According to the US Census Bureau, women make up just over 50% of the total US population and 59% of the US workforce. And yet, when it comes to technology, the number of women at the table plummets. A Deloitte report exploring the gender disparities within the tech industry found that the number of women employed by these companies (including some of the world’s most recognizable brands like Microsoft and Google) is less 25%, even fewer for technical roles. So what can tech companies do to recruit, hire and retain more women?
- Provide educational opportunities and chances for women to learn. Part of the challenge in hiring women is that there are presently fewer applicants in the job pool. Less than one fifth of US computer science degree recipients in 2013 were women. While not all people working in IT or other technical positions have computer science degrees, companies without training programs or educations offerings are missing out on opportunities to consider women who’s skills can be polished once hired and can be developed into a true asset.
- Consider how job descriptions and outreach are worded. Deloitte identified two major keys for recruiting efforts. The first is to make it a priority to avoid words that demonstrate or present any sort of (unintentional) bias that may deter a woman from applying. Secondly, reconsider requirements and recognize that mandating a significant amount of years of experience inherently slashes many women from the pile of applicants.
- Make it a priority to help ensure jobs are satisfying for women once they are hired. To consider simply getting women in the door is setting up for failure. A National Center for Women & Information Technology (NCWIT) study found that not only are women in technical positions between 25-34 finding increasing dissatisfaction with their jobs, 56% of those women are leaving before the highlight of their careers. This quit rate is twice as high as men in the same positions. Include true flexibility especially with scheduling. Develop catches to stop any sort of discrimination or bias that may not be recognized.
- Create a path to leadership. Opening the path and demonstrating to younger women how they can grow can be a critical piece of the puzzle. Develop a mentorship program that pairs up women executives or management with younger women. This could be as simple as making tan internal program to create lasting bonds among coworkers or it could be going the route of Facebook, Pinterest and Box who paired together to create WEST (Women Entering and Staying in Tech). WEST pairs experienced women in technical roles at one of the three sponsor companies with younger women within their region (as opposed to their company) to provide 1-on-1 mentorship. Developing leaders does more than improve the worker’s life; it improves a company’s bottom line. A Credit Suisse report found companies with women in leadership experienced better sales, higher returns on equity, better stock performance, and higher payouts of dividends
Hiring (and keeping) female tech talent and creating leadership opportunities for these workers is more important now than ever. With benefits clearly demonstrated, it’s up to today’s tech leadership to identify what women need to feel good about their jobs and comfortable in the workplace and make the necessary changes.
