Blog PostChange Management
Celebrating International Women’s Day (IWD): Inspiring Inclusivity in Technology Organisations & Roles

This year’s theme for International Women’s Day, “Inspiring Inclusivity”, highlights the need for spaces where women of all backgrounds feel valued and empowered. As a woman who’s worked in data and technology roles for the last 10 years, I feel passionately about the role female inclusivity plays in the future success of my industry.

The Definition of Inclusivity

Diversity and inclusion can often be conflated, but diversity is a by-product of a truly inclusive culture. Diversity refers to the traits and characteristics that make us unique while inclusion refers to the behaviours and social norms that allow us to we feel welcome, valued and respected.

Women in Technology

The technology industry is among many that would benefit from greater strides towards female diversity. In fact, it would take us nearly 300 years to close the gender gap in tech without further intervention (BCS).

  • Female Representation – 26% of women make up the tech workforce, with just 10% of leadership and CEO positions held by women in the sector.
  • The Retention Gap – 56% of women leave the sector when they are between 10 and 20 years into their career. This is double the rate of men (and no, it’s not just maternity leave).
  • Technology Pay Gap – Female tech workers experience the highest pay gap in Europe at 22% compared with a UK national average across all industries of 14.9%.
  • Technology Education for Girls & Young Women – PwC reported that 16% of females have had a career in technology suggested to them, vs. 33% of males.

Why Technology Needs Women

Resolving inclusivity issues in this sector to fuel diversity is not just a moral imperative; it’s also essential for innovation, growth and sustainability.

  • Innovation – Inclusivity in the design and development processes creates more innovative solutions to ensure technology serves everyone equitably.
  • Future Proofing for Industry Demand – If technology is to keep up, it needs more women. A report from Korn Ferry predicted that by 2030, there could be a global talent shortage of more than 85.2 million people in the tech sector, leading to a potential loss of $8.5 trillion in unrealised annual revenue.
  • Business Profitability – In a 2023 UK study by McKinsey, it was found that companies in the top quartile for gender diversity are, on average, 15% more likely to have above average financial returns.

Nurturing Inclusive Business Cultures

While policies play a crucial role in cultivating inclusivity, addressing the nuanced nature of the issue requires cultural shifts, individual awareness, and ongoing efforts beyond the confines of policy frameworks.

In honour of IWD and to inspire meaningful action on female inclusivity, consider one of the following areas that could be targeted within your organisation. What can you do today, to inspire a more inclusive culture?

  1. Recruitment and Hiring
    Implement strategies to attract more women into traditionally male-dominated fields such a technology. Is there more you can do to provide equal access to opportunities and address barriers to entry?
  2. Employee Development and Training
    Do training plans need to be tailored better to the needs and challenges faced by women in the workplace, such as leadership development and female mentorship opportunities?
  3. Team Dynamics and Collaboration
    Consider whether your team environment contains exclusive social circles or informal decision-making, which may exclude women and other underrepresented groups. Could these issues be unconscious or accidental, making awareness building key? Don’t avoid the difficult conversations here.
  4. Leadership and Management
    Are you remembering to promote the (often, quietly) high performing women into leadership roles and considering their representation at all levels of the organisation?
  5. Policies and Practices
    Review your policies and practices. Do they address issues such as pay equity, parental leave, maternity, flexible work arrangements, and harassment prevention to support the needs of female employees?
  6. Community Engagement and Social Responsibility
    Think about how your community engagement and social responsibility work could support women’s organisations and initiatives that promote gender equality and female safety. What organisations can you align with, to support your organisation and the broader community?

The Bigger Picture on Inclusivity

As we commemorate International Women’s Day (IWD), it’s crucial to recognise that the theme of inclusivity extends far beyond gender alone. Inclusivity encompasses not only gender but also race, ethnicity, sexual orientation, socioeconomic status, age, disability, and more. It’s about creating environments where everyone feels valued, respected, and empowered to succeed. This means recognising and addressing systemic barriers that prevent certain groups from fully participating and thriving in society.

No business is getting everything right and there’s no tickbox fix, but lets commit ourselves to moving the needle on inclusivity this year.

Sources:

BCS, 2023
https://www.bcs.org/articles-opinion-and-research/nearly-300-years-to-close-the-gender-gap-in-tech-without-intervention-warns-bcs/

TechUK, 2023
https://www.techuk.org/resource/as-the-technology-industry-continues-to-grow-so-does-the-number-of-women-working-in-it.html

ExplodingTopics – Women in Tech, 2023
https://explodingtopics.com/blog/women-in-tech

Computer Weekly, 2023
https://www.computerweekly.com/feature/Women-in-tech-is-retention-currently-more-important-than-hiring#:~:text=uk’s%202023%20survey%2C%20for%20instance,double%20the%20rate%20of%20men.

Korn Ferry, 2020
https://www.kornferry.com/insights/this-week-in-leadership/talent-crunch-future-of-work

PwC, 2017
https://www.pwc.co.uk/women-in-technology/women-in-tech-report.pdf

 

More change management articles

Blog Post
Celebrating International Women’s Day (IWD): Inspiring Inclusivity in Technology Organisations & Roles

This year’s theme for International Women’s Day, “Inspiring Inclusivity”, highlights the need for spaces where women of all backgrounds feel valued and empowered. As a woman who’s worked in data and technology roles for the last 10 years, I feel passionately about the role female inclusivity plays in the future success of my industry. The […]

Case Study
CBOs tried and tested framework helps Mourant introduce a new client relationship management system

Context Our client, a global offshore legal services business, had a strategic objective to invest in clients, which shaped their desire to underpin these interactions with a new client relationship management system. Through a joined-up approach, driven by accurate and informative data, they intended to enhance their client relationships as well as win new clients […]

Blog Post
CBO Projects launches dedicated Change Management service line

CBO has launched a change management offering to help organisations on their transformation journey, ensuring that they reach their ambitions and make a lasting impact. ‘The aim is to provide our clients with a dedicated change management offering and change-specific services, to help them deal with the challenges that come with any transformation, and to […]

Insight
A chat about change

CBO has launched a new change management service aimed at helping our clients to accelerate their transformation and to adopt & embed the desired changes. Headed up by Dominic Ash, the offering provides a dedicated service to help our clients deal with transformation challenges and working with them to construct the right approach for their […]

Case Study
Roll-out of a new global client on-boarding process

Context The client on-boarding project focussed on the implementation and adoption of an enhanced end-to-end process for client matter intake across the firm’s global footprint. The project objectives were to: Reduce the risk exposure across the firm Streamline efficiencies and align to a consistent approach Enhance oversight across the global on-boarding process CBO’s Approach As well as […]

Blog Post
Lead better with clarity and transparency

A guest blog from Rudi Le Roux, COO, Investec Bank (CI) Limited. Leadership, as a topic, covers a very wide area of research and ideas. We are still trying to define what leadership actually is. I’m not going to define leadership for you, as I believe that the definition of leadership is specific to you […]

Fancy a chat? Get in touch with CBO today to discuss how we can help