As the lack of gender diversity in the IT industry is given more attention, organisations should be empowering women to take on digital leadership roles to avoid having a one-dimensional mindset. Sue-Ellen Wright, Managing Director of Sopra Steria’s Aerospace, Defence and Security Business, discusses the importance of gender diversity for driving a truly successful Digital Transformation project which is inclusive of a range of skillsets and perspectives.
Transformation in the digital-first world has become business-critical for companies, no matter their industry. It gives organisations the ability to better address customer needs, enhance how they function and improve their overall offerings. But driving a truly successful digital transformation project requires a broad range of perspectives and ideas. And it’s here that gender diversity is key.
The pandemic has vastly altered the way both businesses and consumers operate. In fact, reports suggest that it accelerated 84% of organisational Digital Transformation plans. To add to this, data shows that Digital Transformation investment reached US$1.85 trillion in 2022 and is expected to total US$3.4 trillion by 2026.
Rapid investment in Digital Transformation has meant a significant increase in opportunities, yet the number of women leading Digital Transformation projects remains concerningly low. Empowering women to take on digital leadership roles not only provides organisations with fresh perspective and diverse skills, but also helps pave the way for more women to confidently enter the STEM industries and become future leaders.
Considering diversity in teams
As Digital Transformation is predicted to rapidly accelerate across all sectors, businesses must adapt to the new world of work – it’s no longer an extra, but a crucial component to underpin social and economic progress. Having gender diversity within a team is one way that organisations can encourage and benefit from a range of perspectives, which can enhance creativity and the design and deployment of transformation projects, resulting in a greater chance of success.
Laying a path for women to lead
A diverse workforce is especially needed within the technology industry, which currently lacks an equal gender balance and includes predominantly male leadership teams. Despite there being a push to encourage females to study STEM subjects, the percentage of women in tech-related careers has actually decreased by 2.1% in the past two years, with women holding only 26.7% of technology jobs in 2023. Moreover, women represent only 10.9% of those in CEO or senior leadership positions.
For more women to take on digital and tech leadership roles, the infrastructure and day-to-day working environment needs to enable them to reach their potential. It is no coincidence there are so few women in leadership in a sector that traditionally has many barriers to career progression for women.
For example, it’s often difficult for women to progress professionally given they are often bypassed for promotions and new roles due to outdated assumptions around child-rearing and caregiver responsibilities. Data shows that female employees are 14% less likely to be offered a promotion than male workers and only 52 women are promoted to manager for every 100 men across the tech industry.
Research from LinkedIn reveals that both men and women are interested in hearing about new opportunities, with 90% of men and 88% of women being open to finding a new job. But although women seem just as engaged as men, data shows that women tend to apply for less jobs than men. The same study took behavioural data and found that women apply for 20% fewer jobs than men because they don’t generally apply for positions where they don’t meet all the requirements. In contrast, men commonly apply after meeting 60% of the criteria.
Recruiters are also 13% less likely to click on a woman’s profile when she shows up in search. Statistics like these show the recruitment process must also be reviewed if we are to find, attract and retain more female talent and this involves making job adverts far more inclusive. The use of language, for this reason, in job descriptions is extremely important. For example, certain words like ‘confident’ or ‘professional’ are often used and yet they can often cause certain individuals to be discouraged from applying. To solve this problem, some companies have started using Artificial Intelligence (AI) to make sure their job adverts use appropriate, inclusive language that attracts the type of individuals they desire.
Recruiters also need to become better at removing their biases (both conscious and unconscious) when assessing applications. If positive steps are taken to attract more female candidates, the gender balance in recruitment pipelines will improve and we will see the number of women in these roles naturally increase.
The importance of role model
Another important step in fostering greater diversity in the workforce is to publicly commit to empowering women. This helps organisations stay accountable to their goals and signals to female employees that they are respected and valued. Initiatives like Sky’s ‘Get into Tech’ programme, offer women the opportunity to develop the skills needed to kickstart their careers in tech.
Showcasing female digital and tech leaders provides other women in the organisation and beyond with role models. It also means female leaders are more accessible and visible, inspiring both current and future generations. Acknowledging and celebrating a diverse range of women in business can also help tackle imposter syndrome while facilitating a fair work culture.
Ultimately, having more female role models in tech will both empower women to lead Digital Transformation projects and spark the interest of younger generations in engaging in an exciting tech career and follow in the path of successful female leaders.
