NetworkTigers discusses women in tech and the challenges they face.
Women in tech face an uphill battle when it comes to narrowing the gender, pay, and leadership gap. Even as more women pursue education in STEM fields, women remain chronically underrepresented and report earning lower wages while facing additional hurdles like discrimination and harassment. Women also report being overlooked for promotion and advancement opportunities, inhibiting true progress in technology fields. NetworkTigers breaks down the latest statistics on women in tech.
Unpacking the most recent stats on women in tech
- Women make up only 25% of the technology workforce, according to Skillsoft’s latest Women in Tech report. Respondents point to lack of mentorship, limited access to professional development opportunities, and ongoing gender biases as reasons, as opposed to lack of education and interest.
- AI may worsen the situation. Learning to use AI is crucial to advancement in tech, and 60% of women in a tech-driven study report that they are not yet using AI technologies at work. Re-skilling promotes confidence and capabilities but is underutilized for women in tech, especially at more junior levels.
- Older women are less represented than younger women. Data from Accenture shows that half of women who go into technology as a field drop out after age 35. Teams are missing out on crucial older female perspectives, and younger women do not see themselves represented with career longevity in tech.
- Women in tech are promoted at lower rates than women across other fields. McKinsey finds that 86 women to 100 men are promoted to manager across every industry in America, meaning that women are already disadvantaged in leadership roles. However, only 52 women for every 100 men are promoted when adjusted for women in technology.
- More inclusive environments help everyone get ahead. Women who work in a self-described “inclusive environment” are 61% more likely to advance to the management tier. Women of color benefit even more, with 77% more likelihood of advancement opportunities. It might also be surprising to report that more equitable gender practices do not leave men behind. Men are 15% more likely to be promoted to management when working in inclusive environments. This heightened potential for advancement may reflect more open attitudes towards change and fresh perspectives for all employees.
- Entry-level positions are also a problem. McKinsey shows that women fill 32% of entry-level technology hardware roles. For entry-level software roles, women still lag at 43%.
- There is a larger gap between women and men in the workforce worldwide. Across the globe, just over 47% of working-age women are employed.
- Major technology companies are some of the worst offenders of the gender gap. Industry leaders must set the standard for change or risk becoming obsolete. At Amazon, Facebook, Google, and Microsoft, women are underrepresented in the company and at leadership levels. The proportion of female staff at Amazon is currently 45%, with only 29% female leadership. At Facebook the proportion of female employment is 37%, with 34% female leadership. At Google 34% of employees are women, with 31% female leadership. At Microsoft, 33% of the workforce is female, but female leadership is a low 28%. On average, only 31% of employees across the GAFAM big tech family are female.
- Women are more likely to be affected by layoffs in tech. Female tech employees are 1.6 times more likely to be laid off than male employees, likely due to lower seniority across the board. The 2022 tech layoffs also disproportionately affected women, with 69.2% of layoffs identifying as women.
- Roughly 17% of CEOs in technology are women. This influences the kinds of technological advancements and developments that are prioritized worldwide.
- Discrepancy in STEM education is part of the problem. Only 21.3% of women earn Bachelor’s Degrees in Computer and Information Sciences. According to the National Science Foundation, Engineering and Engineering Technology degrees see about a 22% female enrollment rate.
- Federal STEM roles report radically fewer opportunities for non-white women, according to the US Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. In federal STEM roles, 66% of hires are white women, approximately 15% are African American or Black, just under 10% are Asian, 6% identify as Hispanic or Latina, and just barely 1% identify as Native American, Alaskan Native, Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander.
- US-based private companies employ even fewer non-white women in tech than the federal government, according to a Zippia survey. In 2020, just 12% of technology jobs were held by women of color. Women who identify as Asian or Pacific Islander held 7% of tech jobs in the US, Black or African American women 3%, and Hispanic or Latina women 2%. Women who identified as white held 13% of tech jobs in the United States.
- Over 50% of women in tech report experiencing gender discrimination and sexual harassment in their field of work.
- Interest isn’t the problem. A national study of teen girls in the US reports that 74% are interested in STEM and STEM subjects. Girls with supportive adult networks in STEM and exposed to STEM opportunities are more likely to express their interest in the field.
- Closing the gender gap is good economically. More equal employment by women in tech could add up to $12 trillion in global GDP by 2025, according to McKinsey.
One thing is clear: diversity is crucial to effective performance in technology. More diverse teams can respond to threats better, bring varying perspectives, and ensure that a company benefits from the actual pool of talent available. Failing to hire, compensate, and retain women in technology adequately harms everyone involved.
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.
