Dive Brief:
- Pay inequities, lack of work-life balance and unequal opportunities in the workplace are the biggest challenges for women pursuing careers in tech, according to Skillsoft's 2021 Women in Tech report. The company surveyed 1,100 women tech professionals in the U.S., UK, Canada and France.
- The majority of respondents (55%) agreed companies could encourage more women to enter the IT field by offering professional development and training opportunities, followed closely by providing child care (47%).
- Professional development or training opportunities are very or extremely important to 86% of tech workers surveyed.
Dive Insight:
Tech organizations have long grappled with cultural issues that hurt diversity and inclusion. When it comes to the key drivers of workplace satisfaction for women, companies have a lot of room for improvement.
Women consulted for the report said organizations do not approach the hiring process equally, hiring men more often based on "potential."
To increase the number of women in the global workforce, they must have access to continuous training, professional development, and career advancement, as well as equal pay, according to Potoula Chresomales, SVP of product management, Skillsoft.
Representation at the top matters, too. And, among the CIOs of Fortune 500 companies, less than one in five are women, a report from cloud talent firm Revolent found. Gender diversity improved only marginally in the last three years, up 2.8% since the 2018 edition of the report.
Encouraging women to join careers in tech is insufficient, as company culture needs to support retention and create space to grow as careers develop.
Women departing careers in technology most often report weak management support, lack of opportunity and not enough work-life balance as the main reasons for their departures, according to a Capital One report.