Logitech and Girls Who Code Research Asks: “What (and Who) Is Holding Women Back in Tech?”

Women have made great strides over the last four decades in fields like life sciences and material sciences, but their participation rates in engineering and computer sciences stay unchanged or have even declined. These persistent gender inequality in the tech and IT industries can be discouraging, but a new research report from Logitech and Girls Who Code, “What (and Who) is Holding Women Back in Tech?”, reveals ideas for a path forward.
In order to change, the industry must make a deep systemic commitment to Agile principles, a widely used guide for software development. Achieving this begins with understanding some of the challenges women in engineering and computer science can face and what some successful women have done to reach where they are today.
This new report showcases five key moments that either allowed women to forge a path forward or held women back:

• Early cheerleaders and real-life role models matter. Early influences have a big impact on women in tech and IT. Over half of women surveyed (60%) said a parent or a teacher encouraged them to study computer science.
• Passion is a key driver for entering the tech sector. Let’s make sure we support that passion. Women most often cited finding a passion for the industry and pursuing it toward a computer science-related career. The top reasons women are drawn to tech and IT include a passion for computers (35%).
• Once hired, a job that makes a meaningful contribution to society is very important. An overwhelming majority of women working in tech and IT (92%) said the ability to make a meaningful contribution to society is a primary factor in their career development.

Continue reading: https://www.csrwire.com/press_releases/753171-logitech-and-girls-who-code-research-asks-what-and-who-holding-women-back