Apple CEO Tim Cook has warned that the shortage of women could hamper the future of tech - but tackling the shortage of women in tech means tackling the shortage of girls in the tech classroom.
In an interview with the BBC this week, Cook said there were “no good excuses” for the shortage of women in tech.
And the result of the lack of diversity is that technology will fail to live up to its potential.
“I think the the essence of technology and its effect on humanity depends upon women being at the table,” he said.
“Technology's a great thing that will accomplish many things, but unless you have diverse views at the table that are working on it, you don't wind up with great solutions.”
Around 35% of Apple’sAAPL +2.3% workforce are women, slightly higher than sector average, according to a recent Deloitte report, although the authors warned that issues such as workload and access to flexible work mean recent progress is in danger of stalling.
But while tech firms can make a difference both through their hiring practices and their approach to employee pay and conditions, they can also only work with what they have.
At some level, tackling the shortage of women in tech means tackling the shortage of girls in the tech classroom.
In the same interview, Cook called for all students to take a coding course in school, to give them a working knowledge of how to code and how apps are created.
England became the first country in the world to make it mandatory for all students to study coding up to the age of 16, but taking some of the optionality out has not led to the sort of progress in closing the gender gap that we might have expected.
Continue reading: https://www.forbes.com/sites/nickmorrison/2022/09/30/tackling-the-shortage-of-women-in-tech-means-tackling-the-shortage-of-girls-in-the-tech-classroom/?sh=6d420baf2b7b
In an interview with the BBC this week, Cook said there were “no good excuses” for the shortage of women in tech.
And the result of the lack of diversity is that technology will fail to live up to its potential.
“I think the the essence of technology and its effect on humanity depends upon women being at the table,” he said.
“Technology's a great thing that will accomplish many things, but unless you have diverse views at the table that are working on it, you don't wind up with great solutions.”
Around 35% of Apple’sAAPL +2.3% workforce are women, slightly higher than sector average, according to a recent Deloitte report, although the authors warned that issues such as workload and access to flexible work mean recent progress is in danger of stalling.
But while tech firms can make a difference both through their hiring practices and their approach to employee pay and conditions, they can also only work with what they have.
At some level, tackling the shortage of women in tech means tackling the shortage of girls in the tech classroom.
In the same interview, Cook called for all students to take a coding course in school, to give them a working knowledge of how to code and how apps are created.
England became the first country in the world to make it mandatory for all students to study coding up to the age of 16, but taking some of the optionality out has not led to the sort of progress in closing the gender gap that we might have expected.
Continue reading: https://www.forbes.com/sites/nickmorrison/2022/09/30/tackling-the-shortage-of-women-in-tech-means-tackling-the-shortage-of-girls-in-the-tech-classroom/?sh=6d420baf2b7b
