Make women grow in the tech industry: my resolution for this international women’s day

If we want to make women thrive in the Technology industry, we’ll need to change.

Just like every new year, the International Women’s Day represents a great opportunity to reflect on our lives in general and put ourselves into the journey of establishing new objectives, priorities, and thoughts that will empower and inspire us to move forward.

As part of this process, there is one special priority I took for this important day - and I want to invite you to be part of it somehow: change the culture in the technology businesses and embrace the gender balance efforts for this industry. If there’s a special day to think about that, March 8th is the one and should be the kick-off of our efforts to make it happen.My words here are aimed at the conflict between genders. They are here to enhance the importance of gender equality in businesses and demonstrate how meaningful it can be for everyone. Gender diversity is no longer just a nice-to-have corporate behavior. Equality has proved to contribute to the increasing of profitability and value creation in any market. So, take this positioning as an essential strategy for the company you work for, the teams you partner with, and for yourself – equality equals growth! And I want to highlight the importance of considering it in the technology segment.

The technology segment has a long journey to run when it comes to equality in the workplace. According to Women in Digital Scoreboard, only 17% of ICT (Information and Communications Technology) specialists are women. It is a socio-cultural issue that illustrates how stereotypes impact the women professional's aspirations since their childhood when there are few motivations to thrive them to a traditionally male-dominated career. Some independent groups and associations are working to inspire girls to pursue a career in Tech. In Portugal, Women in Tech is one of them – I invite you to learn more about how inspiring this initiative is and how it contributes to shifting this scenario.

While the example above represents an impressive demonstration of how we can balance the equality between gender in a specific area, another statistic showcases how far we are from reaching the ideal quality: half of the young women who go into the technology industry drop out by the age of 35. Why? Here some of the main reasons:

• 46% of women have reported they have experienced discrimination in the Tech industry
• Women in the Technology industry earn 19% less than men
• 93% of the capital invested in tech companies went to all-male founding teams

 (Sources: European Commission’s Women in Digital Scoreboard and Atomico)

As part of this scenario, this study reported that there’s one female Chief Technology Officer out of a sample of 175.

Take a step back to redefine the current workplace culture into an inclusive one is essential. It leads to impacting outcomes for everyone. Empowering female professionals increases productivity and innovation, as co-workers and leaders experience new and bolder ways of thinking and working daily. To achieve it, we need to set goals. It is not complex, and we can start from where we are today:

·       Recognize the importance of culture and make the change a personal goal.

·       Support female professionals in technology to succeed and reach leadership roles.

·       Partner and sponsor initiatives related to inclusive workplace culture. Lead by example is key to make it succeeded.

·       Stimulate a non-retaliation work environment.

Recently, I had the opportunity to host a masterclass in the 2020 Web Summit entitled “Women & Tech: the future, shaped”; as I was sharing my learnings as an experienced technology professional, I testified several comments and personal experiences from the attendees on how challenging for women is to grow in their companies and birth-countries. Their testimonials were the main outcome of this event. I believe a culture of equality boosts an innovation mindset and growth, and this is my priority for this year as I know I can play a key role in supporting them.

Once again, bear in mind the equality is no longer an ethical imperative. It is a business priority that contributes to a continuous journey of innovation.

Kicking-off today, March 8th, as a leader, I’ll make my contribution and I’ll share every progress here on Linkedin. What about you? How can you contribute to equality in your company and daily life? I thoroughly expect this special day to become a milestone in our personal and professional lives, and I count on you to embrace it.

I wish you all an inspiring and empowered International Women’s Day.

Let me know your thoughts. 

#TalentIsGenderless #LetThereBeChange