Happy International Women’s Day! At Influential, we don’t just use this day to celebrate the team’s female members and educate our staff on Influential women in tech – for us, this is an opportunity to highlight the problem in the industry and tackle it head-on. 

Women in tech: notable statistics

It’s no hidden secret that men take up a majority of tech jobs (73.3%, to be exact), but the gender gap is slowly closing. With 26% of tech roles in the UK being occupied by women, up from 19% in 2020. 

Those who leave the profession blame burnout, bias, toxic bro culture, and a lack of work-life balance. 

In 2018, only 9% of university graduates studied STEM as a core subject. 

Another discovered that only 3% of women day a career in technology as their first-choice career. 

A study by Deloitte also suggested that 51% of women are less optimistic about their career prospects than before the pandemic.  

For as long as we can remember, we’ve been an advocate for equality in the industry. For the past 3 years, we’ve consistently been above the average % for female representation (29%), and we’re always on the lookout for bright new recruits. 

There’s still a long way to go, but what can we do to help balance the playing field? 

Considering this year’s theme is all about embracing Equity, it seems fitting that we bring this question to the team. 

What is equity?

Gender equity is the process of being fair to women and men. To ensure fairness, strategies and measures must often be available to compensate for women’s historical and social disadvantages that prevent women and men from otherwise operating on a level playing field. Equity leads to equality. 

The theme emphasises the need for innovation and technology as instruments for promoting gender equality and advancing women’s rights. It recognises the potential of technology to transform the lives of women and girls and the importance of ensuring that women have equal access to these tools and opportunities.

By working towards greater inclusion of women in technology, we can drive innovation, challenge stereotypes, promote diversity and inclusion, and bridge the gender pay gap.  

How can we embrace equity? Our team answers

There’s still a long way to go, but what can we do to help balance the playing field? 

Considering this year’s theme is all about embracing Equity, it seems fitting that we bring this question to the team. 

My hope for this year’s International Women’s Day is that we will all take a moment to reflect on how we can make workplaces an unbiased and diverse environment so that everyone is able to live up to their full potential. On a personal level: Continue learning, and don’t be shy! Technology is always changing, so studying is part of the job. Push yourself out of your comfort zone. Have fun and always collaborate and support each other. 

-Shellen, Engagement manager

Tackling the “Geeky Tech stereotypes in media” from Simon Peggs’s role as Benji Dunn in Mission Impossible to Q (Desmond Llewelyn, John Cleese and Ben Whishaw) in James Bond in the movies, middle-aged, glasses wearing, men. Worse still, the tech characters in the Jurassic Park films, but let’s not get into that… 

Wouldn’t it be good to have a female, fashionable, more glamorous character supplying the tech in a movie soon, leading the next generation of tech employees away from the old stereotypes? 

-Debs, Senior engagement manager

I believe it’s important for women to have exposure to the various opportunities the tech industry offers at a stage where they are starting to think about their career paths. This could be early as a primary school or for women at a stage where they are either wanting to change their career path or are willing to learn something new. 

Workshops, training, and talks provided by women in the sector should be conducted particularly in local regions, raising awareness of the many jobs and skills needed to enter the profession because, although there are events of this kind, they may not be readily available to everyone.

Therefore, companies should actively offer opportunities for women of all ages to network with women in tech, hear about their accomplishments, see how they have advanced throughout their careers, and provide opportunities to shadow women in these jobs by planning events within regions that they are based in or even in general to increase awareness.

-Imesha, Quality Analyst Engineer

I’m very interested in a job in the tech sphere, as it is the future. The BI Developer role is full of challenges and opportunities. I was given a great opportunity and happily used it fully. I always said, “if you work hard, you will succeed”. And that is true. Do not be afraid to start something new for yourself. No Risk, No Gain. 

-Victoria, Junior BI Engineer

For me personally, education, inclusion and communication are the three main components to attracting more females into STEM industries, and this starts from an early age, not just at school but at home too. Kids are clever little people, with curious brains – they’re like information sponges!

The more we expose youngsters towards embracing tech, the more empowered they will be in our very tech driven future. Equally, I believe it is also crucial that youngsters, particularly females are encouraged into other traditional male dominant industries. And the general reason they remain untapped is simply because they are not exposed to the opportunities, and a huge misgiving that you must be a big, strong male to be able to do them.

-Julia, HR Manager

Embrace equity at Influential

To achieve equality, we must encourage Equity – and while we might not have the power to change the tech industry overnight, we believe there’s power in conversation. Bring the issue to light and encourage others to act. 

At Influential, we’re always striving to create a positive and progressive space alongside advocating for change in the industry.