Why are women not pursuing technology jobs?

Introduction

As a woman in technology field and someone with a lot of ambition, this topic is of great interest to me. I came across an article published on theglasshammer.com entitled “Women Fleeing Tech Field: Causes and Solutions” which makes the case that over the past twenty years a lot of women had left the technology field. The percentage of computer-related jobs held by women has declined steadily from 36% in 1991, to approximately 25% in 2008. What is even more troubling is that in addition to the decline of women entering the field, a large number is exiting technology jobs. Forty-one percent of women leave technology companies after 10 years of experience, compared to only 17 percent of men.  What is the reason for this?

Possible reasons

• The perception that there are not a lot of jobs in IT.
• The perception that a lot of technology jobs have been outsourced overseas.
• Not understanding what the field really is and how a person can apply her talents.
• Higher visibility of other fields such as health care for example.
• Image that technology jobs are nerdy or geeky.
• Isolation and lack of mentors or female role models is a major cause for female attrition from these types of jobs.
• Lack of sponsors or someone who would help make their accomplishments visible throughout the organization.
• Work/Life balance - while mid-level men are almost four times more likely than women to have a partner who assumes the primary responsibility for the household/children, mid-level women are more than twice as likely as men to have a partner who works full time. Women in the computer science and information technology industry are more likely than men to feel pressure from work/life balance issues.
• Stereotyping and bias.

Solution

• Training supervisors
• Good supervisors
• Raising awareness
• Improving communication
• Making sure flex-time or telecommuting programs are openly available and encouraged

Analysis and Conclusion

I definitely agree with the article based on my own experience in terms of not having mentors and being stereotyped. I get upset hearing comments such as “well you have little kids so why are you in a hurry to have more responsibility and get promoted”. Why is that not true for men who have young children? I strongly believe that there is a bias against women and we have to work that much harder to be noticed for our accomplishments and the value we bring to organizations. With all that said, I see a number of very successful women in IT. While reading Marie Claire magazine, I saw an article that highlighted the most influential young women in business today. One of them is Ruchi Sanghvi - a lead product manager at one of the most successful social media companies, Facebook. Ruchi is responsible for some of the key features on Facebook and is considered a Silicon Valley star today. These kinds of stories are very inspiring and promising.   I think a lot of women have been very successful in breaking the glass ceiling and I am committed to doing the same.

References:

http://www.theglasshammer.com/news/2010/01/28/women-fleeing-tech-field-causes-and-solutions/

http://www.marieclaire.com/career-money/advice/tips/ruchi-sanghvi