WE’VE CELEBRATED INTERNATIONAL WOMEN’S DAY (IWD) FOR OVER A CENTURY, WHICH IS CAUSE FOR CELEBRATION AND CONCERN.
The concern stems from the fact that we are still fighting to achieve equity and equality for women without evidence of sufficient steps forward.
In this piece, Heleen Snelting, Director Data Science at TIBCO, a business unit of Cloud Software Group, looks at the three priorities for women she feels the technology industry should focus on in the year ahead.
Heleen has over 20 years of analytics and team leadership experience – and is passionate about improving opportunities for women in the technology industry. She is a visual analytics and data science solutions thought leader – day-to-day her team help customers optimise their businesses using these solutions. Heleen is an avid sharer of knowledge among her communities and currently lives in the south of London with her husband and two teenage daughters. She holds an MBA from Portland State University and an MSc in Food Science from Wageningen University.
AS A WOMAN IN TECHNOLOGY, A MOTHER OF TWO DAUGHTERS, AND A GLOBAL CITIZEN, IT PAINS ME TO SEE THAT WE ARE STILL FALLING (SIGNIFICANTLY) SHORT OF THE UN SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT GOAL 5 (SDG 5), WHICH IS DEFINED AS THE NEED TO “ACHIEVE GENDER EQUALITY AND EMPOWER ALL WOMEN AND GIRLS.”
In the opening statement to the First Regular Session of the Executive Board in February 2023, UN Women Executive Director Sima Bahous said: “The struggle for gender equality is a reality for women everywhere. SDG 5 is off track. That means the 2030 Agenda is off track since the SDGs cannot be achieved without gender equality.”
Yes, it’s a global issue that no individual can address. But the hard truth is that young girls will face systemic problems that can only be tackled if we grown-ups educate, influence, and stand up for our gender and diversity.
UNDERSTANDING THE GAPS
Huge gaps exist in gender equality, not only in emerging markets or conflict areas. Using data is a fantastic way to understand the severity of a problem, so it’s telling that The World Economic Forum (WEF) Global Gender Gap Report 2022 highlights that gender parity is not recouping. Instead, it estimates it will take another 132 years to close the global gender gap.
The report reflects on factors such as economic participation and opportunity, educational attainment, health and survival, and political empowerment. Progress may have been difficult because of the pandemic, unrest, war, and global economic upheaval. However, the fact is that not one country has achieved full gender parity, and the estimate of 132 years to achieve gender parity has only improved from 2021 by 4 years.
A FOCUS ON THE TECH INDUSTRY
The theme of this year’s IWD is #EmbraceEquity. And within that, one of the primary missions is to improve equality for women in tech, But how to do that is becoming an age-old question for what is supposed to be a progressive industry. Instead of planting a foot firmly forward, the tech industry seems to be taking a step backwards in supporting female opportunities.
It’s widely known and publicised that women are disproportionately affected by the recent layoffs in the tech industry. As reported by Forbes magazine, 45% of the 48,000 people who lost their jobs in the January 2023 tech layoffs identified as women. Now consider that according to a 2022 study by Deloitte, less than a third of tech industry employees and less than a quarter of leadership positions are occupied by women. When you factor in the latter, you understand why there is work to be done.
Companies must embrace and acknowledge these statistics and track metrics such as ratio of male and female candidates for interviews, % female hiring, retention and advancement to influence best practices when hiring restarts. Policies must be implemented to consider equitable and diversity-based hires and organisation-wide incentives used to achieve this. Including removing potential biases if algorithms are used for CV selection. Additionally, job listings must be gender-neutral, diverse interview teams mobilised, and emphasis put on career opportunities for women.
THE TECH LEGACY OF GENDER PAY GAP
Another opportunity for the tech industry is to remove the gender pay gap. Verdict reports that in the UK alone, 91.1% of tech companies pay male employees more than their female counterparts, and the payment gap averages 16%, whereas the national industry average is 11.6%.
Besides getting paid less for the same job, there are also fewer women in senior roles, with men dominating the upper quartile of leadership positions by over 76.5%. It’s not a set of figures that will make women flock to the tech industry. Instead, it can be a deterrent. It’s being (partially) addressed by female employees fighting for equal pay and recognition. Still, we need more male colleagues and managers to become allies and give female colleagues an equal voice in meetings and equally considering female candidates for promotions.
Critically, we must encourage a culture where we celebrate female employees’ success and career growth and become acutely aware of diversity issues. Women and minorities must be endorsed by leadership teams that also include women and minorities.
MAKING STEM POPULAR AMONGST WOMEN
The WEF Global Gender Gap Report clearly states that women are underrepresented in STEM fields. Considering graduates from all fields, the percentage of women graduates in the Information and Communication Technology sector is 1.7%, compared to 8.2% of men. The silver lining, however, is that this gender gap is substantially smaller in online training enrollment than in traditional education.
But STEM subjects carry the stigma of being male-dominated and, as the pay gap figures suggest, an area where women are overlooked for career advancement. I would like to encourage all women in tech to stand up and become visible role models. Participate in primary and secondary school career and STEM events as a working female parent and share your passion for your job and the opportunities it provides.
As a parent, take your children to science and tech outings, encourage them to participate in STEM-centric opportunities, and discuss science topics at the dinner table because science impacts every aspect of our lives. And get your company to support STEM initiatives, take your daughters to work, hire female interns, support university recruitment activities, and be a mentor.
INTERNALISING THE CHANGE
Again, one person will not solve global equality and equity, and we might have a 132-year-long effort ahead. However, there is much we can do to change and accelerate this process.
I recently completed a course on Business Sustainability Management from the University of Cambridge, Institute of Sustainability Leadership, where it became evident that the type of leadership must change to move our world forward. We need purpose-driven leadership and system thinking to tackle the climate crisis and inequality. This means collaborative leadership, empathy, key stakeholder engagement, and consideration of all participants of an ecosystem. I think there is a significant opportunity for women in this movement.
