6 reasons why we need women in tech industry

1. INCREASED BUSINESS REVENUE

AN EASY-TO-GRASP reason for why we need women in the technology jobs is the benefit they bring to the bottom line of a business. Women offer new ways of thinking that result in innovation and better problem-solving. This translates to improved customer satisfaction, creating loyal customers for your brand.

As women grow into leadership positions, it inspires young women in tech to apply to job positions with a realistic hope of climbing up the corporate ladder. A balanced workplace also cultivates better morale, safety, and workplace culture. All of these things lead to better employee performance and increased revenue.

2. DIVERSITY AND INNOVATION

Technology is advancing the world in which we live. We need computer engineers in every industry, from the medical field to city planning. This is why we need to make up for the lack of women in science, technology, engineering, and maths (STEM) jobs.

We want technology to advance in a way that caters to all consumers, regardless of their gender and race. Computer science engineers designing innovative technologies need to represent the voice of the consumers. Representation can only happen if companies have diverse teams.

Women offer a different way of thinking than men. Considering a woman’s viewpoint leads to innovative changes in industries where decisions about uni-sex or female products were once made solely by men.

An article by Stanford Medicine talks about the differences between men’s and women’s brains and cognitive functions. Women excel in tasks that test:

• Verbal ability

• Reading comprehension

• Writing ability

• Fine-motor coordination and perceptual speed

• Accessing information from their long-term memory

This does not mean that men do not have their own set of skills. The study showed that men are better at juggling items in working memory and have superior visuospatial skills. Hiring more women in tech diversifies the strengths of a company’s employees. It gives employers more talent to work with and further innovate within their field.

If your goal is to provide a great product and grow your revenue, then your products should be designed for all types of consumers. Since half of consumer spending is female, creating products with females in mind is innovative.

3. BETTER PROBLEMSOLVING FOR BETTER RESULTS

Being adept at problem-solving is not gender-specific. Both women and men find solutions to problems regardless of their gender. However, better problemsolving requires out-of-the-box thinking and fresh ideas. Gender equality and diversity in the workforce would be a simple way to bring new ideas to the table.

According to The National Center for Women & Information Technology, as of 2021, only 19 per cent of women have jobs as computer software engineers and 20 per cent as computer programmers. This means that as of 2021, 80 per cent of problem-solving in the tech industry was done by men.

Women working in technology often face gender bias and find their ideas and voices silenced among their many male counterparts. According to Trustradius, 78 per cent of women in tech believe that they have to work harder than their male co-workers to make up for the numbers working against them and prove their worth.

This is why the tech world needs more women in the workforce. We are underutilising powerful brain capacities and not hearing ideas that have the potential to produce better results.

4. MORE MEANINGFUL MENTORS & TALENT

According to a Research Note from The ILO Bureau for Employers’ Activities, “Unconscious gender bias remains a significant barrier to women’s career advancement.”

The research found that women perceived themselves as less likely to grow into leadership positions due to “stereotypes against women and inherent gender bias in recruitment and promotion”.

STEM jobs are male-dominated, and unconscious gender bias instils the notion that management roles are meant for men. The way things are now, most upper management in tech industries are men.

When women have more of a voice at the table, in both company hierarchy and an equal number of seats, this affects future generations of the tech industry.

Not only encouraging young women to continue to learn and innovate but also to create technology for women with a better understanding of what female user-intents are.

Meaningful mentors bring the talent pool looking to study under people they hope to be one day. A better talent pool means better innovation and a better product. A better product means you can charge more for your services and products.

5. INCREASED WORKPLACE SAFETY

One of the reasons why the tech industry needs more women is increased safety. Now that you’ve seen the research on how women’s and men’s brains differ, you can see how women’s ideas bring a new perspective to the table. Hackers are not only men, so having women on your security teams adds an extra layer of armour to your arsenal.

Not only web security, but no company does well in the public eye if sexual harassment lawsuits are floating around on their record. Whether or not the allegations end up holding up in court, it’s costly for a company to go through legal proceedings.

On the other end, women’s safety in the workplace needs to be a priority in all workspaces. You want your company to feel safe for all employees regarding gender, age, or race.

According to the Institute for Women’s Policy Research, women working in male-dominated environments or environments with traditionally male tasks are more vulnerable to sexual harassment and assault. It also documented “high levels of harassment of women faculty and staff in academia in science, engineering, and medicine.”

Changing male-dominated environments to gender-balanced work teams paves the way for open discussions, better HR practices, and less gender bias in the workplace. This makes a safer and more enjoyable work environment for all.

6. IMPROVED WORKPLACE CULTURE

Office morale is more than just bringing in a cake on someone’s birthday. It’s about having people feel appreciated, heard, and respected even if they are not the vice president or in a position of decision making.

Good mentorship, ideas shared by equal voices, and safe work environments make employees want to stay with the company. For business owners with a high turnaround rate, training new employees is costly and time-consuming. Yet, the training of female employees is cost-beneficial in the long run.

Hiring more females in technology and other industries where there are unequal numbers of male-to-female staff improves workplace culture. It increases safety, allows companies to rethink policies that are more geared towards one gender, and it adds diversity to the personalities of team members.

FINAL POINTS ON WHY WE NEED FEMALES IN TECHNOLOGY

The reason we need females in tech is that the world needs to be designed by and for the people who are using it, and currently, this is not the case.

Women add innovation to companies by providing new insights and problemsolving solutions to male-dominated industries. By including more women in leadership roles, companies see growth as qualified female talent seeks out role models they aspire to be like.

Balanced workplaces have better workplace safety and office culture, leaving employees of all genders more satisfied with their job satisfaction and increasing the average number of years employees work for your company.

Humans are multifaceted and are more than just what is listed on their resumes. People have passions that overflow into the workplace and lead to ground-breaking ideas that reach millions of multifaceted consumers.

Taken from corporate.hackathon.com