The gender wage gap in tech is 4% - translated into monetary value, this is a gap of £3,000 (£250 less per month).
84% of all interview candidates for all tech roles are men, and 61% of the time men are offered higher salaries than women for the same role at the same company.
Most importantly, 3 in 5 women have felt discriminated against in the workplace because of their gender, from the hiring process, to bias, and harassment.
Something has to change, but how can we pave the way for women in technology?
Remove barriers to entry
It can be hard to gain momentum when the entry process alone is difficult.
When we consider that the number of women employed in tech has only moved from 15.7% in 2009 to 17% in 2020, we have to consider why, even with female representation being on the industry agenda, more women aren’t employed in tech.
The barriers are often present during the hiring process, which can begin with language used, job role descriptions, the interview process, and the workplace culture.
Though language can often be an overlooked aspect of job specifications, it can immediately create an impression to a candidate of what gender may be in mind for the role, e.g., ‘competitive environment’, ‘ambitious’, and ‘assertive’ could all point towards a male-oriented role, whereas ‘committed’, ‘collaborate’, and ‘responsible’ might indicate a female gendered description.
If a woman is looking at job specifications in tech and all she sees is gendered language, she may immediately be deterred from applying from the get-go.
Back in 2014, Accenture saw an increase of female job applicants from 34% to 50% after the de-biasing of job specifications – though these results were cited as only being significant alongside a wider inclusion and diversity initiative.
Around 50% of women also said benefits such as flexibility, working from home, opportunities to grow and training were most important to them when deciding whether to apply for a job.
You can even use gender decoding websites to review your job adverts for gender-coded language!
Acknowledge the benefits
Research has found that, if the tech sector reached gender parity, this shift would benefit the UK economy by £2.6bn each year.
This can be correlated with a number of elements, such as an increase in communication and innovative ideas, and also due to the fact that many women in tech can fill skills shortages that are always present across the sector.
Additionally, the skillsets necessary to be in the tech sector are changing, including a demand for programme management, finance, and operation skills.
For organisations struggling with the war for talent, opening the door for increased gender diversity means that they can benefit from a wider talent pool, with 88% of women saying they would be drawn to a company that speaks openly about diversity.
Research has shown that increasing the diversity of leadership teams leads to better innovation and improved financial performance, and even generally speaking, the advantages of different experience and skillsets can significantly impact an organisation’s ability to innovate.
The importance of creating spaces
There are more women in tech events each year, which highlights the important of a more inclusive environment in the sector. These events also offer an opportunity for women in tech to learn new skills, network, and see motivational leaders.
These events can also tackle a range of topics, opportunities and networking, such as: black women in Artificial Intelligence, global women in tech, or even the European women in tech 2022 event.
The benefit of these events is that, unlike many tech events that have had low female attendance, by creating a women-oriented space, women may feel more comfortable attending.
Additionally, these events are tailored towards issues facing women, and career opportunities and skills women can benefit from.
One of the most empowering aspects of women in tech events is the presence of female keynote speakers, something that is often lacking from general tech events.
Ensono conducted a survey 500 women in tech in both the US and the UK to identify the stigma facing women at tech events – 70% of women who’ve sat on a panel at a tech event have been the only woman on the panel.
76% of women are also likelier to attend a conference with a keynote speaker or panelist that is a woman.
Creating and cultivating an environment that focuses on women and creates a safe space for them to discuss their career, opportunities and everything in-between means that change may occur sooner rather than later.
Encouraging women to be inspired by other women in the sector is also a great way to increase access to the sector for younger women, particularly when considering that over a quarter of female students say they’ve been put off a career in technology as it’s too male dominated.
Change matters
Demand is high in the tech sector across a number of roles, whilst the sector is also experiencing skills shortages in certain areas.
Ensuring that an equal, diverse environment is cultivated in your organisation has never been more essential for attracting talent.
Paving the way for women in technology not only gives you a competitive advantage, it also addresses the concerning lack of representation in the industry and moves towards positive, genuine and consistent change.
Breaking down the barriers to progression for women begins with changes during the hiring process, and continues by cultivating a culture of diversity that isn’t a ‘one and done’ approach.
Final thoughts
Change can seem slow in the tech industry around diversity.
However, the need for skilled candidates as a result of higher demand, combined with the higher accessibility offered by remote roles, means that women in tech are extremely well placed to make huge changes to an organisation for the better.
If you’d like to discuss your recruitment needs and how you can widen your talent pool through implementing diversity strategies, get in touch so that we can help.