Women in technology faced a rough year. Fixing the inequity must start at the top

An inclusive social structure is what will lead to a more balanced workplace. Representational image. (Photo: Christina via Unsplash)

The narrative on women's representation in the fields of technology and telecom has changed. But the new situation isn’t much better than the earlier one. If anything, it may be getting worse given the pendulum is swinging back in favour of on-site offices and the erasing of work-life boundaries in the hybrid work model.

The last year has been tough on women, perhaps even tougher than the Covid-19 years that forced women out of the workforce due to the overwhelming burden of housework. On one hand, women who led the charge, such as Susan Wojcicki, chief executive of YouTube, are announcing exits and on the other hand, large scale layoffs across big tech are taking a toll.

Gender Gaps

A survey of 5,000 professionals by Women Tech Network pegs that over two thirds of those recently laid off were women. Big tech companies including Facebook and Twitter are pegged to have laid off nearly 100,000 employees by the end of 2023.

A counter running on WomenTech Network’s website shows that at the current pace of change, it will take around 133 years to bridge the economic gender gap. Anna Radulovski, Founder of WomenTech Network, explains that the calculation is based on progress and gender gap data from the World Economic Forum.

There simply are fewer women engineers than men. That is a fact, and that skews traditional technology and telecom company’s human resource constitution. The advent of machine learning and artificial intelligence is changing the hiring narrative. Companies are looking at more solution-led teams that will help automated tools interpret the world. The mix of women in these teams is an easier fix, than finding qualified engineers.

Boys Club

Unfortunately, success in such teams remains dependent on the sensibilities of male-led managements that often exclude the other gender out of a lack of empathy and in several cases are even unaware of displaying unintentional misogyny. This is reflected in the tech sector’s ecosystem too.

Banking traditionally lends itself to greater participation from women. However, when it comes to verticals like technology and telecom, the lack of women in the mix triggers a vicious circle for performance of the women leaders.

Analysts and investment bankers depend on access to companies and their executives in formal and informal settings. Karen Egan, who is head of mobile at Enders Analysis, often finds herself as the sole woman in a room full of telecom analysts, and it has happened that for just that reason she has been left out. Amid macho get-togethers, Egan and her women colleagues are consciously left out by some companies. “It helps to have other women around so that the singular woman doesn’t feel like a sore thumb,” she said.

Lonely At The Top

The lack of women at the top is demoralising. Moreover, it breaks the ecosystem of networking and mentorship that are key to attaining the top jobs. For those trying to fix the system, work on DE&I – Diversity, Equity and Inclusion – tends to be piled on top of the existing workload and more often than not goes unrewarded.

For this reason the Women in the Workplace Report 2022 from LeanIn.Org and McKinsey & Company said the rate of burnout among women leaders tends to be higher at 43 percent while only 31 percent of their male counterparts feel overwhelmed by their work situation.

Yet, even before reaching the leadership, there are big hurdles that plague women in the sector. The gender pay gap can range anywhere between 10 percent and 40 percent depending on the research report and demographics of the surveyed sample. Women of colour tend to have it the worst. Ironically, fixing this includes increasing the self-confidence of women who are conditioned to accept lesser rewards for the same output.

The scrutiny of women’s work output tends to be higher and their evaluation is based on actual performance while their male counterparts are often let off on account of “future potential”.

Fostering Inclusivity

The subconscious excuse tends to be the social obligations that continue to fall on women’s shoulders whether it is child care or elderly attendance. In the UK, the cost of child care has led women to leave the workforce. Fortunately, this narrative shows a greater degree of change than others, giving hope of a better future.

Qualified women rarely expect handouts in the form of reservation. Egan for one is not in favour of reservation of senior positions for women because that would hinder the meritocracy given that there is an off-balance in recruitments leading up to the top.

It is for the male leaders to recognise and act on this. Mentorship and socialising in a mixed environment must differ from the current “boys clubs” that tend to dominate the sector. An inclusive social structure is what will lead to a more balanced workplace.

Deepali Gupta is a senior financial journalist and author of Tata Vs Mistry: The Battle for India’s Greatest Business Empire. Views are personal and do not represent the stand of this publication.