The Future of Tech: Women Leading Innovation and Shaping the Industry

With rapid advancements in technology in recent years, the tech industry has undergone some incredible transformations — and women are playing an important role.

Steadily but surely, women are gaining ground in tech. We are seeing more women holding jobs in tech than ever before. According to a study by Deloitte, women’s share in technical roles grew by 11.7% from 2019 to 2022 and their role in leadership positions in tech grew by 20%.

Across the industry, women are making substantial progress and are propelling change by helping to drive growth and innovation. That said, there is still much to be done to close the gender gap in the tech sector.

If the tech industry wants to continue experiencing significant growth, there must be more done to support women in tech and push for change through diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts.

The Tech Industry is Growing and So Are Opportunities for Women

The tech industry has experienced significant growth in recent years and this trend is expected to continue. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, an average of 377,500 tech jobs are expected to open each year until 2032. In January of this year alone, tech companies added nearly 18,000 workers.

With numerous emerging tech trends hitting the market, this comes as no surprise. Everything from cybersecurity and construction to transportation and healthcare is being completely transformed by new technologies.

The healthcare industry, in particular, has witnessed incredible transformation in the wake of the pandemic. As the COVID-19 pandemic made it necessary for faster adoption of digital solutions, the healthcare IT sector has experienced significant growth.

Today, numerous computer science jobs in the healthcare field are in demand, including:

• Health IT specialists
• Data scientists
• Informatics directors
• Clinical systems analysts
• Cybersecurity analysts
• Medical software engineers

These are just a few examples of the hundreds of jobs opening up in tech across various industries, which is promising for women. As DEI initiatives ramp up from the government and other organizations, we will likely see more and more opportunities for women to join the tech workforce and take over leadership roles.

Women Driving Change in Tech

Already, women around the world are making strides and driving change in the technology sector. From innovations in AI and healthcare IT to data security and fintech, women are leaving their mark and shaping the future of tech.

Chitra Herle, EVP and Global CIO at GM Financial, for example, has played a critical role in steering digital transformations within the finance sector through her mastery of DevSecOps and Cloud platforms and application programming interfaces (APIs).

Aicha Evans, CEO of Zoox has been driving change in transportation through her mission to create zero-emission autonomous vehicles that prioritize customer experience and safety.

Mira Murati, Chief Technology Officer at OpenAI, has had a revolutionary career journey. She started in the aerospace industry before becoming a senior product manager for Tesla. She then served as VP of product and engineering for Leap Motion before transitioning to OpenAI, where she quickly rose to her role as CTO by spearheading numerous critical projects, including DALL-E, Codex, and ChatGPT.

While these women hold leadership positions, most of them began their journeys in lower starting positions like anyone else. This shows that no matter where you start in your career as a woman in tech, it is possible to reach great heights and make waves in the tech industry.

Acknowledging the Gender Gap in Tech

Though things are changing, women are still largely underrepresented in tech. According to the WomenTech Network, at the current pace of change, it will still take another 131 years to fully close the gender gap.

• In tech and STEM fields, women only make up 35% of the workforce in the United States.
• In STEM education, only 16% of women hold degrees in IT sciences and 21% in engineering technology.
• Hiring trends also show that 65% of tech recruiters admit to there being a bias when hiring in tech.

While focusing on the strides women have made in tech is important to further inspire and empower women, it’s also crucial to acknowledge the disparities to show how much work still needs to be done.

Breaking Down Barriers: Supporting Women in Tech

Technology plays a crucial role in our society today, but for growth to continue, there must be more diverse inputs. Diversity enhances tech organizations by strengthening the work being done with more varied perspectives that ensure tech is accessible and meets the needs of everyone.

So, how can women in tech be better supported to ensure continual growth and innovation in the industry?

In Education

There are many pros and cons to pursuing an education in tech, however, to close the gender gap, it’s important to focus on the positives and empower young women to pursue degrees in STEM. The reluctance toward tech and computer science likely starts at a young age.

Parents, teachers, and mentors must encourage an interest in STEM early on to combat this reluctance and hesitation, which likely stems from negative stereotypes, societal expectations, and underrepresentation.

Additionally, while still in school and even after graduation, it’s important to provide women-focused networking opportunities to help them better navigate the IT job market. Having a supportive professional network to lean on can play a crucial role in helping women land roles in tech.

At Work

According to McKinsey & Company, the key to closing the gender gap for women in technical roles is for companies to focus on their DEI efforts. Their suggestions include:

• Accelerating skill-building for women by providing equal access to training
• Updating policies, processes, and practices to ensure equal opportunities for promotions
• Connecting women with more capable mentors, sponsors, and managers.

Additionally, hiring processes must change to optimize recruitment of female talent, such as developing more inclusive interview processes and using female role models when promoting job openings. Of course, it’s also necessary to bridge the pay gap by eliminating discrepancies.

In the Community

Beyond school and the workplace, it’s also important for everyone in communities to do their part to help support women.

Some examples of ways to support women in a community sense include:

• Joining or donating to groups that support women in tech
• Using more inclusive language in everyday conversations
• Amplifying female voices on social media
• Volunteering to serve as a role model for nonprofits that empower young girls in STEM
• Attend or host events that celebrate women in tech

Already, numerous community and professional organizations exist that aim at empowering women in tech. This includes the National Center for Women & Information Technology (NCWIT), Girls Who Code, Girls Develop It, League of Women Coders, and Women in Tech (WIT) — just to name a few.

Wrapping Up

It’s clear that things are changing for women in tech, but it’s important to continue pushing for further change to ensure a more diverse and powerful future for technology. The more the gender gap is closed, the more technology and tech services will become more accessible to diverse consumer audiences, which means a better and brighter future for us all.