My career in the technology sector is a fortunate accident but it remains far too rare an outcome for women entering today’s workforce. This week I addressed an audience at the Child Internet Safety Summit in London to offer a woman’s perspective on what it means to be in technology, why it’s so important for young women to consider a career in the technology sector and what they can do to prepare themselves to be a part of the industry.
Of the many data points that serve to paint the picture of women in technology, I think that Maria Klawe, president at Harvey Mudd in Claremont California provides the clearest description of the problem.
“We’ve done lots of research on why young women don’t choose tech careers and number one is they think it’s not interesting. Number two, they think they wouldn’t be good at it. Number three, they think they will be working with a number of people that they just wouldn’t feel comfortable or happy working alongside.”
Not Interesting?
Ouch. It’s hard to understand this perspective from inside tech. From my vantage point, this is the industry most directly affecting people’s lives today and being a part of that is genuinely exciting. Somehow, at home, in schools and even in movies and television, we’re somehow failing to capture the imagination of young women. What I can other women in tech can do is be evangelists and invest some of our time talking with women and sharing our perspectives whether we are coders, marketers or engineers.
Not Good At It?
Young women don’t come to the conclusion that they wouldn’t be good at a particular thing without some pretty strong communication from their community. Whether at home or at school, our families and institutions need to consciously change the dialog and tone. The evidence is clear that women are just as capable as men in business, technology, medicine and virtually every other field. We need to stop suggesting otherwise and present the skills that lead to tech openly and without bias.
Not Comfortable?
I cannot honestly think of a workplace in which everyone liked each other or got along all the time. Working with a variety of personalities is essential to success regardless of sector so it makes me wonder what message we are sending to young women that gives them this perception of people working in technology. Perhaps the most important thing we can do is to help teach all children how to work together, to compromise and to be a part of a truly diverse workforce.
Much of the media’s focus on women-in-tech has focused on coding, and the good news is that there are many companies and organizations working to make sure young women know that this field is open to them and that there’s much that they have to offer and can accomplish. We’re far from there but we’ve started.
More importantly though, we need a more comprehensive change perceptions and from the beginning communicate to girls and young women that entire world of careers is open to them and welcomes them. To that end we should all do the following:
- Become advocates and mentors and provide encouragement, affirmation and confidence. Women in particular need to be role models and mentors in their community.
- Young women need to seek out sponsors, someone who will truly take an active role in supporting their career aspirations.
- Men need to be allies and supportive.“A true male ally is a man who is willing to defend women when there are no women in the room.”
Ultimately, the most impactful thing we can do in our industry is to tell a good story that demonstrates technology is compelling and accessible to everyone.
We don’t need to change who people are or turn women into men. We simply need to make sure that we all women have the opportunity to choose to be a part of whatever industry we want.
Debbie Sterling, Founder and CEO of Goldieblox said it well, “There’s nothing wrong with being a princess, we just think girls can build their own castles too.”
