Growth of women in the field of technology

This article originally appeared in the April '22 magazine issue of Electronic Specifier Design – see ES's Magazine Archives for more featured publications.

Women’s representation in new hires increased last year, with 30.9% of tech hires being women. Moreover, 16.9% of women were promoted in their respective tech organisations in the same year. Tech companies are creating better working opportunities for women by providing them with better pay packages, uplifting their talent by offering promotions and providing roles that allow greater flexibility and autonomy.

Tech companies bridging the pay disparity gap

Pay disparity based on gender has always been a concern across various industries. Despite possessing the same qualification and similar work experience, many women are paid less than men. However, initiatives by big tech companies are influencing women. Apple, for instance, is offering the same remuneration to male and female employees based on work experience and performance. In 2021, the number of women working at Apple grew by 70% with an 85% increase in leadership positions.

How are women changing the face of the tech world?

The inclusion of women can generate more revenue for tech companies. By acknowledging the presence of women and offering them better prospects, tech companies can leverage economic growth opportunities. Moreover, women tend to be good at interacting with diverse teams. This creates a workplace filled with ideas to tackle problems and overcome obstacles.

Reshma Saujani, CEO and Founder of Girls Who Code, a non-profit organisation that helps girls to learn tech and coding, believes that giving ample opportunities to women will help them penetrate the tech world. This, in turn, will create a gender-balanced environment that can help women to thrive. Providing equal opportunities for women can enhance the overall growth of their career trajectory. Thus, not only are companies giving promotions to women, but they are also focusing on training them. Ola has launched an all-female electric scooter factory in India. The company is giving more than 10,000 women opportunities to work at its manufacturing unit and is making significant investments to train and upskill them. Microsoft and Tech4Dev have also partnered with the Women Techsters initiative. This initiative aims at training girls and women in coding and deep tech skills based in Africa. The learning programme is developed to not only teach tech skills but also to fill knowledge gaps. Women undertaking this course will get an opportunity to do internships for six months and this will help them to jumpstart their careers in the tech field.

Conclusion

The lack of female representation in leadership positions in corporate companies has been an issue raised by several working women. But times are changing, and tech companies are offering a wider range of initiatives. Companies are offering more support to women during maternity leave. Many years with no work can hamper learning and progress for women, and to solve this issue, companies are offering courses to uplift careers. In 2021, Microsoft hired 70 trainees for its springboard platform. This platform helps women to relaunch their careers after a break or sabbatical. The company has offered 39 internships to women across various profiles such as engineering, sales and marketing, and delivery. Ultimately, more financial stability and the inclination to uplift careers will drive the increasing presence of women in the tech field.