How to get more women in tech

IT companies have to go out of their way and ensure that women feel welcome in the industry and are given an opportunity to grow and thrive. Leading women from the domain share their tips on Women’s Day.

Encourage coding at the school level

—Leah Belsky, Chief Enterprise Officer, Coursera

Systemic change and encouraging an early start: There is a need to break the archaic gender stereotypes and work at the primary education level. We should encourage more young girls to take up computer science, STEM subjects, and coding at the school level to ensure we are building a long-term pipeline that motivates more and more women to experience the possibilities of technology from an early age.

Creating an inclusive and flexible work environment: Multiple reports suggest that creating a more flexible and remote work environment helps retain women employees at the workplace. Equally important is the need to open up all tech roles to employees of all genders, a practice not very common across most organizations.

Promoting a gender-agnostic leadership pool: Today, there are many women in senior leadership positions in technology companies, but there is still a lot of room to grow. More women leaders in tech will inspire and motivate a larger number of young women to take up technology careers. We need more women role models in tech.

Women should feel safe, trusted & empowered

—Rose Tsou, Head of International and eCommerce, Verizon Media

Organizations have to support women when they really need help and in a way that is meaningful for them. It’s essential to create a work environment where women feel safe, trusted and empowered. It is not just about the skills and training that women in tech require professionally -- though that is important -- but about the critical support they may need at points in their career to balance work and family. It means trusting women and mentoring or empowering them to take on greater leadership responsibilities. Ultimately, it is about creating a work environment where women can bring their ‘whole self’ to work, not just their ‘work self,’ which maximizes their potential and contribution to an enterprise.

Nurture an inclusive workplace, where differences are celebrated. Technology today touches every part of our lives. When you think of how to apply technology to solve existing problems or tap new opportunities, you need different perspectives, skills and viewpoints at the table. This can only come from a more diverse workforce, where employees are celebrated in the work environment for how different they are. As a company, at Verizon Media we have 60% diversity in our workforce and believe that is our strength, which helps us innovate more effectively.

Encourage tracks that offer women real opportunities for career development. An initiative we have seen success with is our Forward 20 program, which has become a platform for growth, learning and advancement. Women employees are chosen to interact with leaders and learn how to push their careers ahead as a network.

Mentors for talented women employees

—Mankiran Chowhan, Managing Director - Indian subcontinent, SAP Concur

According to a NASSCOM study, women constitute just over 30% of the workforce in Indian IT companies. However, more than 80% companies have less than 20% women in their senior management and it further drops to less than 10% at the C-suite level. This is a business challenge and leads to under-utilization of a major talent pool. To help increase women in tech here are some guiding principles we can follow:

Early exposure through education: The onus lies with parents and teachers to ensure that girls are exposed to STEM-concepts (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) just like boys through toys, hobbies, books and other means. Encouraging girls to enrol in educational courses - like engineering, data analytics, statistics and mathematics - would also help in equipping them with the necessary skills to aim for top positions in the technology industry.

Removing ‘Motherhood Penalty’: The attrition rate in tech industry is quite high for women in their first 10 years. This also coincides with their prime motherhood years. Upon re-joining, they often experience a ‘motherhood penalty’ - where they are perceived as being less committed and ambitious. They not only miss out on opportunities during their maternity leave, but such biases impact their growth in the long run. In fact, research on motherhood penalty suggests that women get a 4% pay cut for each child they plan, compared to men who get a 6% pay increase on an average. This penalty impacts the financial well-being of not just the individual, but the entire family. Such pre-conceived biases should be addressed.

Small steps for big impact: With increasing number of nuclear families, the obsolete mindset of women taking up all household responsibilities needs to change to enable them to take up more prominent roles at workplace. It is also encouraging to see that companies are starting to take notice and devise suitable policies - like paternity leave that enables fathers to contribute more at home.

Mentorship and role models: Fewer number of women at senior levels acts as a barrier for younger women to join the tech industry as they do not have enough role models to look-up to. To tackle this, men as well as women within the tech industry need to take up mentorship roles towards talented women employees to ensure a higher percentage reaches the senior management and levels above.

