As a leader what can I be doing to solve this dilemma?
