Female Digital Depopulation
These days innovation is a digital matter. By now it should be obvious to all that both the most ground-breaking innovations and the tiniest improvements in our daily lives almost always come about thanks to new technologies. For this reason, and because the experts in the European Commission claim that if we can attain a 50% labour division in the new technologies sector, the European GDP should grow by some €9 billion, we shall concentrate our attention here on the position occupied by women in this promising labour market which includes both technological and digital profiles. On this basis I urge all readers to perform their own investigations within the activity sectors that most concern them. You will see how and why you should work to boost the rate at which women are hired in this area.
For every job that disappears from the traditional world, nearly three jobs are created in the digital environment. In ground-breaking areas like big data, it is estimated that 4.4 million new jobs will have been created by the year 2020 globally. In the same vein, official forecasts state that in the next four years, within the European Union five million jobs will be generated in the field of developing new mobile apps, which will bring with it a growth figure of some €63 billion. These are just some of the examples of the occupational revolution taking place within a sector that has not only not been dragged down by the grinding crisis we have been forced to live through, but to the contrary, this revolution has established its workers as being among the most in demand and best paid in the world.
In contrast with these optimistic figures, we find that in the specific case of the European Union, of every 1,000 women now graduating university, only 29 are skilled in new technologies, versus 95 men. This means that of the total of all professionals who make up the initial pool, only 23% will be female. If we explore the digital gap still further, the figures reveal that by the time they reach age 30, only 20% of these women will still be working in the sector in which they intended to specialise. To put it another way, 80% of the 23% of the women aiming for a career in this sector will already have abandoned it. And as if that were not enough, if the rules of the game remain the same, a further brain drain will then take place such that by age 45, only 9% will still be in the profession.
So what does all this mean? Female depopulation in this sector has become one of the key engines behind the growing “digital gap” which is very concerning to governments. For those unfamiliar with the term, this is the name given to the mismatch between professional supply and demand in this most promising of labour markets. For example, official sources warn us that by the year 2020, the US will be finding it all but impossible to locate 1.4 million of the total ICT (information and communications technology) professionals it will need. And yet only 12% of the professionals who set out to study these subjects are women.
In the specific case of the European Union, the official figures are also available for all to study. Experts foresee a shortfall of between 505,000 and 864,000 positions by the end of the year. Faced with figures like these, does anybody still fail to see the need for action? Women and children must not let this opportunity slip.
2. The Bonfire of False Beliefs
It is a truth universally acknowledged: we have a serious problem when it comes to social and cultural stereotypes. Too many people have always thought (and continue to think) that technology is not for women, that this is the man’s area. There has also never been any shortage of people convinced that women don’t like technology, that it doesn’t suit them. Indeed, women themselves have often thought that they were less well skilled than their male companions in making use of it, and that they had less technological effectiveness despite the want of any grounds for thinking so.
We also note a general belief, a myth, that this profession is a man’s thing. We women like to spend our time in relationships with others, and the idea of sitting in front of a computer screen for hours on end isn’t sexy enough. And we also find that women with “family responsibilities” (I am deliberately using inverted commas …), or those who seek them believe that this kind of job is not compatible with reconciliation problems (long days, night work and so forth). Those are problems that can only be solved by a very balanced domestic situation and often in company with outside help, which is not always available.
But supposing we were to follow the same train of thought with regard to the medical profession or journalism – would we reach the same conclusion? Do those women who plump for medicine, just as an example, find themselves racked by doubts when they think of the long shifts they may have to work when it falls to them?
Let’s go a little further and consider the case of women who opt for journalism. Is their everyday life a matter of little importance to them? Do they give it a second thought? Probably many do, but when it comes to the question of vocation, the final decision has almost always been taken right from the start.
So what’s the difference when it comes to technology? The answer is obvious: we have a tough problem caused by stereotypes and false beliefs (whether social, cultural, concerned with the nature of the profession, etc.) which results in the fact that ever since they were little girls, women felt no attraction to this kind of work.
Where did it all start? I’m betting that a lot of people know the answer to that already.
Does anybody remember this advertisement? This is just one example which I will use in our little investigation. If you want to go into the subject in rather greater depth, I’m sure that you’ll easily find hundreds of similar examples that will lead you to the same conclusions.
Questions:
- Why do you work your modem with only one hand?
- Can a modem be sexy?
- How would you feel if all the new technology professionals in the world wore that uniform?
- Do you think that the aim is to get a man or a woman to buy the modem?
Those of you who bothered to perform this exercise should now take a few more minutes to consider this historical example. This is not a waste of time, right?
So where am I headed with all this? The fact is that the creation of the stereotypes and false beliefs that currently keep women out of this sector is the work of a stream of marketing campaigns and the efforts of the communications media. But nowadays examples are much more difficult to find. With rare exceptions they are a thing of the past, and yet despite this, our thinking and beliefs have stayed rooted to those times, and we really need to change them once and for all. We can’t let ourselves be held back by them. Let’s build a bonfire and burn the lot.
