TALKING

However , while the technology industry is booming , it will take 135.6 years to reach gender parity , according to the World Economic Forum ’ s most recent Global Gender Gap Report . And a recent update by Harvard Law School on Women in the Boardroom 2022 suggests that women occupy just 20 % of board seats globally and continue to be excluded from the highest levels of corporate leadership .

All of this is happening amidst an exponentially increasing demand for tech talent since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic . The need for tech talent to support rising digitalisation is creating a hypercompetitive tech talent market .

As such , now is the time for tech companies to make a concerted effort to cultivate the unique skills and diversity that women bring to the workforce , or potentially face being unable to retain key talent and / or meet skills demands . Male colleagues have a pivotal role to play in this , advocating for women and giving them the space to grow and be heard – in terms of the challenges they are facing and what more can be done to ensure equity .

In this article , we ’ ll explore how gender equality is not going to be achieved by a single group of people , but rather teamwork and collaboration from all .

Gender bias in today ’ s technology industry

Despite the progress that ’ s been made in the technology sector , organisational challenges and biases still exist for women and are widespread . Tech organisations are historically renowned for primarily sourcing talent from the same , limited groups and relying heavily on their network channels , which , as we know , still remain hugely male-dominated . candidate ’ s perspective , there ’ s nothing more discouraging than experiencing an interview process that does not demonstrate diversity and that ’ s a huge detractor . Female candidates will opt for an organisation they feel represents the kind of environment that will suit and support them in their career , over job titles and pay .

Evolution of thought and culture

To overcome these challenges , companies need to move away from thinking about the diversity of gender to the diversity of thought . Creating diverse interview panels with people who have sway in the final decision will help to ensure that biases can be identified and eradicated .

It ’ s also imperative that organisations make sure they are being more inclusive and include a diverse candidate pool to choose from when hiring new employees . This should be implemented at the beginning , when recruiting teams begin to source new talent throughout the hiring process . Through executing this , organisations will gain a competitive edge because of the unique skills and perspectives that a diverse workforce brings to an organisation .

Furthermore , creating an inclusive culture with clear career paths and policies aligned to women ’ s needs can help to address the challenges women still face with regards to progression and opportunities . It ’ s still commonplace to see women not applying for roles , because they don ’ t see themselves as suitable or ready based on factors such as not having all the required experience or skills listed on the job description , compared to men who tend to have a much lower threshold for considering themselves as ready / suitable .

Kim Coombs , Vice President HR and Talent EMEA at Riverbed Technology ,

What ’ s more , the affinity bias – where we tend to gravitate towards people who are like us – frequently results in hiring biases . In addition , from a female

This is compounded by the fact women are still overlooked for opportunities and generally tend to remain in their role / level longer than men , because

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