Yesterday, March 8, we celebrated International Women’s Day. IWD is a global day dedicated to celebrating all women and their achievements, supporting the vision of a gender-equal world. In this blog, we’ll be discussing the ins-and-outs of women navigating the tech industry.

Working in tech is working in innovation. The tech industry harnesses so many fields – roughly over 60 million people in the world work in tech full-time. There are endless opportunities for success and so many benefits of working in this industry. There is potential for real-world change, great pay, creativity in the workplace, skill development, etc. However, the tech industry has had some extreme downsides. 

According to Womentech Network, women only account for 17% of ICT (Information and Communications Technology) specialists. Additionally, women within the ICT sector earn 19% less than men. These metrics clearly portray the presence of a gender gap in the tech industry. A 2020 report conducted by PWC suggests that creating a more gender-equal tech environment must begin by implementing greater opportunities for developing technological skills for individuals – both female and male – at a younger age. Essentially, the need for focusing these skills at a younger age suggests that the lack of gender diversity within the tech industry is just a snippet of a much larger social issue at hand – general world-wide gender inequality.

Currently, there are many organizations in place – specifically for women in tech – to combat these gender equality issues at hand (Women in Tech, Womentech Network, WIT, etc.). All of these resources emphasize the notion that taking action is what is going to change the industry. Whether it be donations, participating in events, or spreading word, advocating for women’s rights will undoubtedly make a positive change for everyone in the tech industry.