By Lucy Grimwade
I don't need to tell you that there is a problem. 🤔
I am talking, full scale multiple major incidents. Like, the office is on fire (not in the good way) and women in tech/IT/Digital are walking out.
Problem: Companies are struggling to retain women in their tech positions.
And the data backs it up:
3% of females say a career in technology is their first choice. *
5% of leadership positions in the tech sector are held by women. *
50% of women leave their tech careers at the age of 35. **
With verbatim feedback like:
"I left because the environment did not support me as a woman of color nor as a professional. I was intentionally left off of emails that were critical to doing my job, talked over in meetings, talked down to, and excluded from social events."**
"I worked primarily with men who relentlessly commented on my hair, my body, my eating habits, my professional experience, and my hobbies. I felt like a permanent outsider."**
"... Its always been known as 'jobs for the boys' amongst other things."
"...I feel very overlooked"
The more articles I read, the more research I did, the more data I collected. I kept coming back to 4 common root causes:
Gender pay gap
Discrimination specifically sexism
Lack of opportunities
And flexibility.
Woah. They are all different articles in their own right.
So...
One suggested solution: Community.
By creating and encouraging internal community groups like 'Women in Tech' or a 'Women's Network' this will give a fair platform for community members to be seen, heard and find company-specific solutions to their own recruiting and retaining women in tech problems.
Now, this isn’t a tick box exercise. ❌
✔ Businesses will need to ensure such groups have funding, exec sponsors, and empower the community members with time and capacity to actively get involved.
By co-creating communities like this, there are additional benefits for organisations where by members can:
Attend and have a presence at networking events such as Women in Business & Tech and Silicon Roundabout - Hello PR!
Be involved in think tanks and hackathons - Using their skills to make a difference to external communities.
Seek out and bring in expert speakers and companies to train and coach the wider group - L&D can't cover everything, that's why speakers, like me, exist.
Explore company specific problems, identify root causes and offer solutions - giving a platform that will empower and encourage members to think innovatively.
With so many resources, opportunities and appetite, there really is no excuse for ignorance.
This really is a one fairly easy way to retain women in tech.
References:
Resources:
More reading on: Why more than half of women leave the tech industry?
Looking for a Mentor? Reach out to Kevin Dainty who runs the Reed Women in Tech Mentoring Programme.
Need some help creating a new community group? Check out Three steps to create community in the workplace or drop me an in-mail.
留言