Introduction
Women in technology are under-represented according to any study you can consult on the issue. This matters, not only for the millions of individual women and girls who find themselves at a disadvantage compared to their male peers, but for the technology sector as a whole, who are missing out on talented leaders and experts to drive innovation and progress.
The good news is that more conversations are being had about diversity, and getting more talented women on board and retaining them has become a key HR strategy for many corporate players. However, latest figures show that not only does the technology industry lag behind other industries such as finance, legal or education; but there’s little evidence of much progression, with Gartner finding that the proportion of female CIOs has remained static at 14% for a decade, and the percentage of females within US computer science degree courses actually falling from 37% in 1984 to just 19% in 2012.
Despite the sobering statistics, aspiring women in tech can take inspiration from some strong female leaders, with corporate titans like Sheryl Sandberg, COO of Facebook, Marissa Mayer, CEO of Yahoo and Ginni Rometty, CEO of IBM among some of the most famous. But how can we create an environment where a female CEO is normal rather than newsworthy? In the following sections, we’ll look a little deeper into gender equality in the tech industry, and then talk more about practical initiatives and strategies that aim to address the issue.
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