Status Of Women In Tech As The Decade Turns!
We are twenty years in the century and there is only about a month left for the decade to turn. The year has been a total rollercoaster ride for every person in every profession. A lot of things were learnt and a lot of things were discovered about ourselves as well as others.
A fresh decade indicates furtherance and evolution in technology, politics, science, and entertainment. And in each of the genres mentioned, women have a pronounced role to play. As years move forward, society takes stride towards impartiality and equality. New laws are made and old ones are revoked to aid the growth of women in personal as well as their professional strata.
The Beginning of Women in the Workforce
During World War II, when men were all at the frontline, fighting to protect the country, the entire responsibility of handling and running the house dropped on the shoulders of the women. Hence, women entered the workforce, without any added benefits or even equality for that matter.
But now, women had come to realize the independence that came with working and never looked back!
It was during this time we saw the initial steps of women in tech, when six spectacular women programmed the first electronic computer, and did not even get their due credit. However, women continued to be unabashed!
Women in Tech who changed the Game!
“Girls are capable of doing everything men are capable of doing. Sometimes they have more imagination than men.”
– Katherine Johnson, NASA Mathematician
We have a book full of names of exceptional women in tech who swept the world off its feet and showed just how smart women are.
- Suw Charman-Anderson – In 2009, she founded Ada Lovelace Day to help women raise their profile in STEM and show their achievements.
- Hedy Lamarr – She was a true epitome of beauty with brains. A self-taught inventor and a Hollywood star whose frequency hopping system inspired Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, and GPS.
- Ada Lovelace – She is known as the World’s First Computer Programme
- Annie Easley – She was a NASA Rocket Scientist whose work on the Centaur Project laid foundations for future space shuttles.
Gender Makeup & the Women in Tech Today
The world today is not an equal one. However, there’s hope that one day women would at least come shoulder to shoulder, if not above, to their male equals inside the premises of an office.
If we were to talk about the status of women in tech as the decade turns, many would find it disheartening. However, there are always two sides to a coin and while the stats are not as high as we would wish and hope for in terms of gender makeup, they are still growing with every passing year.
Here are some stats facts:
- In engineering, the ratio of men to women is 5:1
- In terms of board of directors, only about 37% tech startups have one or more women in the horizon.
- On a global scale, around 25.5% of Google’s leaders are women.
- Less than 2% of female-owned startups get VC funding.
- In India, the ratio of women in tech is much higher at 34% than other countries such as US (24%-25%) and Europe (18%).
Wage Gap in the Tech Sector
It comes as no surprise at all that there is a huge wage gap in the tech sector based on multiple stands including gender, race, color, caste, and creed.
However, as the decade turns, we have our fingers crossed for the wage gap to become narrower and the strip of women in tech to become thicker.
- In 2019, Monster Salary Index Survey showed that women in India, on an average, earn 19% less than their male colleagues. From 20% in 2018 to 19% in 2019, the gap narrowed down only 1%. While the gap might not seem wide to many, it is the same as the percentage of hikes one asks for when switching companies. However, SheWork.in has aided in bringing about a wave of change by encouraging companies to hire more female talents with apt caliber.
- As cited above, women driven tech startups receive significantly less funding. Thus, it was a direct hit to women entrepreneurs in the tech field.
- It has been keenly observed that women take extra hits during their maternity leave. Around 46% women in India feel that their maternity leads to beliefs about their quitting, which weakens their hold on their designation power and rights. To turn the scales in the favor of females, shework.in has designed special Hiring Plans to benefit both the company and the talent. Our Start-up Plan, Long Term Plan, and Buy Out Plans especially promote the hiring of women for work.
- In 2019, Monster Salary Index Survey showed that women in India, on an average, earn 19% less than their male colleagues. From 20% in 2018 to 19% in 2019, the gap narrowed down only 1%. While the gap might not seem wide to many, it is the same as the percentage of hikes one asks for when switching companies. However, SheWork.in has aided in bringing about a wave of change by encouraging companies to hire more female talents with apt caliber.
As the Decade Turns
The year, as mentioned above, has taught us many things and the most important thing on that list is to have hope. Women hold the power to change everything they touch and the tech sector is certainly to be one of them.
Shework is a close-knit community doing its very best to help all the female talents out there to not only understand their true worth, but to also help them find their right fit in terms of work and company. Ms Pooja Bangad, the founder of Shework witnessed first–hand the situation of women in work & thus, began her long journey to help her fellow females.
As the decade turns, Shework is all set to become the backbone for women who are yet to realize where their true value lies in terms of talent.