So far, we have concentrated on the fact that women have been excluded from the world of the technological professional, but we shouldn’t forget that this is not the only problem facing us; this is just a part of it. We have to make every effort we can to ensure that the foundations are laid for systems that will encourage the inclusion of women in this area, but we also have to create mechanisms that stop them from dropping out after a few years. In short, we have to work to ensure that the “Athena factor” starts to disappear.
For those of you unfamiliar with this name, it has become one of the most common ways of referring to the phenomenon whereby women abandon a profession in the field of the sciences, engineering and technology. It was coined in a Harvard Business Review article in 2008 that was both controversial and widely discussed: “The Athena Factor: Reversing the Brain Drain in Science, Engineering and Technology.” The article revealed the conclusions of an interesting piece of research designed to explain why women who launched their careers in those fields sooner or later decided to change course.
The published figures left no room for doubt. The research showed that globally, 41% of the people who began their professional adventure in these three areas were women. And alas, according to the statistics, at some point during their careers, 52% of them decided to abandon them. The inevitable question is: why?
Many people will assume that there are reasons that don’t need a great deal of explanation; that can be lumped under the label of motherhood. We have certainly all heard that explanation before. Yet I feel that on the grounds of my extensive experience in the field, I shall have to ask whether that is the real reason those women decided to dump their careers. In fact, I suspect that it is an excuse; nothing more than a final nudge that caused women to jump in a direction that they had been thinking about already for a long time.
Allow me a moment or two to explain the two forces that normally line up to explain the genesis of this problem, together with my personal take on them.
We now possess a great deal of evidence, plus field studies, which show that female talent is all too frequently misread and goes unacknowledged in the world of business. We have surely all read or heard some story like that.
I would like to add one further consideration to this fairly general thought: is it only female talent that is not recognized? Could it be merely the tip of a much larger iceberg? It is possible that a very large number of companies – or rather, their management – find it difficult to recognize anything which is different from their usual pattern? And that doesn’t just mean recognizing it, but also managing it.
Let’s take a look at the problem from another angle. Is there a positive side? I say that because there almost always is, and in this case, twice over.
When we find ourselves faced with a situation resistant to the idea of taking on new talent, which would bring fresh ideas and viewpoints, we become tougher and stronger and find ourselves having to sharpen our wits to unsuspected levels, and as far as innovation is concerned, this is distinctly useful. This becomes a shared problem. It is a problem for the women launching their careers in businesses unaccustomed to them, and it is also a problem for the men who are called upon to stand out from the rest and shine in environments where there is low tolerance for change. More often than not, these environments are ruled by a fear of doing things differently – simply because they have survived as they are so far, because things have worked.
But that’s not the whole story. In my experience, when a certain moment comes in which worth has been demonstrated, when entry barriers have been overcome, progress is (usually) much easier. If we are willing to risk standing out from the crowd (or have no other option) and are initially successful, and make sure this is noticed, the rest is much easier.
So, is the culture really the force that leads to the career abandonment scenario? It certainly is; there is no doubt that this is the case, and it is a very powerful force, but … what if we see it as a test of toughness for everybody who decides to take advantage of what it is that differentiates them from others, which makes them profitable?
We women are alone, we feel alone, there are no female reference points and so few female companions. This is a powerful feedback loop. And almost always, it is loneliness that stands out as one of the most conclusive factors in deciding to abandon a professional career in the world of technology.
Is there anything we can do? In the short term there would seem to be no way out. So why not change the chip?
My professional career started nearly twenty years ago, and since then I have always been surrounded by men in my work. It has always been like this, without exceptions. This is something I have encountered in both business and academia, and it has always been there. I would have loved to have seen more women in my environment, but that wasn’t the case. It wasn’t their decision. Given their absence, I made efforts to create an environment where they were more present, at least as travelling companions.
This being the case, I have no difficulty in admitting that I got where I am today thanks to the unconditional support I received from many of those men who surrounded me. I never felt alone as a woman, because I decided to forget gender and concentrate on people. Naturally, as life has progressed I have met some extraordinary men who have supported me without ever expecting anything in return, but there have also been many who have not been exactly what you could call amiable, because they never would have chosen to work with me. Should I have allowed myself to be weighed down by that kind of burden? Their burden? It was too much work and I had too many other things to do.
I find that I can’t end this section without taking a few lines to acknowledge the women who have worked with me. I have met a great many extremely intelligent women, women who were courageous fighters, too, but there were also many who did not make things easy. Why? I have given a great deal of thought to the question, entertained many possibilities, but failed to come up with an answer that I’m completely happy with – one that leaves me the certainty of being right. Fear? Jealousy? Competition? Insecurity? I don’t know. So I content myself with one last thought on this thorny problem: we have to learn to support each other. We cannot be our own worst enemies. If we keep on like that, without backing each other, then in my humble personal opinion, the feeling of loneliness may not be so bad a choice.
So let’s all just entertain some awareness and responsibility regarding this problem. We need female talent so that our businesses can innovate, and, of course, to do away with the digital gap that in this sector appears more glaring each day. If we all take this first step and do our own little bit whenever we get the chance, the lack of women in this area will be history.