It’s no secret that a gender gap exists in the tech industry, with far more men than women in tech roles and women often being paid less than men for the same jobs. That gap is slowly closing, but a recent survey of 500 women working in technology around the world shows that several challenges remain.
Pleasingly, the 2018 Women in Tech Survey Report by Ivanti also highlights a number of positives for women in tech, showing that encouraging progress is being made. With more women in the industry than there were five years ago, the survey responses identified a number of great reasons to pursue a career in tech.
The most popular reason was that women feel they are making a positive impact on their organisation and the industry: two-thirds of responders think that this is the best thing about being a woman in technology. In addition to playing a part in developing new products or helping their organisation succeed, women often excel in the soft skills necessary in the 21st-century business, such as empathy, good communication abilities and problem-solving. Offering an alternative way of thinking to male counterparts is increasingly recognised as an important business benefit. By showing that they have the talent, knowledge, and character to succeed, these women are inspiring change and making a male-dominated culture more welcoming to other female candidates.
This leads on to the second reason: encouraging other women to join the industry. The more women there are in tech, the more there will be for other women to want to emulate. Role models are a huge incentive for young women starting their careers. Not only are they more likely to apply for roles, but the recruitment process will be more inclusive if there are women on the hiring team. After all, people tend to recruit others who are on their wavelength and being surrounded by other women in the industry is cited as another positive point in the survey.
More than half of the women surveyed believe that the tech industry is never boring. Technology encompasses so many facets and is developing at such a rate that today’s opportunities are unparalleled. Fields such as AI and 3D printing have varied applications that enable people to apply their existing skill sets and to continuously learn new things.
Flexibility is also a major positive. Despite recent shifts in culture and the availability of shared parental leave, having a family still impacts the long-term career prospects of women far more than it does men. With advances in unified communication and digital collaboration tools, employees no longer need to sit in a physical office space for a specified number of hours a day. As a result, remote working and flexible hours make a tech career both feasible and attractive for women.
Finally, women say that good pay and career advancement are both incentives to work in tech and they shouldn’t be afraid to negotiate to get the salaries and recognition they deserve. More and more organisations are taking positive steps to engage with and encourage the success of women in the workplace. That trend not only helps to attract the best tech talent regardless as to gender, but it also produces diverse teams that bring tangible benefits to the business.
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