Ambitions need to be nurtured differently

—Nidhi Pratapneni, Senior Vice President, Wells Fargo EGS

The Technology landscape has changed tremendously over the last century, more dramatically so in the last two decades. And it wouldn’t have been possible without innovators who pushed the boundaries. Industry defining companies have had to face upstarts who creep up stealthily and disrupt existing business models.

So, where do the women come in?

Across many cultures, we raise our kids to do the right thing. And follow rules. For reasons behavioral specialists know better, girls - and hence women - believe that all will be well if they do what is expected. The problem with meeting expectations is that it becomes difficult to surpass them. The problem with following the rules is that it becomes difficult to break them. The problem with perfecting the present is that one isn’t ready to ace the future.

What must women do? And is the onus only on women? For it has been the society at large that has conditioned them. But the one who feels fettered is the one who must rebel. We may blame factors that are external, but the solution must lie within.

Think reinvention: What can you do every day that allows you to prepare for relevance in the future.

Think risk: Don’t go for perfect. Comfort kills growth. What risks are ones you are willing take? Take them.

Think reward: Negotiate. Ask for what is your due. And if you don’t get it, find a place that values you.

And meet people. Take the time to know someone without agenda or fear. Take someone under your wing and help her fly. The reason many men succeeded is because someone took them aside for a chai and slapped some sense into them. You need that too.

And to those who want to help… break away from archaic notions of what it means to be a woman. And let her be. Be the husband, father, colleague who creates an atmosphere for growth.

Be the woman who cheers on as other forges ahead. The industry must realize that every woman in technology does not have to be an engineer. That the best engineers are not necessarily men. That a woman can be ambitious. But those ambitions may need to be nurtured differently.



Emphasize STEM curriculum for girls early

—Leila Pourhashemi, VP - Technology Business Operations, Blackhawk Network

Despite the fact that almost half of India’s population is comprised of women, gender inequality continues to exist in the workplace. To encourage more women to pursue careers in technology, we have to start by emphasizing a STEM curriculum for girls early on. Women also face professional hurdles during the transition from managing to leading, typically during the promotion to director-level positions. At this stage, the potential for conscious and unconscious bias is high, as the people in decision making roles for leadership promotions tend to be men. Companies can address this by ensuring that interview panels and promotion decision makers include both men and women and that there is a diverse group of candidates being evaluated for each position. I’ve had an incredibly rewarding career in technology and would encourage other women to pursue their passion in this field. At Blackhawk Network, we’re proud that nearly 50% of our leadership positions are held by women, most notably, Talbott Roche, our CEO and President. We’re committed to supporting the recruitment, retention and advancement of women in technology.



Move the needle faster

—Geeta Khurana, Global Head of Transformation, Denave.

In the recent past we have seen that women in tech have shown overwhelming intent—whether already in the tech industry or aspiring to enter someday—for the potential that a role in technology can deliver. The industry now needs to rise to this opportunity; organisations need to walk the talk when it comes to active support. The whole point is to be viewed as equals in the workplace, and that starts with individual companies taking up responsibilities. Organisations need to support women through various initiatives, training modules, and by addressing the gender gap. To move the needle faster and attain true gender parity in the global IT/ITeS industry, the corporates should be looking to harness the optimism from women participants and create a culture that includes and retains talented women. Though the corporates today are making a concerted effort to increase women in this industry, but I am confident to see a change in next few years. At Denave, we have an employee base of more than 4,500 people with 50% of leadership roles being held by women.

A lot needs to be done

—Sindhu Gangadharan, SVP and MD, SAP Labs India

Women leadership in technology companies is gradually growing and it is good to see many companies putting in place programs to increase the number of women in leadership roles. However a lot needs to be done. We need to have more stories of successful women leaders to inspire other working women. At SAP we make it a point to understand the unique needs and challenges of our women workforce, design programs and initiatives to support and accelerate their careers and provide a supportive work culture.