Why women and tech are a rocking combination!
While women make up for almost half of the world’s workforce, the top 5 tech companies (Apple, Google, Microsoft, Facebook and Twitter) have less than 20 per cent women working in tech roles
“Strength lies in diversity, not in similarities.”
While talk about gender diversity has been ongoing at large, the truth is that the tech industry is still seen primarily as a man’s space. Many organizations and social groups are trying to encourage more women to get into tech careers, and yet the gap persists. While women make up for almost half of the world’s workforce, the top 5 tech companies (Apple, Google, Microsoft, Facebook and Twitter) have less than 20 per cent women working in tech roles. Less than 30 per cent of their leadership roles are occupied by women.
Not only are these numbers appalling for women, they are also not so good for business and the economy in general. Our educational system and the perceived gender biases in technical careers may have a role to play, as interest in technical educational is waning all around and especially so from women. The world has much to gain by making sure that more women play an active role in technology companies at all levels of the organizations.
There are multiple advantages in having women in technology companies, and here are just a few of them.
Creating Innovative products
Women tend to think differently and solve problems differently as compared to men. Having women in your team leads to more competitive products as a result of diverse thinking and balanced opinions. Almost half of the users of these technologies and products are women. It makes sense that women be involved in driving decisions in the design of these products.
Also Read: On gender diversity as a business case: Rocketrip’s Gillian Tee
Understanding of a huge consumer base
Better tech products result from a better understanding of the needs and wants of the consumer. Not only do women impact a majority of the purchase decisions, especially in the B2C space, but also they themselves are a tremendous consumer base. Today women are buying tech and electronic products in equal measure to men. They buy not only for themselves, but also for their families. Making products that appeal to women as well, and then to market them so as to appeal to the values of this lucrative consumer group can bring huge traction to brands.
Solving the talent pool crisis
The talent crisis in technology jobs requiring coding and software development is deepening. Skills shortage in the IT sector is often cited as a major challenge facing many companies, preventing them from fully implementing plans to scale up their businesses. According to a study by Harvey Nash and KPMG, about 65 per cent of the world’s major technology leaders say that lack of tech talent has been a hindrance for their business. Having more women in tech roles can help tackle this problem, and that would be good news for everyone.
Bringing empathy to business
The businesses that succeed in today’s ultra-competitive world are those that are focused on adding value by being consumer-centric and quick to adapt. Those that will win in the future will provide a high level of service, put customers first and solve their problems by really stepping into their shoes. Human-centered design, which involves creating products by iterating and testing your products with actual users, has become the guiding philosophy for many high performing products and services.
Also Read: Meet the top 5 female leaders from the tech world in China
Women are naturally suited to embody this customer-centric philosophy due to their higher empathy and deeper connection to the human side of things. They are better in humanizing your brand and giving it a personality and voice, especially on social media. The company benefits if its employees and leaders are active on social media and socialize with their audiences.
Technology has impacted every aspect of our life and business, and it is only apt that women have an equal role to play in this revolution. Fortunately, there are some strong role models out there who have proven that women can succeed in technology companies. The world needs more women to follow suit.
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