Women’s Presence and Leadership in the Tech Industry

Do women still have a problem breaking into the technical industry? The answer is yes, especially in leadership roles. Hint: the answer isn’t more STEM training. The answer is leverage unique talents.

Women’s Presence in Tech

I feel old until I realize that technology is moving faster than the speed of, well, just about anything. Wasn’t it just yesterday that there were Blackberries? (There still are…) Candy-bar Nokias? The 2K fiasco? The iPhone 5? That said, the underlying features of the tech industry have not changed. We have a bazillion new apps and languages, storage beyond our dreams and ways of inputting that are complex and beautiful. We have a diverse and richly creative workforce that values knowledge, process, and achievement. Heroes are the norm in customer service, and brilliance is everyday in innovation.

The thing that hasn’t moved as fast is the numbers of women in the technology sector. From CIO.COM:

“Despite national conversations about the lack of diversity in tech, women are disproportionately missing out on the ongoing boom in IT jobs. While women make up 47% of all employed adults in the US, as of 2022, they hold only 28% of computing and mathematical roles, according to data from Zippia, with women identifying as Asian or Pacific Islander making up just 7% of the IT workforce and Black and Hispanic women accounting for 3% and 2%, respectively.”

Where Does It Start?

This lack of visible women in tech starts long before the hiring of today. It starts in school. One of the things that we don’t always recognize is that girls who have an aptitude for music and liberal arts may be just as able to excel in technology as others. I’ll throw out something controversial: music is math. Just ask Pythagoras. If you excel in music, it could very well be that you have the talent for coding and logical thinking. Thinking creatively is important in technical marketing and product development, not to mention the user experience. Why do we think only math and science are important to study for tech jobs?

But, I digress…

Breaking Into the Tech Industry

Breaking into the tech world can be a daunting quest for women who haven’t had the chance to tinker with gadgets or code their way through adolescence. Often, they face a double-edged sword of societal stereotypes and a lack of early exposure, making the leap into technology feel like climbing a mountain without a map. Imagine trying to capture a rare, elusive butterfly with a net full of holes… The tools and guidance needed seem to slip right through their fingers, leaving them yearning for that first exhilarating catch.

What makes technology irresistibly charming to women is its boundless potential for creativity and problem-solving. It’s like stepping into an enchanted forest where every keystroke can conjure a new world, every line of code a spellbinding adventure. I remember the first time I coded and created; I had something useful and fun. I dropped my major from Media to Information Technology and never looked back.

Leadership and Technical Teams

However, what tends to be forgotten, especially when looking at leadership, is that knowing all tech doesn’t make you a leader. Think of The Peter Principle. In tech, we tend to see a lot of promotions given to those who are the best product marketers, the best coders, even the best customer service people. In fact, it may not be what the person is good at or even want to do!

We need to leverage our technical expertise and love of community into something that brings our teams together. This is not easy in tech. People are quirky here, let’s admit it. I’ve had some of my teams called a little weird but effective. That’s where our creativeness comes in as women leaders; we can talk tech to those potential outliers and form a team that works like a dream. We understand the language and the needs of groups of techies (I’ll say it, geeks!) Our strength is in our ability to see and utilize both the logical and the creative to lead.

Women Leaders: Thinking Outside the Box

Where does this leave us? Women can reshape the technical corporate culture into something that is as communal as it is scientific. Leaders who are hiring need to realize that a technical project manager can be found in an event planner and a coder can be found in a pianist. We need to think beyond what we’ve learned and the resume in front of us and start seeing what people are capable of with their minds and strengths. If you’re one who thinks you can’t be in tech because you don’t have a math degree – I will tell you flat out you’re wrong. You can. It’s simply finding the path to get there.

Want to explore this idea more? If you’re one who wants to get into leadership, maybe in technical companies, I’d love to help you get there. Start with a free Clarity session with me – we’ll map where you are and where you want to be. Maybe getting there requires coaching, and maybe not Either way, it’s good to get a map to where you want to go. It’s the only way to know when you’ve arrived.

I am dedicated to providing joy and direction to women leaders through coaching and courses. If you’d like to dig in more, please visit my website or my YouTube channel, The Leading Edge. And let me know what you think! If there’s something you’d like to see, don’t hesitate to comment and let me know.