Dive Brief:
- A study of 572,000 technologists at 76 companies found women occupy 25.12% of technical roles in 2019, according to the Top Companies for Women Technologists report published Thursday by AnitaB.org. The report includes data from Amazon, Microsoft, Salesforce and other organizations.
- Women in tech representation rose 1.09% this year, a number that's almost identical to last year's increase rate (1.08%). Researchers say the slow but steady growth is the result of programs and policies aimed at increasing the hiring and retention of women.
- Minority groups hold the smallest share of tech roles, but they saw higher year over year growth rates. Black/African American women now hold 8.2% of technical roles, up from 5.5% in 2018. Hispanic/Latinx women represent 5.8% of technical workers, up from 4.9% last year.
Dive Insight:
Intentional steps from leadership can retool company culture and improve gender inequity in the tech industry. Even if slowly.
But industry should boost its yearly representation increase by more than 1% if it wants to reach 50/50 equity for women in technology by 2025, said Michelle C. Flatt, VP of programs at AnitaB.org, the tech equity nonprofit behind the study.
"We need companies to remain committed to moving beyond representation toward equity by tracking intersectional data on race and gender, sharing that data regularly and implementing proven strategies that drive diversity among the technical workforce," said Flatt in an emailed statement.
As tech grapples with a tightening labor market, technologists and analysts agree achieving gender equity in the workforce is essential to the tech industry's expansion plans.
In that regard, policies and programs aimed at women in tech retention and attraction rose steadily from 2018. Specifically, the presence of flex time policy, leadership development programs, gender diversity training, and sponsorship programs rose across the board from 2018.
Per last year's statistics, pay equity initiatives saw a significant increase: 74% of companies, compared to just 66% in 2018, say they have pay equity programs in place.
Other studies have determined the pay gap in tech will not disappear until 2059.
