As we celebrate International Women’s Day on March 8, 2022, we face a sobering conclusion in technology: we’re not doing enough. And there are lots of studies to show how badly we’re doing.
Take this observation from a Forrester report, “Advance Your Organization By Improving The Workplace Experience For Women,” by analysts Fiona Mark with Katy Tynan, Nick Monroe, Matthew Guarini, Gordon Barnett, and Kerstin Wehmeyer.
The analysts note that women’s representation in the tech workforce in the last 15 years has been stagnant even though they control 80% of all purchasing decisions. And while women make up nearly 48% of all workers since 1990, the report continues, only 25% of them end up as technology workers. We've not just stagnated when it comes to IT; we’ve regressed since 1990.
In reality, this percentage will be smaller if you consider that many STEM-educated women end up teaching or joining healthcare and shy away from tech or engineering fields. And even those who are in tech positions drop out of the workforce midway in their careers for various reasons.
We can’t keep finding excuses for these issues. Blaming it on a small pool talent is short-sighted. If we’re to improve women's representation in technology (and plenty of research says we should for success), we need to think broader.
Trouble at the top
Gender imbalance in tech begins at the top. We unknowingly create toxic cultures and non-conducive environments for women because they’re underrepresented in leadership. The team at the top is often seen as a “bro culture,” and only 18% of women are CIOs and CTOs.
Continue reading: https://www.cdotrends.com/story/16259/women-tech-we-need-better-plan?refresh=auto
Take this observation from a Forrester report, “Advance Your Organization By Improving The Workplace Experience For Women,” by analysts Fiona Mark with Katy Tynan, Nick Monroe, Matthew Guarini, Gordon Barnett, and Kerstin Wehmeyer.
The analysts note that women’s representation in the tech workforce in the last 15 years has been stagnant even though they control 80% of all purchasing decisions. And while women make up nearly 48% of all workers since 1990, the report continues, only 25% of them end up as technology workers. We've not just stagnated when it comes to IT; we’ve regressed since 1990.
In reality, this percentage will be smaller if you consider that many STEM-educated women end up teaching or joining healthcare and shy away from tech or engineering fields. And even those who are in tech positions drop out of the workforce midway in their careers for various reasons.
We can’t keep finding excuses for these issues. Blaming it on a small pool talent is short-sighted. If we’re to improve women's representation in technology (and plenty of research says we should for success), we need to think broader.
Trouble at the top
Gender imbalance in tech begins at the top. We unknowingly create toxic cultures and non-conducive environments for women because they’re underrepresented in leadership. The team at the top is often seen as a “bro culture,” and only 18% of women are CIOs and CTOs.
Continue reading: https://www.cdotrends.com/story/16259/women-tech-we-need-better-plan?refresh=auto
