I was given an assignment to research technology podcasts and was provided some suggestions for popular podcasts. When I looked through the offerings I noticed how heavily male those suggestions were. Which, is not unusual since the tech field IS predominantly male. What I found interesting in exploring this assignment is that it wasn't always that way.
In 1984 37% of all computer science majors were women. A shift in that trend began in 1990 and there has been a dramatic decline of women pursuing technology degrees. Today, women account for roughly 17% of all computer related college degrees. That statistic was startling to me. If someone would have asked me which years those numbers were from I would have guessed the reverse based on assumptions of how gender roles seemed to have changed from then and now.
My perception was that women gained a lot of ground in terms of gender stereotypes over the past 30 years which certainly would translate into careers that were historically male dominated. Perception is not reality and as we often see with history, as much as things seem to change, they stay the same. So, I looked for answers to what caused such a down turn for women seeking careers in technology.
I searched for women who had paved the way and were fighting against the tide to be part of the tech industry. I found, not a lot, but enough podcasts by women in tech who could shed some light on their experiences and observations about this problem: STEMxm, Techgrlz, Women in Tech, STEM XX, Wit Talks, and Witty Women in Tech Talk to Yaz.
One Witty Women podcast I listened to featured Karen Catlin who started in the tech field in 1985 in software building. She worked at Dreamweaver and Adobe and now owns a consulting business providing leadership opportunities for women in tech. Working during the time that there was this major shift in the field, Karen had the opportunity to see the changes first hand and reflected on one of the biggest reasons that there has been such a decline. Unconscious bias. It hadn't occurred to me until she said it. but it made good sense.
Unconscious bias is based on social or cultural stereotypes that are so ingrained in our collective thinking that we aren't consciously aware of how it effects our behaviors and decisions. Parents guide boys toward fixing, tinkering, building, sciences and girls toward care taking, teaching, and hospitality vocations. Think about the computer geek, gamer or hacker. You likely pictured a male person. Think about a successful person in technology. You probably picture Steve Jobs, Bill Gates.
Who would you picture if you thought about a prominent woman in the tech field? It's hard to come up with a name. It shouldn't be because women have contributed great things to the world of technology but haven't been given their due credit.
This is the battle girls and women are fighting. By the time girls approach college they aren't thinking about STEM because they haven't been encouraged to consider those careers. Those that pursue careers in IT struggle with factors that make it difficult to stay in their chosen field. Retention of women in tech careers has been challenging because of the huge gender disparity. The work environments are intimidating and women are leaving due to a sense of isolation and cultural issues in the workplace. Women make up only 28% of the average tech company's entry level positions. Women in senior positions account for roughly 19%. This lack of advancement opportunity leads many female techies to leave the field and discourages other women from joining tech in the first place. It's a cyclical problem.
While the picture for success of women in the tech industry has been somewhat bleak, good things are happening for women lately. There are colleges that are making efforts to recruit women and increase enrollment in the computer science fields with great outcomes (Carnegie Melon, Harvey Mudd). There are more educational resources for getting girls interested in the STEM fields. Women who have been successful are making concerted efforts to build mentoring networks. It feels as if there is a ground swell to change the numbers.
Some companies are beginning to address the gender imbalance. By 2022 the U.S. will need 1.2 million more people to fill necessary technology jobs. The reality is there aren't enough men to meet that demand. Women need to keep this in mind. It is not too late to make a career change or encourage young girls and let them know that this is a great opportunity for them.
At the end of the Witty Women podcast Karen Catlin reflected on what her biggest regret was in her tech career. She said that she wished she had more lunches with her male colleagues. Because she was a minority in her workplace she felt compelled to drive harder than her peers to prove she was worthy. She would often eat lunch at her desk to keep ahead of schedule and achieve more. But what she realized much later in her life, she didn't build relationships and this made her job harder. She didn't know the assets her coworkers brought to the table so when she was a project lead she didn't know who the best person was for the assignment or what assets she had on her team.
At the end of the day the realization is that it isn't going to be easy for women to break the barriers you also need to keep pushing and develop relationships. Take your seat at the table and stay there.
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