It’s not just the lower numbers of women in tech that poses a problem. Another issue? How they’re perceived.
The 1st Website I made: Na Ma: a woman in tech in 2020
The 2nd Website I made: Ten Women in Tech Who Changed the World!
In the rearview mirror of history, it’s easy to pinpoint exactly what brought an unprecedented number of women into the workforce for the first time: World War II.
As the U.S. entered the conflict, the need for industrial production on the homefront skyrocketed.
But with men on the front lines, the responsibilities for filling the gaps in the domestic labor force fell to the women — who answered the calling in true Rosie-the-Riveter fashion.
While their contributions were essential to the war effort, these pioneering women faced unmeasurable bias without the benefit of legal protections.
Now for some good news: Women are doing better than ever, where education is concerned. According to a recently-released report, women are more likely than men to be enrolled in college, at a rate of nearly 72%. And women are more likely to earn those diplomas with college completion rates now reaching 58%!
These on-the-rise figures don’t reach many tech fields, however.
Some numbers seem to be spiraling backward. In the mid-1980s, 37% of computer science majors were women. Now? It’s dipped to 18%.
Step inside any office, and it’s easy to see that most aren’t staffed to be gender-equal. Only 26% of computing jobs are held by women. This number has been on a steady decline for years.
The turnover rate is more than twice as high for women than it is for men in tech industry jobs — 41% versus 17%. Fifty-six percent of women in tech are leaving their employers mid-career. Of the women who leave, 24% off-ramp and take a non-technical job in a different company; 22% become self-employed in a tech field; 20% take time out of the workforce; and 10% go to work with a startup company.
In 2013, women of black, Hispanic, and Native American descent made up 18% of the college-aged population, yet they only earned 6% of computing degrees and 3% of engineering degrees.
The underrepresentation of women in tech is a huge liability for the industry. Diverse companies are more likely to report growth, perform better, and have an increased competitive edge.
Even (or especially) at the start of a new decade, it’s important to look ahead. Where do we want to be in 2030? Where do we need to be to have a more inclusive, thriving, and impactful tech industry in the future? Even with positive strides forward (thanks, suffragists!), we’re still at the beginning of the race.
Let’s honor the groundbreaking effect of the 19th amendment by working to correct the vast gender imbalance, not only in tech, but in all areas — by hearing women’s’ voices, protecting their rights, and including them in places where crucial decisions are being made.
https://www.womenintechnology.org/
Original Text by KASEE BAILEY