Women in tech - what's been done and what's left to do

The tech industry has come a long way over the past few decades. There are more women than ever now in fields previously thought to be strictly for men.

This growth highlights a closing gap in the world of gender equality, and rightly so.

In 2016, the tech industry rose higher and higher within the ranks until it hit the number 1 spot. And 2. And 3. That’s right. According to PwC Global Top 100 ranking list of 2016, technology overtook the financial sector as the world’s biggest industry, Apple, Alphabet, and Microsoft taking top spots.

And with Apple currently ranked 4th on the 2018 Fortune 500 list, there’s no sign of the tech arena slowing down.

But the figures themselves dull a little of the shine when it comes to closing the gender gap. As much as there has been growth, only 30% of those in the tech industry to this day, are female. So, the question remains…. Will all the tech savvy women please stand up?

More importantly, do they want to? 

What has been done so far?

Contrary to stereotypical belief, women are in fact pretty tech savvy. In fact, the numbers highlight that more and more women are using search engines to gather up information like never before. And even more to the point? When it comes to using this handy tool, along with the main social media sites, women are ahead of the technological curve.

Women are becoming more independently educated and intelligent enough to use whatever new tools the internet might digitally chuck their way.

A 2015 United Nations Fact Sheet highlighted that girls and women are fast becoming greater when it comes to educational numbers. We are seeing an increase in girls attending school and performing better. Another win for the girls.

Fast forward to 2017 and you’ll witness the introduction of the Tech She Can Charter. This forward-thinking initiative is a commitment by organisations to work together to increase the number of women wanting to carve out their own technology career in the UK.

And, on International Women’s day – also known as March 8th 2018 – Google launched this video celebration of all things female. It also featured the fact that more women across different age groups are using technology such as Google Search.

Due to the fact that the underrepresentation of women in tech roles is, erm, pretty glaringly obvious, there are certain groups who have made it their important mission to get more girls to consider the tech industry as their potential home of employment and growth.

Girls Who Code is a nonprofit organisation – and a pillar of empowering encouragement – which aims to support and increase the number of women in computer science. Not just this, but it’s also working on changing programmer stereotypes.

And next on the list of girls kicking technological butt in the modern world? Say hello to The Global Fund for Women. Another non-profit foundation, this time funding women’s human rights initiatives.

Key stats

The 2017 Diversity Report conducted by the Chartered Institute for IT highlighted that just 17% of IT specialists were female. The report also found that “IT specialists from minority groups are less likely than other workers to be employed in MSMEs or Tech businesses and this is particularly the case for women in IT roles.”

 And when it comes to salaries? The stats for women in tech remain undeservedly low. The diversity report stated that “While male IT specialists reported earnings of £780 per week, females in the same profession were receiving 15% less – £660 per week..”

In PwC research study, “Women In Tech: Time to close the gender gap”, just 3% of females say a career in technology is their first choice. 5% of leadership positions in the technology sector are held by women. And 27% of women would consider a career in tech, compared to 62% of men.

Put this together with the fact that 78% of students can’t name a famous female working in technology, and what have you got? A not particularly progressive technology industry.

What is still left to do?

At industry level, whether it be the allure of the media arena or the call of the corporate field, the marginalisation of women still very much exists, according to this infographic from the UN. Thus, the glass ceiling still very much prevails.

 When it comes to the social media stats, 2017 Facebook employee figures show a slow rise in their global women staffing body. This number is currently at 35%, which is up from 33 percent the previous year. However, women hold just 19 percent of Facebook technical roles.

And whilst tweeters themselves represent a diverse gender group, only 17.3% of Twitter’s tech roles belong to women.

So, just what jobs should such empowered women be looking to snatch up? Well, according to talentdeck.com, these are the Top 5 UK tech positions that offering potentially huge bucks in 2018: 

The proportion of women choosing to work in the IT profession is set to increase over the next four years as businesses adopt digital technology, according to the CEB.

And we can help you to get there. Learning People are on the ball when it comes to helping women carve out their careers across male dominated industries, such as IT and Technology. We provide a whole host of training courses, from Entry IT to Web Designing and learning how to code.