Gender Diversity in Technology

• We focus on the support of Women in the Technology industry to attract them and support them into the appropriate opportunities and companies in the region.

• We as a Women in Technology (WiT) consultant aim to analyze Job Descriptions, Recruitment Strategies, and Interview Practices for hidden biases.

• We help create strategies and road-map to not just address the gender diversity however, retain and nurture the women talent.

Importance of Gender Diversity

• Men and women have different viewpoints, ideas, and market insights, which enables better problem solving, ultimately leading to superior performance at the business unit level.

• A gender-diverse workforce provides easier access to resources, such as various sources of credit, multiple sources of information, and wider industry knowledge.

• A gender-diverse workforce allows the company to serve an increasingly diverse customer base.

• Gender diversity helps companies attract and retain talented women. This is especially relevant as more women join the labor force around the world. Companies cannot afford to ignore 50% of the potential workforce and expect to be competitive in the global economy.

Women in Technology

Why does the Technology Industry need more women?

• Gender diversity is good for a company. Diverse teams are effective teams. A diverse group of people will always cook up a diverse set of opinions and will be able to find the best approach to any given task. They almost always outperform teams composed of “experts” because their team problem-solving will trump personal achievement.

• Fortune 500 companies with the highest representation of women on their board outperformed those with the lowest female representation by 42% return on sales.

• Women can open doors to technological advancements because they can often see the bigger picture. They tend to be design-oriented and can access the range of emotions and satisfaction levels of their consumers.

• The tech industry needs more women working in the sector to ensure there is future talent.

• Women are primed to lead in this new era of innovation.

Why are there so few women in Technology (oriented) organizations?

• Less women are studying Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) subjects so there is a lack of female tech talent.

• Hiring managers are more likely to hire people who are culturally similar to them, so a team of men are likely to hire more men with similar hobbies, interests, etc.

• Statistics show that 73% of people believe that the tech industry is sexist. And 52% say that they are aware that women are paid less than men.

• Job descriptions and hiring practices tend to be biased towards male workforce.

What’s being done to encourage women to join the Tech industry?

• Revaluation of job descriptions to maintain gender equality.

• Reach out to women’s groups, and strongly consider hiring a female recruiter who is skilled in recruiting female applicants.

• Give to build a pipeline and community of talent. Sponsor events, underwrite scholarships, pay fellows or interns of the communities you are trying to reach. Start mentoring programs.

• Underwrite trainings for young developers, returning workers such as mothers, and female STEM students.

• More female role-models being championed.

• Negative stereotypes are being challenged.

• Networking and mentoring opportunities are being strengthened.