When you think of a Programmer, Data Analyst or Java Developer, what kind of person do you imagine? Someone tall, dark and handsome? Perhaps not quite, but we’re gonna bet that the person most of you imagine is male.
Whether the image conjured up depicts someone suited up, in tracksuit bottoms or barely visible due to a lack of light in the dark basement where they reside, we’re pretty sure that the imaginary person isn’t a woman. And that’s probably because it’s partly true. There aren’t enough female Developers, or women in tech in general. Think about it for a second. Why are we always looking for the tech guy or the IT man? It’s as if this job just doesn’t exist for women, or at least not on the same scale as it does for men.
Exclusion, deterrence, lack of opportunities, gender bias, an assumption that women lack the correct skill set? Whatever the reason, this needs to change. Here are at Ubiqum, we’re determined to get more women in technology, which is why we have teamed up with Page Personnel to offer our Women who Code scholarship (25% discount in all our programs).
So what is the situation and why does it need to change? In this article we’re going to highlight the importance of women in tech and what we are doing to increase the numbers. Up until now, the ratio of female to male students on our courses has been about 1 to 4 but we’d like to see that number equalise with this new scholarship, because the figures we’re seeing are quite frankly far from good enough.
Studies show that women in computing roles is at around 25% and only 11% of executive positions at Silicon Valley companies are held by women. However, with around 74 percent of young girls expressing an interest in STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) fields and computer science, it’s clear that these girls are being deterred.
Not by us. We are convinced that more women in tech is essential, for gender equality (obviously), for the labour market and for the development of the tech world.
Just as how being confronted with a female boss is no longer surprising, we aim to make this a reality for women in tech jobs, seeing even more female Data Analysts and Web Developers on the team. We want to see the gender bias removed from roles such as these and normalise the presence of women in IT and tech and give the floor to more female bosses.
- Apart from the obvious, gender equality in the workplace as a whole is paramount for so many reasons:
- A diverse workplace benefits the company’s overall economic performance
- More women in the workplace leads to increased organisational performance
- It raises the reputation of the compan.
- And finally, more women in the company sees increased innovation and efficiency
Which of the reasons aren’t beneficial to companies and integral to not only to their performance, but to their actual existence? With women-led companies in the States performing three times better than those led by male CEOs, there is no reason to say that this wouldn’t also be true for the IT department or the team of Programmers, or any other department. What the figures show is that equality is a good thing in every area of business and should therefore be encouraged by all companies.
As things are at the moment, there is a diversity problem and it’s not just a question of changing attitudes. The interest, on behalf of women, is already there, there just needs to be a greater number of tangible opportunities for women in tech in order for them to achieve their full potential and disrupt the existing technological landscape. For us, this comes in the form of technology scholarships for women.
Women are going to storm “The boy’s club” and dismantle the status quo. Let’s make “Brogramming” a thing of the past and female innovation and entrepreneurship even more prolific. After all, Ada Lovelace, the first computer programmer, paved the way for this all the way back in the mid-1800s.
