Post pandemic, we were all promised a brave new world of work which, driven by technology and remote work and collaboration tools meant less time commuting, a focus on output rather than presenteeism and more opportunities for better work/life balance.
We all know that women in technology are vastly underrepresented. However, a paradigm shift towards remote or borderless working presents a unique opportunity to recalibrate the sector and foster greater diversity and inclusion.
A recent survey of the Ivy Tech business community revealed that 95% of people preferred to work remotely most or all of the time.
Overcoming ingrained bias:
Bias against women in tech can start early, with societal stereotypes discouraging young women from STEM subjects. And the prevalence of the “bro culture” once you embark on your career journey continues to perpetuate some hostile working conditions for women and other marginalized groups, highlighting the importance of understanding how diversity and inclusion drives innovation and growth.
According to the Women in Tech Network, 65% of tech recruiters acknowledge bias in hiring with 66% of women lacking clear career advancement opportunities in their companies. This translates into significant roadblocks from unequal pay, limited career mobility and advancement and a lack of representation at the top. According to Forbes, in 2022 all-female startup teams received just 1.9% of venture capital funding – an all time low.
Nevertheless, women continue to make inroads. As of 2023, women make up around a third (28%) of the global tech workforce. A number which has increased steadily over the last decade.
However borderless recruitment can help overcome bias and increase representation:
A global approach to talent
It goes without saying that removing limitations on geography automatically opens up your recruitment options to a global talent pool. This means companies can tap into markets which have a higher representation of diverse talent and benefit from a variety of perspectives and experiences.
A flexible outlook
By adopting a borderless approach companies can build teams in a flexible manner, ensuring minimal downtime with a cross border team. Many outsourcing companies offer flexible or part time work patterns which can be particularly attractive to women and caregivers who need to balance professional and personal responsibilities. Having flexible schedules and work options can help attract and retain talent that might otherwise be excluded.
Skill-based hiring
Borderless recruitment can often mitigate bias by taking a skill-based approach looking at functional skills and competencies rather than subjective factors. This helps to ensure that the best talent is sourced, regardless of geography, gender or personal circumstances.
Borderless = boundaryless
Put simply, taking a borderless approach broadens the talent pool. And mathematically, this will inevitably deepen the bench in respect of a more diverse range of candidates with increased opportunities to apply and secure tech work in any market. From a hiring perspective this is great news as it opens up hiring in smaller cities and towns nationally or even internationally.
As a report from 2019 run by the International Labour Organization across 13,000 global Enterprise companies revealed, 60.2% of companies report increased profitability and productivity due to gender diversity. And since we still haven’t seen true gender diversity yet, we should expect the impact to be even greater once it is.
It also solves other pain points like via requirements or pegging salaries to the cost of living in a particular city or country. Through remote work everyone with the right skill set, mindset and ambition can get “a seat at the table”.
