My experience
Since my uni days, I have continued to find myself as part of a minority group. While studying computer science, I was just one of five girls in a 30-student group. I can't say that the situation changed dramatically after my graduation. I have never worked with companies where women make up 30% or more of workers, and I have never been governed by a woman. Over time, it became the standard for me. But should it be?
Na -back up statistics
I believe that men's capabilities for logical and analytical thinking do not exceed women. So there should be another explanation for the fact that only 19% of all IT professional positions in 2022/2023 were taken by women. Both resources provide evidence of a very slow increase in women in IT duties: only 5% since 2009.
After some research, I see many root causes for this social phenomenon.
Problem with the pipeline
One of the obvious reasons for a smaller number of IT professionals is the lack of women in education related to STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math). The representation of women among the graduates of computer science in 2022 did not rise above 24%. The percentage drops 20% after the end: Not all girls who dedicate themselves to education get a related job. The same resource says the main factors that influence it are a lack of network, contact, and experience. But certainly, the same applies to all fresh graduates, not just girls.
Winding backwards
As I said, I do not believe that men have the physiological advantage that will help them succeed in computer science. However, the three boys were selected in the basic science on the computer, while only one girl decided to do the same. There should be factors that prevent girls from pursuing this education and profession.
Matija Kovacic and Cristina Elisa Orso's research showed that historical and cultural factors related to gender roles influence the possibility of women to pursue stem careers through contemporary psychological characteristics inherited from their parents. Women from more individual cultures, characterized by the weaker structures of the kilogram -family, more loose family relationships, and more predisposition to critical thinking, are more likely to enter the STEM fields. In contrast, cultures that emphasize values such as compliance, traditions, and restraints see fewer women in the STEM.
Stereotypes
Society and bias stereotypes are also important. Psychologically, it is easier to match the stereotypes than to accept yourself as a more vague. Even today, working for over 10 years in it in various geography, I still have an image of an IT specialist as an man in his thirties – forties. Others may also have this stereotype. After all, that's what we saw in the movies. Why important? Very simple – the stereotypes narrow our vision and do not allow us to explore unknown opportunities. Some familiar with the subject is required to try it. That's exactly what happened to me – I had the opportunity to know programming before choosing my future profession.
Maybe, if we had more IT role models, the girls would be more open to programming and choosing education here?
Why shouldn't the gender gap of IT not be ignored?
After discovering possible preconditions at the current gap between women and men here, I asked myself why it was important. After all, the industry has evolved, new projects are launched. Does anyone need to interrupt the proportion of women and men in the workforce?
I see many factors to think about changing this status quo: economic, gender, and holistic.
McKinsey says that in order to remain competitive with the growth and change of technology, Europe must recruit and maintain women for the fastest growing roles of tech in the predictable future. This means that more young women need to be educated as IT specialists.
Promoting women in tech can result in more successful IT products taking into account women's specific needs, as women are involved in development and decision making. One of the brightest examples in tech is Bumble -the first woman dedicated to the app launched by Whitney Wolfe Herd, who gave the women's agency and prioritized their safety, rather than considering only the stereotypical sizes of the male.
Holistic effects based on personal experience
My own experience, not yet based on any statistics, shows how women's presence can change the teamwork and corporate culture. As a young specialist at an IT company, I was the first woman to rent. I saw how the whole team was organizing my presence in the first few weeks: the male colleagues made a long pause in the conversations where they were previously launched in arguments or used harsh curse words. At the time, the stops disappeared, and in general, team members' relationships became more peaceful and less aggressive. My presence gave them a chance to show off their better side. The team was highly inspired by this experience and continued to rent women for new opening positions. In other jobs, I saw how girls were taking team-building activities, which boost work-related conversations that improved employees' bonds and honesty in companies. In my experience, women have brought empathy to previously led by lad-culture, helping everyone to hear and recognize.
Actions
Identifying the problem is the beginning of its solution.
Here are some points including the girls' journey to and the IT profession that most IT employees can meet:
● Popular the stem on girls and encourage STEM education. Although McKinsey claims that this procedure is not balanced in efforts to strive, I still think that the wider funnel, the easier it is to get more girls involved in this profession.
● Provide good internship opportunities, mentorship and support universities as a way to provide increased converting from students to such professions required.
● Encourage mixing and inclusive teams to dissolve the child's culture.
● Allow hybrid and remote work, as well as on-site care for the child. It can give women the necessary support to stay in the IT workforce while balancing it with child care.
Although the aforementioned sound like a plan of action for big creatures such as universities, large corporations, and government, there is still something that professionally on their side can do: take responsibilities to mentorship, be a role model for other girls, and be strong about this problem.
