In today's contemporary society, social integration and equality between men and women are two major issues globally, yet many business sectors continue to be dominated by men, and the technology sector does not fall outside this general framework. Rather, this vital sector appears to lag behind other sectors when it comes to women's employment and retention.
According to a study by Deloitte Global, only 23% of women work in this sector, a figure that says a lot about discrimination against women in the technical world, and we can easily ask about this significant decline, and the reasons behind it?
Forgotten Women in the Digital World
Isabelle Collette, computer scientist and researcher at the University of Geneva, highlights this subject in her book "Forgotten Women in the Digital World", published in 2019, confirms that women received 40% computer science degrees in the 1980s in Europe and the United States, However, this proportion has now fallen to only about 25%. The reason for this is difficult to understand, given that history is full of women who have invented or devised technological developments that are now part of our daily lives.
The first modern computer -- invented by Alan Turing in 1940 -- was based on the scientific and theoretical foundations created by the English researcher and scientist, Ada Lovelace, who is the world's first computer programmer.
American film star of Australian origin Hedi Lamar, who became famous in the 1940s and 1950s, was also a distinguished computer scientist, and her work on "Secret Communications Systems" was patented in 1942, which later led to the invention of Wi-Fi, GPS and Bluetooth.
Since then, many women have invaded the technology industry and changed the face of our modern world forever, as Colette stated in her book.
More women are now attracted to work in the technology sector, although only 3% said it was their first choice, as researcher Nelly Pulizo stated in a research published by Moon Chot. (MoonShot) last year, and this may be due to lack of information from corporate recruitment departments and managers, the lack of women working in these departments, or even the unwillingness to change.
In this context, the Director of Digital Audit at Global Sainte Spaces states that "some aspects of the profession remain vague even for those involved in the recruitment process itself".
Describing her recruitment to the company "I received an unexpected phone call from an employment agency for an examination and screening officer. At the time, no one knew what that job title meant, and when I enquired about the person who called me, he told me: I know it sounds a little vague, which is not something many people have previous experience in, but we think you're a perfect fit for it. "
She went to the interview out of a desire to change and try something new, especially after spending several years in a job she did not like.
The Future for Women
Women have always been part of the workforce in the technology sector, and have been early innovators in this area, but the fact is that the ratio of women to men has fallen dramatically, and the 1990s have been a key turning point in this decline, according to Isabelle Collette in her book "Forgotten Women in the Digital World", the madness and rise of IT has made it a major share of ambitious start-ups that have begun to employ newly graduated men from universities.
Meanwhile, personal computers, often shopping exclusively for parents and children, have emerged, helped by the proliferation of film films depicting young young people, and children of tech-obsessed geniuses inventing new things in their garages to win fame and money at the end of the film. This may not have helped to attract women to the technology industry.
However, this industry now seems to be closing the gender gap, and an enterprise study shows Deloitte Global said that the world's leading technology companies were seeking to employ approximately 33% of women in the overall workforce by the end of 2022, a 2% increase from 2019, and the number of women in top technology positions would increase even though it tended to lag behind the overall proportion of women by about 8%, the study showed.
We also see that the number of women in America's top 8 technology companies -- including Apple, Microsoft, Amazon and Facebook -- has increased by 238% faster than men, as Anthony Itten, director of marketing for Global Side in France, Belgium and Luxembourg, stated in an article.
There are now 3 women in these companies who are among the 15 most powerful in technology in the world, as ranked by Forbes Global: Cheryl Sandberg, Chief Operating Officer of Facebook, Meg Whitman, Chief Executive Officer of HP, and Susan Jickey, Chief Executive Officer of YouTube, as Itten stated in A.
The classification highlights companies such as Girls Who Code, founded by Rishma Sujani and aimed at empowering women through technology, and GoldieBox, founded by Debbie Stirling, which promotes engineering and building games for girls.
Such innovations contribute more to combating the gender gap than ever before.
Bridging the gender gap is important in the world of technology. However, many obstacles remained in the way, and the best way to encourage women to join the technology sector would undoubtedly be by providing the necessary information, professional guidance and much of the audience.
Leading global initiatives
In recent years, many projects and associations have been established to provide advice and support to women in their careers.
This starts at the University with programmes encouraging female students to enrol in STEM professions, and has invested four major European universities in this field: Canterbury University of England, BRNO University of Technology of the Czech Republic, ETH University of Zurich and BRNO University of Technology of the Czech Republic.
In this context, Kali Fritsch, Director of Product Marketing at Global Sainz, states that "it is an excellent time to start working in this exciting and critical career sector, and there are countless opportunities for learning and growth."
To support women seeking jobs in the cybersecurity industry, WiCys is an excellent source of guidance. Founded in 2012, the Society describes itself as "a global community of women, allies and advocates, We strive to bring together talented women and encourage their passion and drive them to work in cybersecurity We also bring together professional, ambitious and successful women in cybersecurity around the world to cooperate and share knowledge and experience, We create opportunities for new women who want to work in this area through vocational development programmes, conferences and labour fairs. "
In addition to the above, the European Union launched its own employment programme, Women TechEU, which is described as "a new EU programme to support high-tech, women-led start-ups and help them become tomorrow's high-tech heroes".
The technology sector is booming globally, women are making significant progress every day, finding women managers, developers and innovators, breaking the stereotype along the way, but all this does not negate the fact that women continue to be discriminated against today, especially in salaries and career promotions, and despite all the progress made by women, they still have a long way to go towards equality.
Comments
Post a Comment