Let’s have a closer look at some female in tech statistics first. According to the national statistics institute between October and December 2021 there were 504,000 women working in the Information & Communication industry compared to 1,116 000 male counterparts. This is about 31% of females working in the IT industry across UK.
We are immensely proud that IQ in IT has achieved hiring more females in 2022 achieving 33.3% ratio of female technicians. Our overall ratio of females at IQ in IT is 38.5%.
Our managing director Katerina Damcova has been working on attracting more females to the tech industry by working with local schools, colleges, and university for many years. She is very pleased to achieve a better ratio than the national industry statistics and support some very talented young females in their tech careers.
But what is it really like for females to work in Tech? We have asked Katerina, Kristen and Alex to see what their view are:
Katerina
Being a female in tech has had its challenges especially at the beginning of my career where I had to prove that I do actually know about technology before I would be accepted by predominantly male colleagues. I think having people who supported me and were so proud of me being in IT has helped me cope and believe in myself. I am sure everyone comes across the imposter feeling and it is just so much harder if you have to make extra effort in meetings to put your point across and be taken seriously. So, I think that everyone needs to support females or anyone with confidence issues as the potential they can achieve is great. What everyone must realise is how the gender divide pushes people towards interests which are not naturally theirs. It starts with buying pink for girls and blue for boys. As a child I did not want to play with dolls and my parents did not force anything upon me, I was allowed to grow up as an individual. I think every parent needs to recognise how important this is for their child development including mental health. I am sure everyone knows the saying “Choose a job you love, and you will never have to work a day in your life”. So please don’t try to force children and young individuals to be something they’re not, stop trying to re-live your childhood dreams via your offspring.
Being a co-owner of a tech company, I have a huge influence over the hiring process, but having 80% or more male applicants makes it very difficult to actually hire females. It would be categorically wrong for me to base hiring decisions on a gender and not based on the individuals’ skills and experience.
I am also excited to be working with some great suppliers like Pax8 who are also encouraging females in tech especially in the MSP (Managed Service Provider) industry, which IQ in IT is part of. See their blog with several female leaders in the tech industry interviews:
Pax8 interview read more.
Kristen
While yes there needs to be more women in tech, it starts with access and encouragement as a kid. I learned basically everything from my mom and had no encouragement from school to do anything technical, while it seemed like the boys always did. I was discouraged from taking intro to compsci classes when I was like 17 as well. I took a peek in the classroom when I saw it was going on, it was all boys. Like what!
The school I went to make it mandatory for all kids to take computer science now, but a lot of schools have not. It just seems like videogames, PC stuff, etc are all marketed towards men as well. I don’t know why, but even just the most basic things like colour would’ve made a difference. Some women are super feminine, but also extremely intelligent and interested in technology. I feel like the current climate says that you can’t like pink and dresses and also be an expert in a technical field. Does that make sense? Almost as if you can either be traditionally feminine, or like tech- not both. I don’t see why mixing the two is bad? I completely understand that many women do not like traditionally feminine things- which is also fine. BUT, it is a very, very boys’ club and it almost feels like you have to sacrifice a bit of your personality to “fit in”
Alex
I feel my perception of women in tech is different to most. Due largely to the influence of entering into the tech world, with a woman at the helm of the company. I have always been into the more male dominated interests viewed by society and so, have had experience with people assuming I know less for no other clear reason I could see than my being a woman. Knowing what it is like to have people assume you know less is something I have dealt with in the past, but have not felt in my current role. I have had previous experience in less tech specific but still tech related jobs and I have noticed a difference in how I am viewed and treated in my new, more balanced environment. I feel this is largely influenced by the fact I’m working in a small tech company where just over a third are women. My image and view of women in tech is largely positive and I feel lucky that I have stepped into an environment ahead of its time.
As a business we look to encourage everyone to achieve their best potential without gender, disability, or ethnicity bias. We are proud of our diverse work force and believe that others will follow our example and make work and the world a better place for all.
Continue reading:
On International Women’s day 2021, I choose to challenge gender bias in technology
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