Why there needs to be more initiatives for Women in Tech
It goes without saying that women are underrepresented in the tech sector. Females have always been a minority when it comes to the tech industry. But why is this? It’s simple. There are less initiatives for women than there are for men. There needs to be more set up like Dublin Tech Summit (DTS) to promote Women in Tech.
The amount of roles in the tech industry are rapidly growing and supply can’t keep up with demand unless more women take up technology related roles. Why aren’t these roles being filled? Why aren’t more women in technology?
To look more in depth into the problem, young girls are discouraged from pursuing science and technology roles. This leads to fewer females pursuing science, math and IT courses at university level. More than half of college students are women but only a handful study technology, with only about ⅛ of science graduates being female. More things need to be done to promote females to take up tech related careers in order to promote gender equality in the workforce.
This imbalance translates into the workplace. In some of the largest corporations women are still a minority in the workforce. And yet those who do make it into the industry are more likely to leave within a year, feeling isolated and that there is a lack of support for them.
Around the world there are initiatives in place. But not nearly enough! It is the first year of DTS, which takes place on February 15th and 16th 2017. DTS are offering Women in Tech 50% off a full priced ticket to encourage more women to take part in DTS this year.
DTS along with one of DTS 2017 media partners, Girls in Tech and one of DTS 2017 partners, CoderDojo are just some of the initiatives in place to promote women in tech. DTS 2017 Speakers such as Maria Martinez who leads Salesforce’s Customer Success Group, Christine Preisach Head of Data Science in IoT and Predictive Maintenance at SAP, and Louise Phelan Vice President of Global Operations at PayPal, are just some of the amazing women in tech speaking at DTS this year.
The impact that an initiative like DTS has on women in the tech industry is enormous. Initiatives like it break the cycle and allow women to challenge negative stereotypes. Relationships are also strengthened and there is great encouragement for younger females to become part of the next women in tech generation and aspire for a career in technology.
The tech industry needs to adapt to these initiatives and change the way our tech culture is. If we are to do this females will advance their careers in tech. Leaders must be the frontline of this change and encourage more recruitment of women within their organisation.
Technology is for women! With more role models, mentorship and initiatives put in place the number of women in tech can and will increase. Women need to believe in themselves and take the opportunities that come their way.
Hollie Simmonds
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