How to hire and empower more women in tech

We constantly see and hear about the tech skills shortage in the news. This is a growing issue as the demand for tech talent far outstrips the supply chain. In fact, a recent global report from Gartner lists a lack of IT talent as the biggest barrier to adopting new technologies for 64% of IT executives, ahead of cost and security. This is an impressive growth from just 4% in 2020.

As an industry, this technology talent gap will negatively impact innovation, adoption, and ultimately our ability to compete in a technology-first world. Now let me say, there are many more knowledgeable people than this commentator on fixing our education system, career paths, and general STEM issues. But, as a woman in the industry, I can’t help but think there is one simple element we can work on right now to help: keep women in our industry.

Important statistics for women in tech

Let’s take a look at some statistics on the cause and effect of the gender gap in the tech industry and why if we put some focus on it, we could at least keep more talent in our industry.

1. 24% of computer jobs are held by women. We don’t have women in the industry to spare because of the low percentage of women in tech.
2. These same women, already in short supply, are leaving the tech industry at a 45% higher rate than men.
3. Women in tech also report experiencing more burnout than their male counterparts during the pandemic. A report from TrustRadius found that 57 percent of women surveyed said they experienced more burnout than usual during the pandemic, compared to 36 percent of men who felt the same.
4. In the year In a May 2022 survey by JS Group, 63 percent of women believed that their sense of ownership in the tech industry was decreasing, and 44 percent believed that their chances of success were decreasing over the same period a year ago.
5. In 1984, 35% of technology roles were held by women. In 2018, 32% were held by women. Now, in 2022, the forecast is lower. This downward trend is a sign of change in our overall talent management system. We are making it very difficult to be a woman in technology. Time.

Sources: TrustRadius.com, JS Group, Zippia.com, Gartner.com

The reality of many women in business is that while we’ve made progress, we’ve often lost track of the epidemic in technology. The boundaries between our personal lives and work have broken down and now remote technology is here to stay. The expectation in many companies is that if you are in technology, you are expected to be “always on”.

In a recent Deloitte survey of 500 women in technology, only 22 percent said their employers did not expect them to work all the time. This leaves 78% of organizations in this survey expecting us to be available 24/7. Well, that equation doesn’t work very well for many women, and it’s why this analyst believes we’re seeing record drops for women in tech.

A three-point conversation plan to empower women in tech

So that’s the burning question. How do we change this trend? I recommend that leaders in technology start the conversation about how we can better understand and solve the problems by starting with a three-point conversation plan. As we work through this together, I will be adding more to future conversation starters on how to keep women in our industry. But now let’s start with these:

1. What did you do? Making women feel welcome and included In your company, industry or association?
   • It is unacceptable to have a women’s ERG group or a women’s conference. To have these conversations, we need to stop separating women from men and start including more men in the solution.
   • If your idea of ​​team bonding involves a golf tournament, soccer, or other sporting activity or competition, you’re barking up the wrong tree. These are activities designed for the benefit of men.
   • If you regularly prepare for critical discussions in morning or evening meetings, it’s not helping you either. Women are three times more likely than men to be caregivers. This schedule simply creates unnecessary stress.
2. How do you manage it? IT Career Development Journey In your company?
   • Women are less likely to apply for roles without 100% skills compared to men who are more likely to apply even if they have few of the required skills. How do you manage that and encourage women to reach for ads?
   • What are your early warning signs that women in IT in your organization are not on the right growth path?
   • What opportunities are there to gain exposure and experience with leadership in your organization?
3. what do you do? Avoid burnout and stress In your IT team?
   • Do you have flexible work arrangements for those who are caregivers or have other competing priorities that may make some work hours difficult?
   • How much of the “qualified” time off women are entitled to take for caregiving or other responsibilities versus actual time off?
   • Do you regularly talk about work-life integration and look for signs that this is failing in your IT team?

Bonus Discussion: Why should your IT team always be one when there are now machines that can monitor, respond and respond to most real-time issues? Are you not using the right technology to take the stress out of your IT org?

Final thoughts

As a leader, you owe it to your organization to address the challenges women face in technology and find ways to fix them. Not at the macro industry level – let’s leave that to the STEM professionals – but at the micro level within your organization, department or team. By addressing the issues, having a tough conversation, and making some impactful changes, you can address the talent gap by attracting and retaining more women. And who knows, maybe others will see your success and follow. That’s the definition of a grassroots movement, and frankly, it’s what we need to see happen now. Let’s do this!

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