NetworkTigers discusses the GAFAM gender gap and its consequences.
There is a longstanding disparity between women’s capability to work in tech and how often they are hired, promoted, and retained. The gender gap in industry leaders GAFAM (Google, Apple, Facebook, Amazon, and Microsoft) highlights how and where women are still left behind in tech.
GAFAM employment statistics
The problem starts at the top. Salaried GAFAM female employees barely outpace the number of female-founded or co-founded startups. On average, only about one-quarter of tech startups are founded by women or include a woman co-founder. Meanwhile, on average, only 31% of GAFAM employees are women. Microsoft is currently the worst offender, with just 28% of female employees overall and only 25% of women in leadership roles at the company. Facebook ranks the best in leadership but still only has 33% of women in leadership roles. Amazon employees are 42% female, albeit not necessarily in leadership positions.
Progress has been made. In 1970, women working in tech were an 8% minority. Today, they make up around 30% of all tech jobs. And while GAFAM companies may be typical, they are not the only offenders. As of 2023, US-based tech companies with more than 10,000 employees report that only about 26% of the roles are filled by women.
Unpacking the gender gap in tech
Promotion is one of the main reasons women lag behind in the GAFAM group and in technology jobs overall. Women are most strongly represented in junior or entry-level roles in the technology industry. When mid-level and executive-level jobs are included, however, representation plummets. Software engineering jobs tend to have 25% fewer women applicants in the job pool when 4 to 10 years of experience are requested (junior to mid-level). Jobs in UX design and ERP show even smaller amounts of representation.
Another reason why women lag behind in technology roles may be related to the COVID-19 pandemic. Women were disproportionately laid off during COVID-19 and from 2022 to 2023, including at GAFAM companies. For instance, Meta reported in 2022 that 63% of its employees were male. However, according to independent reporting, 45% of laid-off workers in tech were female. (Meta says it does not disclose demographic data related to its layoffs). This means that the percentage of male employees being laid off was just under 10% less than an equitable split should be. Many industry members report worrying that GAFAM leadership highlights a willingness to cut diversity and inclusion programs while penalizing female hires for valuing higher flexibility in tech roles.
White women are also disproportionately represented in employment statistics. Women in the US make up 47% of the workforce. However, they hold only 28% of mathematical and computing roles. When adjusted for racial and ethnic diversity, these numbers shrink drastically. For instance, Asian or Pacific Islander women are only represented in 7% of IT jobs, and Black and Hispanic women collectively make up only 5% of IT jobs (3% and 2%, respectively). This lack of representation reverberates down into STEM education programs, making the problem more difficult to address from the ground up. For instance, an Accenture study found that only 67% of women of color said they could see a clear pathway from their degree in tech, engineering, or math into a related career. Compare that to 79% of white women who agreed with that statement.
Finally, age is one of the most important factors for female employment at GAFAM companies and in tech. A whopping 50% of women leave their jobs in tech by age 35. Reasons for this include layoffs, failure to upskill or reskill, lack of promotion, lack of equitable compensation, lack of flexibility, and lack of role models.
Diverse teams are smarter
It is smart to include women for many reasons. Hiring more diverse teams may help companies earn more money and do the right thing. A study from the Harvard Business Review shows that companies with more inclusive hiring practices perform better in the global market. For instance, a McKinsey report shows that companies in the top quartile for gender diversity are 15% more likely to have higher returns than the mean for their industry. Credit Suisse has found that companies with at least one female board member show higher returns on equity and higher net growth than companies with only male board members.
One reason might be that companies open to inclusion and new ideas are swifter to embrace other changes that benefit them. For instance, a study of over 4,000 companies in Spain showed a positive correlation between companies with more female employees and the number of radical innovations the company employed over two years. Leadership in the tech frontier should take note–closing the GAFAM gender gap may be exactly what these companies need to stay ahead of the curve.
About NetworkTigers
NetworkTigers is the leader in the secondary market for Grade A, seller-refurbished networking equipment. Founded in January 1996 as Andover Consulting Group, which built and re-architected data centers for Fortune 500 firms, NetworkTigers provides consulting and network equipment to global governmental agencies, Fortune 2000, and healthcare companies. www.networktigers.com.
All articles sponsored by NetworkTigers.
