Gender Parity: There’s No App for That in the Tech Industry
The more things change, the more the tech industry’s lack of gender equality remains the same.
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The National Center for Women & Information Technology (NCWIT) reports that of the 25% of women working in tech, Asian women make up just 5% of that number, while Black and Hispanic women accounted for 3% and 1%, respectively. And this is despite the fact that STEM jobs have grown 79% since 1990, while overall employment has grown 34%, according to Pew Research Center.
The National Science Foundation reports that more women than ever are earning STEM degrees. They’re also catching up to men in earning bachelor’s degrees in science and engineering subjects. At the same time, women earned only 19% of computer science degrees at the bachelor level in 2016, compared to 27% in 1997. Despite this decline, women who do pursue computer science degrees are more likely to dive more deeply. The percentage of master’s degrees in computer science earned by women rose to 31% in 2016, up from 28% in 1997.
Only 38% of women who majored in computer science are working in the field compared to 53% of men, says the National Science Foundation. Similarly, only 24% of women with an engineering degree still work in engineering, compared to 30% of men. This is no doubt part of the “leaky pipleline” trend, where it’s difficult to retain women in STEM jobs once they’ve graduated with a STEM degree.
The tech industry is rife with male-dominated workplaces. A poll by Pew Research Center found that 78% of women in male-dominated workplaces reported experiencing gender discrimination at work. Twenty percent said their gender made it harder to succeed and 36% said sexual harassment was a problem in their workplace.
It’s not hard to see why women aren’t entering the technology field at the same rate as men.
Being underrepresented can put limits on women’s opportunities for mentorship and sponsorship and can lend to fostering “unconscious gender bias in company culture,” leaving many women “without a clear path forward,” stated a report from TrustRadius. The report found that 72% of women in tech said they had been outnumbered by men in business meetings by a ratio of at least 2:1, while 26% were outnumbered by 5:1 or more.
Then there’s the “bro culture” with which women in tech must contend. Seventy-two percent of them said they have worked for a company where it was “pervasive.”
Women in tech are four times more likely than men to see gender bias as an obstacle to promotion. And women of color are even less confident about their prospects for promotion — 37% of women of color in tech report racial bias as a barrier to promotion.
Fifty-seven percent of the women surveyed for the TrustRadius report said they experienced more burnout than normal during the pandemic, compared to 36% of men who said the same. Probably because 44% of women also reported taking on extra responsibilities at work, compared to 33% of men. A greater number of women (33%) took on more childcare responsibilities than men (19%) at home. Women in tech were also almost twice as likely to have lost their jobs or to have been furloughed during the pandemic than men.
Women in tech have proven to be outstanding entrepreneurs, but they still struggle as founders. A study from Silicon Valley Bank showed that only one in four startups have a female founder, 37% have at least one woman on the board of directors and 53% have at least one woman in an executive position. For startups with at least one female founder, 50% had a female CEO compared to just 5% for companies with no female founder.
It’s also harder for startups with one or more female founder to secure funding. Eighty-seven percent said it was “somewhat or extremely challenging.” Only 78% of startups with no female founder said the same.
According to a report from Dice, 38% of women in tech report being unsatisfied with their compensation, compared to 33% of men. On average, women in tech earn about 84% of what their male counterparts are paid. So it would stand to reason that 75% of men believe their employer offers equal pay, compared to 42% of women.
According to IDC, the percentage of women in senior leadership positions grew from 21% in 2018 to 24% in 2019. Still, women feel less enthusiastic about their senior leadership prospects than men. The report found that 54% of men felt it was likely that they’d be promoted to executive management in their company. Only 25% of women said the same. They noted a lack of support, self-confidence and mentorship.
According to IDC, the percentage of women in senior leadership positions grew from 21% in 2018 to 24% in 2019. Still, women feel less enthusiastic about their senior leadership prospects than men. The report found that 54% of men felt it was likely that they’d be promoted to executive management in their company. Only 25% of women said the same. They noted a lack of support, self-confidence and mentorship.
Gender parity is not an issue in the tech industry. It should be. But the industry hasn’t progressed that far. Right now, despite years of sweeping declarations of dedication to the principles of DE&I, the tech sector is dead last in the job market when it comes to hiring women. (No statistics are available for non-binary members of the tech industry.)
Statista reports that while the percentage of women in the U.S. work force rose to 47% over the last decade, it’s only around 25% in the tech industry. Even at the five largest tech companies (Amazon, Apple, Facebook, Google and Microsoft) — some of the loudest in proclaiming their determination to advance DE&I — it’s only around 34%.
So gender equality is still far off, much less equality and — do we dare to dream? — parity.
CIO recently provided statistics from nine facets of IT work that spotlight the career challenges confronting women in IT.
Scroll through the above gallery for a look at the gaps women in IT are encountering in their quest for equality, equity and — someday, hopefully — parity.
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