C-Suite Executives From Slack, Asana, Coursera, Chainalysis and DocuSign Talk Equality in Tech

As International Women’s Day lands on Friday 8th March, it’s a good time to look at how women are represented (and underrepresented) in tech. With this year’s theme of #InspireInclusion, IWD wants to celebrate women's achievements, raise awareness about discrimination, and urge everyone to take action to drive gender parity.

So what is it actually like to be a woman in tech, and what can be done to make that journey better––for everyone? Women are already paid less than their male colleagues, with the average pay gap in the United States standing between 22% and 30%.

In 2022, Pew Research Center reported that the unadjusted gap has been more or less static for 20 years among the overall workforce at around 20-22%. There are signs that it is narrowing amongst younger workers, in positive news.

That’s just one example of a lack of equity for female workers, and for Sonja Gittens Ottley, head of diversity and inclusion at Asana, research from her company has found that “there is an onus on leaders to create an environment that prioritizes belonging and empowerment. Crucial to this is creating spaces where women can express themselves and be honest about changes they believe the business needs.”

Gittens Ottley points to workplace technology as one area that may foster change. “Research from our Work Innovation Lab shows that women (71%) are more likely than men (64%) to say that collaboration tools are crucial to their work.

“While women may prefer such tools, it’s also true that they’re shouldering a disproportionate share of collaborative burdens. Meanwhile, our own findings showed that more women (67%) than men (62%) experience some level of digital exhaustion.”

She says there is a “need for businesses to deploy a data-driven tech stack that can provide a fully-connected, accurate, and up-to-date map of work within an organization. Only then can businesses be sure that collaboration is happening effectively, and that technology is being used in a way that is supportive of women’s wellbeing and working styles.”

Support for women on issues that matter

At Slack, women are being supported around the issues that matter to them, according to Deirdre Byrne, who is the head of UK & Ireland at the company.

“We've created an “Ask Me Anything” channel with the leadership team and a “Talking Menopause” channel, which are great examples of how companies can facilitate connections, share experiences, and encourage allyship,” she says.

Marni Baker Stein, the chief content officer at Coursera, warns that new technological developments need to be taken seriously to make sure women are included.

“The integration of AI into our professional lives is accelerating, and for women, this carries a particular threat of disruption,” she says.

“In this area, there is more to be done. Currently, women are underrepresented in AI-related upskilling, with men being three times more likely to have enrolled in the most popular AI courses on Coursera’s platform. This disparity threatens to widen existing gender gaps in the workplace as AI literacy becomes increasingly necessary for career advancement.”

Baker Stein is also passionate about education as a way to achieve gender parity. Flexibility is also key. “Investing in women’s learning and development is imperative, but to fully foster equitable environments, modern workplaces must continue to adopt hybrid work frameworks, and flexible learning methods, offering upskilling opportunities that are tailored to women’s schedules.”

The landscape not changing fast enough

And a close eye needs to be kept on specific tech sectors, agrees Pratima Arora, the chief product and technology officer at Chainalysis.

“The landscape is not changing fast enough, especially in male-dominated industries like crypto where female representation in senior positions stands at 22.39% across the board, compared to 77.61% for men.

“Women often feel as though they don’t belong and opt out of STEM-related professions early in life due to a lack of awareness of the opportunities available to them. This starts at an education level––when I was at university studying computer science, there were only three girls in my entire class of 50.”

Violeta Martin, who is the VP of commercial sales EMEA at DocuSign, agrees. “Despite generally doing better in education, women are less likely to progress in the workplace. This shows that despite being qualified for roles, systemic barriers still exist that prevent many women from progressing in their chosen fields. As a woman working in the tech industry, I know first-hand the unique challenges that we face feeling included at work.

“I urge leaders to make the industry more inclusive for women – whether that is by offering flexible working or educational pathways for young women wanting to try their hand at a career in STEM. Small actions compound and create workplaces where every employee is valued, respected, and empowered to thrive.”

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