Why I’m optimistic on International Women’s Day despite the frustratingly slow pace of change
On International Women's Day, our CEO, Bev White, shares her thoughts on the progress (and lack of!) there has been in the number of women in tech. This article first appeared on Computing.co.uk.
Although gender equality is still nowhere near where it should be, as we celebrate another International Women’s Day I put myself in the optimistic camp. There are signs of change in society and business and, overall, things are moving in the right direction – the question is, how fast can we make that change go?
Technology lagging on gender
Certainly, in my own industry of technology, change needs to happen much faster. The Digital Leadership Report that we publish every year shows that the proportion of women in technology leadership roles and in the IT workforce as a whole is only inching up by degrees year on year. Our 2023 research showed that globally 14% of leaders and 23% of the workforce are female – these are the highest we’ve seen but there again the rate of change is glacial and they are far below where they should be.
In fact, a sobering finding from the British Computer Society (BCS) is that, for the proportion of women in technology to grow to equal the 48% of women in the wider workforce, at the current rate of change it would take 283 years!
I don’t know about you, but I am not prepared to wait nearly three centuries for women to have their rightful representation in the wonderful world of tech. It’s very frustrating to see such slow progress given how fantastically suited so many women are to careers in technology.
Because there are so many different roles and skills needed in the industry – from technical skillsets through to broader problem solvers, communicators and creative thinkers – and women can tick all the boxes just as much as men.
So why isn’t change happening faster in the technology industry? Partly it’s because transformation just does take time.
There is no doubt that action is increasing at the entry level end, and this is great to see. Initiatives like T Levels, the government’s digital bootcamps aimed at Gen Z, and the growing number of schemes from employers specifically to attract a more diverse range of young talent, are all helping attract more young girls (and other young people from diverse backgrounds) into technology. There is further to go and more to do, but I am encouraged by what we’re seeing.
Read the full blog here
Crimson is part of Nash Squared, the leading global provider of talent and technology solutions.
