Women’s Equality Day: Closing the gender gap one step at a time

Kleopatra Kivrakidou, Channel Marketing Manager EMEA at Ergotron introduces the need for gender diversity, and how the recent pandemic has highlighted the challenges of juggling working and parenting:

“While it’s true that the business world is still quite a way off from achieving gender parity, more organisations now recognise the importance of diversity in the workplace, and are taking on the responsibility to attract more female talent and provide more equal opportunities for growth.

“Recent global circumstances have put the spotlight on working mothers, with many organisations implementing flexible work structures to help them maintain a work-life balance during this difficult period. This includes enabling them to continue to work from home, if their personal circumstances don’t allow a return to the office, and providing the right technology and equipment to support both productive working and wellbeing. Working environments that build their success on respecting diversity, giving equal opportunities for development to all, and who trust their workforce for who they are, become, by definition, the ones where you find more women.”

“Research shows that companies with a diverse workforce are more innovative, better prepared for decision-making and perform better financially than their homogeneous counterparts,” agrees Samina Subedar, VP, Marketing at StorCentric. “Armed with that knowledge, it’s important to take stock of our accomplishments this Women’s Equality Day and reflect on where we can improve by recognising who gets left behind. When we speak of women’s equality, we must factor in race, socioeconomic status, ability, religious beliefs and so much more. The poet Audre Lorde captured this sentiment when she said, ‘I am not free while any woman is unfree, even when her shackles are very different from my own.’ Diversity is good for business, but it’s also important to embrace our differences, fight prejudice, and actively promote inclusivity and equality in the workplace, now and in the future.”

Making STEM open to all

One of the most important ways to get more women into STEM roles is simply by being more welcoming to women from the outset, explains Connie Stack, Chief Strategy Officer at Digital Guardian:

“According to recent research, in the UK only 23% of STEM roles are filled by women, and only 5% of leadership positions. The world should be a place of equal opportunity for all, and yet research consistently reveals just how far we have to go before this is possible. 

“Importantly, many organisations are making a huge effort to change, and change can be as simple as being more female friendly. Unremarkable as it may sound, at Digital Guardian we chose a brand colour palette made up of colours generally associated with men (blue) and women (pink), signaling to prospective female employees that they were welcome at our company. Creating an inclusive environment where females are welcomed, encouraged and nurtured, is the first step towards greater gender equality, paving the way to a more inclusive future.”

Agnes Schliebitz-Ponthus, Director Consulting at Fluent Commerce adds to this, identifying how female role models can encourage more women into STEM jobs:

“Women’s Equality Day allows us to reflect on centuries of female suffrage that has enabled women, past, present and future, to succeed in their chosen path. However, whilst there has been much progress towards gender parity, grave inequalities persist globally. In the STEM sector, for example, women remain the minority.

“Despite there being no evidence indicating a difference in ability, STEM subjects are often looked at as being harder for women – with misconceptions often beginning in primary school, where girls can feel social pressures from their peers or local community to pursue alternate avenues like arts or humanities. Women who continue down a STEM path, at University or in early jobs, may often feel lonely, threatened or isolated when surrounded by only male peers. 

“There are already great women, as well as many men, advocating for greater equality in STEM. However, it is vital that women are supported by role models of their own gender: women who understand their struggles and experiences, and who can inspire their growth. Normalising the image of successful female role models is important as we work towards gender parity.”

“From an education perspective we’re still quite some way from achieving gender parity,” reveals Liz Matthews, Head of Community and Education at Mango Solutions. “Globally, only 3% of students joining ICT courses are women, increasing to 5% for mathematics, and 8% for engineering. This low proportion of women studying STEM subjects in higher education means that the overall STEM workforce can only claim 12.8% as women – there is so much that can be done to counteract this. 

“Companies are now, more than ever, investing in data-driven digital transformation, meaning that there is an increase in the amount and range of roles and opportunities available. To help in filling this corporate need, it’s imperative to increase investment in training for women, encouraging them to enter the world of data science in order to begin closing the skills gap.” 

Isabel Hutchings, Applications Engineer at Content Guru points out how Women’s Equality Day highlights the lack of women in the technology industry, and what lessons can be learnt: 

“The day comes at an interesting time this year, following the recent chaos around A-level results and the government’s monumental U-turn and apology for the distress it caused students. Overshadowed this year was the continued gender divide in students taking STEM subjects. Despite some positive examples, such as an increase in girls studying computing, the gender divide in most of these key subjects is still a telling reflection of an industry-wide issue with seemingly no end in sight.

“Young girls are at a particularly impressionable age, with relatively fluid perceptions of what they want to do in the future. It’s such an important age to capture students’ imaginations. Unfortunately, we’re not yet getting this right. A recent report from Engineering UK found almost half of 11 to 19 year olds knew little or almost nothing about what engineers actually do. Worse still, engineering was seen as difficult, dirty, and a career better suited for men. Until we expand the perception of engineering in young people – particularly girls – and unlock the hidden passion in students to pursue the many opportunities this area offers, we can expect to see the same statistics rolled out year after year.”

Be the cultural change

Marilou van Doorn, COO at Leaseweb Global emphasises how more effective recruitment can bring about positive changes:

“When I first joined the tech industry, I was the only woman. After a while, my CEO confessed that he had noticed a positive change in the team, the atmosphere and the overall way of working. My advice is to apply – don’t feel intimidated, be the cultural change the organisation needs.

“It starts by focusing on quality recruitment. Through the right search, screening and hiring methods, organisations can expand their talent pool and increase their inclusiveness. Key to this is to take away the unconscious bias when it comes to advertising job vacancies and the selection process. For example, use more gender-neutral terminology, allowing women to feel encouraged in applying for a role in tech. Organisations also need to ensure they are not just increasing the number of women they hire to fill the so-called 'pink quota', check that the people you hire, of all genders and diverse backgrounds, are being hired because they are the best fit for the role. 

“We as a generation need to see more female role models come forward and show both the current and next generation that women can and will succeed in tech. It’s not just a man’s game. Women can also be the next CTO, COO or CEO.”

To conclude, Brooke Candelore, Product Manager at BrightGauge, a ConnectWise solution, details her personal experiences in tech, and how building confidence amongst women is crucial:

“As a woman in tech, an early challenge I faced was working in an environment where I was one of the few women in a largely male-dominated industry. I found that the key to success was gaining confidence – confidence in myself as a person and confidence in my abilities. As women, we need to empower one another and share our experiences of overcoming challenges. 

“Women’s Equality Day allows us to celebrate women and raise awareness of gender equality for a healthier, wealthier, and more harmonious world. I encourage organisations to hire people of different genders, backgrounds and viewpoints. In the end, it is our differences that truly make us stronger.”