Brianna White

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Jul 30, 2019
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A digital skills gap has hit the technology industry. In 2022, 75% of companies worldwide reported talent shortages. And the issue becomes increasingly prominent with the OECD’s estimation that 1.1 billion jobs are liable to be radically transformed by technology in the next decade. Studies show that 43% of businesses worldwide are set to reduce their workforce due to this technology integration while other surveys point out that 80% of technology products and services will be built by those who are not technology professionals by 2024. In the end, it all comes down to this dilemma: the need for digitally skilled talent increases. But their number is notoriously limited.
For some people, this outlook is especially bitter. According to recent numbers, women hold only 26% of computing-related jobs today. And the number for people from ethnic minorities drops even lower. Accessing digital skills and securing a fulfilling, well-paid job in the tech industry often seems out of reach for them. “When I was young, I didn’t really know what I was passionate about,” says Karen Rodrigues from Brazil in a recent blog post on SAP Community. “The only thing I knew was that I wanted to get a job and earn money. My parents also had a specific idea of what my career should look like. So, I started my studies in business administration and accounting, got my degrees, and got my first job in this area.” For women like Rodrigues, a career in tech had never been up for debate.
Gender Stereotypes Are Often the Root
One of the reasons why women – or people of color for that matter – often don’t have a career in the IT industry in mind are gender stereotypes. When people think of the technology industry, they usually associate young White males with developer roles. These stereotypes often originate in the experiences and ideologies we encountered in our childhood and school years. And many of them are here to stay. The fact that the IT industry is much more diverse, both in terms of the workforce and the roles that exist within it, is often overlooked or not explored further. In Rodrigues’ case, it took an opportunity to turn her life around.
Continue reading: https://news.sap.com/2023/01/women-key-to-global-digital-skills-gap-in-tech/
 
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