March 8th is International Women’s Day. As a sector that is dominated by men, it is important for everyone involved in technology to look critically at their acceptance of women as leaders, innovators, and valuable contributors.
The reasons to encourage more women to enter the Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) domains are endless. Research has shown that women tend to produce better code and that companies that incorporate diversity (i.e. gender and ethnic diversity) as a core value tend to perform better, financially and otherwise. Women are also a relatively untapped pool of much-needed talent, especially when it comes to software engineers where the demand greatly surpasses the supply.
Even at the world’s biggest tech companies, women are underrepresented, often making up only between 10% and 20% of technical roles. They don’t fare much better in leadership roles either.
The good news is that the conversation is changing. Companies and industries are beginning to look into their makeup as diversity becomes an increasingly important aspect of creating a flourishing work environment for everyone. Instead of being ignored, this skew is an issue that’s being addressed and, slowly but surely, corrected.
Diversifying the Ecosystem
While the numbers in the tech sector still favour men, initiatives like Ladies Learning Code (LLC) and Girls Who Code are changing the dynamic by encouraging more women to get involved in tech. Recent changes to BC’s curriculum, bringing coding to K-12 students, will also promote tech careers to young girls here at home. By helping them develop an innate interest and talent that may otherwise be quelled as they grow up, young women will be prepared to enter the sector in droves in the foreseeable future.
Mel Reams, senior developer at Referral SaaSquatch and mentor at the Victoria chapter of Ladies Learning Code, thinks there are two main reasons we need more women in tech.
“First, there just aren’t enough people in tech, period. A few weeks ago when I was at the Discover Tectoria event, it seemed like every second booth had a ‘We’re hiring!’ sign up. There aren’t enough engineers in particular and the easiest way to get more is to make underrepresented people welcome. Second, there are girls out there who are going to build amazing, powerful, beautiful things, as long as we don’t push them out of the field!”
That’s what remains a critical problem today. Women that have entered the field often quickly leave because of the mostly subtle, but sometimes blatant biases that persist. These biases further hinder the sector’s development and discourage other women from even trying to enter STEM fields. As we collectively make an effort to shift towards a more welcoming environment, however, and more women take advantage of the tech opportunities that exist, this reality will become a thing of the past.
Places like Victoria’s tech ecosystem show great promise already.
“Women in Victoria really didn’t seem to need much encouragement to come to our workshops. The very first Ladies Learning Code workshop sold out once, got moved to a bigger venue, and sold that one out too. Women were always interested in tech and when we showed up with our workshops and meetups and told women this was for them, they basically broke down our door.
One of the things I really love about Ladies Learning Code is that our instructors and most of our mentors are women, which is a really powerful way to show women that people just like them already do this kind of work.”
Mel has even spearheaded a loaner laptop program for Victoria’s chapter of LLC, which she’s working towards sharing with other chapters.
“I felt very strongly that we should have loaner laptops. LLC is all about digital literacy for everyone and it’s not for everyone if we can only help people who have (or can borrow) a laptop that works reliably and that they can install software on.”
Pushing for Progress
Just like the tech sector is inherently driven by advancement and progress, so is society overall. Although the playing field is still uneven, we have made progress. What used to be a largely untouched or ignored topic of discussion has been brought into the spotlight and changes are being made to bring balance to the sector.
STEM fields are a real career option for women. Initiatives like LLC, Girls Who Code, and the countless other organizations out there encouraging girls and women to follow this path are only reinforcing that idea by helping more women take hold of the space.
The real change will be evident in the years to come as more places adopt coding into their schools and the exposure of youth, young girls in particular, to tech increases. Continuing in this direction is sure to bring benefits all around, to the companies, the sector, and society as a whole.