Break Down Barriers to Career Success for Women in Technology
Women in Tech – VanHack: Breaking down barriers. Women now outnumber men in every major technological area, including electronics, information technology, computer science and engineering, software, and communications. Women also represent a growing percentage of office managers and supervisors. Interestingly enough, women in Technology do not just consist of a small number of highly qualified individual, but a significant percentage of the total number of people working in this field. Although there have been many gender gaps in educational attainment, work experience, and other criteria, the overall ratio between men and women in technology has been steadily increasing over the past few decades.
There are several barriers that prevent women from becoming successful in the technology industry. Some argue that women have a harder time breaking into the highly competitive field of software engineering, because they are often viewed as “girls” or “women’s people” because they tend to lean toward the characteristics of female rather than masculine. However, studies show that as women become more involved in software engineering, their mindset begins to change, becoming more attuned to what society thinks about their identity as well as what is necessary for a successful career in technology. Many women in technology begin their careers as program engineers, designers or business analysts. After achieving success in one of these areas, the next logical step is to move into higher management positions and eventually into the role of CIO or CEO.
If women in tech can achieve career goals like becoming CIOs and CEOs, then what will be the next milestone for women in technology? Women now outnumber men in technology; however, as they grow more involved in software engineering, they begin to surpass men in leadership positions. Women need to see themselves as leaders, and begin to push themselves outside of stereotypical gender roles in order to be taken seriously as leaders in this male dominated field.https://www.youtube.com/embed/e3-jwrpM4Ng