Women in Technology

Tech and digital now permeate every sector. Every single business – from retailers to mobile-first social apps – requires significant web-based investment. We’re witnessing the greatest spike in new job creation since the Industrial Revolution. In the US, seven million people are employed in the tech industry today. So where are the women? On a business level, having so few senior females doesn’t make sense. In an age where we shop, learn and communicate online, 50% of the user base is female. Yet the products, apps and platforms they shop, learn and communicate on are, for the most part, built by men. Gender imbalance is seen across the tech spectrum, from the male-dominated computer science and technical degree programs to the Silicon Valley tech giants. This imbalance is clearly demonstrated at Google (31% female workforce);  Apple (37%), Microsoft (25.8%), Facebook (33%) and Twitter (37%).

Though it’s worth noting that the numbers are moving in the right direction, with companies now engaging more fervently in driving internal gender balance to match that of their user base. But considering the hundreds of millions of female consumers using their products every day, one has to wonder how such disparity was allowed to occur in these modern-age companies in the first place. Our early conversations with leading women within the sector point to a number of common themes, ranging from the differing motivations of men and women and the Silicon Valley “dude” culture, to the lack of relatable female role models in tech, the way we educate our sons versus our daughters.

There are grounds for optimism. The rise of the Technology Revolution has well and truly lowered the barrier to entry to entrepreneurship, with dynamic, young, gender-balanced creative hubs shooting up all over the globe, from Silicon Valley (London) to Silicon Alley (New York), Silicon Glen (Scotland) to Silicon Fen (Cambridge).Exceptional female founders are going to be fundamental in changing perceptions and inspiring young women to consider careers in the ever-evolving tech and digital world. And in the short, medium and long term, that can only be a good thing for everyone.