PCR Tech and IT retail, distribution and vendor news
Kate Cox from hosting company HEG believes the tech industry is behind when it comes to the gender gap and hopes more firms will mentor junior members to combat the issue. Here she explains why…
The need for gender equality is an issue across all industries in the corporate world. However, walking into a boardroom filled with men is becoming an almost daily reality for me since I joined the technology industry a few months ago.
According to Gartner, women occupy only 11.2 per cent of technology leadership roles in EMEA – a shock to the system given my background in the much more female dominated industry of marketing agency work.
Why is the tech industry so far behind the curve? To start with, according to a recent E-Skills Survey, only 17 per cent of women work in the technology sector – a worrying statistic in anyone’s books and enough to make it harder to collectively increase the percentage of women at the top.
Entering the technology industry at the C-Suite level and having experienced other industries, I can clearly see the areas in which a stronger female ratio would benefit tech companies.
The technology industry is being pushed to be become increasingly creative and innovative, relying on fresh perspectives and ideas. Diversifying your workforce is a key part of finding new trends and new ways of working due to the fact that people with different life experiences will think about things in different ways.
It’s not enough to just talk about encouraging diversity in the workplace; we must act to ensure that we are working as a team by including everyone. It’s vital that leaders become drivers in setting an example and reaching out to team members.
Knowing that the C-Suite is striving for equal opportunities will inspire others within the company to adopt and embrace those viewpoints. By mentoring more junior members of the team, we can ensure that everyone feels that their voice is heard and that they have access to all opportunities.
The approach to gender diversity needs to be all encompassing. It’s not enough to have one woman advocating for change in the boardroom and leave it there – it must be taken away and enacted within all teams.
Each member of the board must ultimately become the driving force, which inspires their team to act on these ideas and plans. Until we see better female representation at every level of the technology industry, we must keep working hard to ensure that the same opportunities are offered regardless of gender.
Kate Cox is the CMO of domain registrar and hosting company HEG.
PCR is hosing its own Women of the Year event on October 16th, celebrating leading women in the tech industry. You can purchase tickets here or nominate here.
