As a historically male-dominated industry, many IT companies have been described as having limited career development opportunities for female employees, according to Acronis.
Issues like lack of mentorship, inadequate policies for work-life balance, and sometimes even a culture of exclusion have contributed to this. To gain insight into the current state of gender diversity in IT, Acronis commissioned a survey of full-time female employees to gauge their sentiments on equality in the IT industry and explore what employers can do to encourage more women to consider professional IT careers.
Women work longer hours for career advancement
The survey findings discovered that while 32% of respondents already think that men and women are treated equally in the workplace, 31% of women strongly believe that men are promoted faster. 71% of women reported working longer hours to improve their chances of career advancement.
Whatever inequalities exist, they’re not the result of lack of participation among women in IT. Half of respondents said their teams were between 25% and 50% female. Almost 17% said their departments were majority female, and in this global survey, a little more than a quarter of respondents said IT departments in their respective countries were just about balanced between men and women.
Additionally, 63% of women in the tech/IT industry reported they feel there is a lack of female leadership in cybersecurity, and 84% of employed women in IT agree that tech organizations would benefit from more female leadership roles.
Regarding career development opportunities for women in tech and IT, 34% of respondents only somewhat agree that there are adequate training and development programs for women to advance in their careers. Master classes, learning courses, and workshops were rated the most important activities women think they should participate in (63%), followed by networking events (58%), and memberships in professional organizations (44%).
Mentorship opportunities (51%), actively hiring more diverse candidates (49%), and pay equity (49%), were among the top initiatives respondents said their organization could do more of to balance gender equality in the workplace.
Hiring women into IT roles bring innovative ideas
About 20% of respondents said lack of opportunity was the main reason women were “put off” of working in cybersecurity. By contrast, 25% cited focus on building a family. Another 9% said women avoided cybersecurity careers because they “wouldn’t fit in,” while 15% said women didn’t want to work in a male-dominated industry.
Women are often less likely than men to self-promote at work. That’s a habit that women in IT should break. Respondents overwhelmingly reported tracking their accomplishments with the aim of advancing their careers. In fact, 60% said they record every accomplishment for future reference, while another 34% said they track just the “big wins.”
“In order to advance gender equality in the tech industry, we must recognize that encouraging women into taking IT roles is not just a moral imperative, but a strategic advantage that presents unique opportunities for both women and the organizations who hire them,” said Alona Geckler, SVP Business Operations and Chief of Staff at Acronis.
“By hiring women into IT roles, companies will gain a wealth of perspectives and innovative ideas driven by creativity and enhanced problem-solving skills. This not only strengthens teams, but positions IT organizations to better meet the diverse needs of their customers in an increasingly complex digital landscape giving them a significant competitive edge,” added Geckler.