It can sometimes be easy to forget that while certain inequalities between men and women appear to be vanishing, in fact there remain all kinds of injustices and imbalances between the genders. This is especially relevant in the workplace.
One standout industry is the world of tech, where the ratio of male to female staff is astonishingly unbalanced. A variety of reasons have been identified for this discrepancy, including the fact young girls and boys are encouraged into, or feel more comfortable studying, different subjects at school. Issues like unconscious employer bias, the stereotypical gender roles we fixate on as a society and male-dominated interview panels are also contributing factors.
It’s been shown that diverse workplaces consistently outperform their more male-dominated counterparts, so for forward-thinking businesses it’s worthwhile taking a look at your company structure and HR practices. In that spirit, here are five ways to tackle the gender gap in tech…
1) Change the language of your job adverts
When it comes to job ads and applications, it has been proven that certain words appeal more strongly to men than they do to woman. It’s a crying shame that this is still the case in 2019, but words like ‘fearless’ and ‘champion’ continue to evoke images of men for many of us, meaning women are less likely to apply for roles advertised as such. In contrast, job descriptions including the words ‘kind’, ‘collaborate’ and ‘supportive’ tend to attract more female candidates. Rewrite job advertisements with a more neutral use of words to attract a more evenly balanced group of applicants.
2) Address overly ‘masculine’ tendencies in your workplace culture
According to 2015 research by Time Recruitment, over 50 per cent of women who took jobs in the tech industry over a period of years ended up dropping out. Many of these women cited their reason for leaving as an unpleasant workplace culture, sometimes linked to toxic masculinity. Look around your office. Regardless of the exact numbers of men and women - what is the atmosphere like? Who speaks up the loudest in meetings? What kind of jokes are made between team members? If women are marginalised and fighting to fit in, it’s time to ban gender-based ‘jokes’ (which can be extremely damaging). You should also provide opportunities for staff to give feedback on their welfare and talk privately to male employees whose attitudes are generally aggressive, intimidating or typically ‘masculine’. (Men who adhere to the macho stereotype at work will be surprised how much they themselves could benefit from a more balanced approach to projects and colleagues.)
3) Put a woman on the hiring panel
As much as we like to believe we’re hiring new staff based solely on their personal merits and impressive CVs, the reality is an unconscious bias exists within many recruiters - especially in the world of tech - which leans towards men as the most capable candidates. Male employers are also often inclined to select new staff who are also male. By putting one or more women on the selection panel, you broaden the perspective of the group and are more likely to employ the best person for the job. With experts suggesting more women in the workplace could boost the economy, it’s win-win!
4) Offer career development opportunities designed especially for women
While working to increase the number of women on your team is a positive start, the next step is to make your company the kind of place a woman can really consolidate her skills and take herself to the next level in her career. One way you can achieve this is to book training days where women are the teachers and guest speakers or send staff to women’s conferences. Provide your staff with information about any upcoming tech events aimed at women and encourage networking between your female staff and those at other companies, thereby ensuring the women on your team have the opportunity to flourish as readily as the men.
