Women’s Day 2023: Tech Leaders Discuss the Impact of Digital Gender Gap

• International Women’s Day is celebrated annually on March 8th to honor women’s achievements and contributions to society, as well as to raise awareness about the ongoing struggle for gender equality.

• This Women’s Day, Spiceworks got in touch with leaders across the globe to discuss the impact of the digital gender gap on widening economic and social inequalities.

Katie Moro, Director of Managed Services, Productsup 

“There is one woman for every four men in technology, and that is not enough. With the COVID-19 pandemic, many career shifts were happening based on the availability to work from home. Because of this, naturally, we saw more women enter the technical field than we did in the past, as they were able to balance their work and home life.

But even with this, the number of men in this industry still greatly outnumber women, leaving room for things like pay gaps, stricter return-to-office plans (something that could push women out of tech) and widening the gender gap as a whole.

However, one positive takeaway of the tech gender gap is the encouragement of paternity leave. It’s currently encouraged globally, with 109 counties having parental leave available to fathers – which is more than half, and 47 of these countries offer more than four weeks. 

Many wealthier countries offer more than 12 weeks. Paternity leave gives women the opportunity to not only share their parental duties but also provide a more equitable work and home life.”

See More: How COVID-19 Is Impacting Women in Tech: Q&A With Nancy Wang, AWS

Caroline Seymour, VP of Product Marketing, Zerto

“International Women’s Day is an opportunity to both recognize the progress that’s been made in the women’s movement and to look forward to the work we still have to do. This year’s theme, #EmbraceEquity, in particular, reminds us of the importance of considering the unique needs of different women.

Equity means more than just equality: instead of providing all groups with the exact same resources, it’s about recognizing the unique circumstances of each individual and providing them with enough resources to reach an equal outcome and achieve their full potential.

As a long-time professional working in the technology field, I’m well aware of the underrepresentation of women in the industry. While people are much more aware of the gender gap than they have been in the past, a divide still remains that needs to be overcome. The roots of the issue start before women enter the workforce.

As they’re growing up, girls can be subjected to biases (both conscious and unconscious) early on in their schooling and are often actively discouraged from pursuing science, technology, engineering, and math. Further down the road, companies can also take action to achieve gender equity. They can start by using job descriptions that are gender-neutral, gathering diverse candidates for interviews, and making sure there are women present on the interviewing team.

Additionally, there should be regular pay equity reviews, mentorship and advancement opportunities for different groups, and regular evaluation of the hiring and promotion process to spot any potential biases. The lack of gender diversity in tech is an issue we all need to think about and be active in combating, not only on International Women’s Day but every day.”

Jillian Belles, VP, Thales

“Women are beginning to break into a greater variety of roles within the tech industry. However, the progress is slower than I would like to see. As an example, there are more women going into technical sales positions and sales engineering roles. However, the ratio is still very low, and within leadership, the gap is even wider. Although there has been an improvement over the last decade, there is still a long way to go to overcome stereotypes and unconscious gender bias.

Companies have an obligation, as well as the tech industry in general, to continue to do a better job with their outreach to young girls with community STEM programs to pique their interest early on. They need to continue to offer workforce education and mentoring programs and provide more opportunities for women to excel in all aspects of the industry. 

Deepika Dixit, Member of Technical Staff, Kasten by Veeam

“As a woman of color in tech, my journey has been a rich experience in growing and combating divisions. For too long, the digital gender gap has been used to empower men at the expense of their female counterparts. The gender gap is getting smaller with time, but it still has some ways to go.

The industry is slightly more flexible for women now with the increase in maternity and family leaves, work-from-home options, childcare, and other benefits. Being assertive is something women struggle with more than men. It’s our job to make sure everyone has a say before decisions are made, and as women and as leaders in STEM, we need to demand action be taken against gender-based online violence by being open and transparent about our experiences and demands to create more equitable workspaces.

I started as one of two female engineers on the team and quickly realized we needed more representation. Sometimes there is only one seat for a woman at the table, and we get complacent that it is enough, but we need to extend the table and get more diversity. Diversity helps everyone — we get more ideas, more experiences, and more perspectives. And on International Women’s Day 2023, #EmbraceEquity is the banner under which these objectives must be converted into action.”

Jasmine Strydom, Social Media & Communications Manager, Object First

“As a recent college graduate entering the tech industry, I know firsthand the excitement and daunting nature of navigating this complex field. This International Women’s Day, I’m reminded of the remarkable resilience and fearlessness of women who have overcome countless obstacles to achieve their goals.

I feel fortunate to be a part of a team that consistently provides unwavering support and motivation for me to reach my full potential. Their encouragement has given me the confidence to take on new challenges and continue growing — together, we are changing the narrative.

Despite the challenges that may come with entering the tech industry, I am energized by the prospect of learning and contributing to a dynamic field. With a passion for driving positive change, I’m determined to use my skills and knowledge to promote inclusivity and inspire future generations of women to achieve their dreams. I feel privileged to be part of the movement towards gender equality and diversity in tech, committed to advocating for and uplifting women in this space.

Together, let’s pave the way for a more inclusive and innovative tech industry that empowers all individuals to achieve their full potential.” 

Larissa Crandall, Vice President of Global Channel and Alliances, Veeam

“As our world becomes increasingly digital, the impact on gender equality is significant and multifaceted. The digital gender gap is a major obstacle to gender equality in that it limits women’s job opportunities and earning potential and can exacerbate existing gender-based economic and social inequalities.

It is important that we amplify our collective voices to drive awareness of this issue. To narrow this gap, girls and women need increased access to the internet, digital technology, and skills development to remove the barriers that can limit women’s participation in the workforce and in their communities.”

Becky Trevino, Executive Vice President of Products, Snow Software

“The digital gender gap has far-reaching implications, not just for women today but for their families, future generations and society as a whole. Women with less access to education and resources around new technology and with limited internet access will see increased negative outcomes, both economically and socially, as technology is further integrated into almost every aspect of daily life.

Lower-income families will feel this divide the most, as they will not be able to close educational gaps through individual efforts. As we see the increased adoption of emerging technologies, such as AI, influence multiple facets of our lives, the digital gender gap and its impacts will be profound. There will be continued socioeconomic drawbacks for those who will not be able to take advantage of these changes. Today’s digital gender gap will further drive social inequality for men and women for generations to come.”

See More: 6 Women in Tech on How To Close the Gender Pay Gap in the Industry

Lauren Greenfield, Customer & Partner Success Manager, Object First

“As we celebrate International Women’s Day 2023, it is important to recognize the many ambitious and visionary women that have pioneered a path for me to follow. Thanks to their tenacity, I have been able to quick-start my career in a male-dominated industry straight out of college.

As a whole, we have made much headway, but we still have work to do. I strive to continue the progression for women in tech, and all fields, to ensure we have a seat at the table, break barriers, and redefine the mold of what it means to be a woman in business.

I am proud of the work that I have done, and I encourage women to keep flourishing, trust themselves, and recognize their many talents. Happy International Women’s Day!” 

Meredith Graham, CPO, Ensono

“As the rate of digital transformation continues to increase, the digital gender gap grows wider between men and women and becomes that much more harmful. Recent dataOpens a new window demonstrate that globally, as of 2022, 62% of men are using the Internet, compared with only 57% of women.

It’s hard to speculate exactly how this divide is perpetuated between men and women worldwide. Still, one likely factor is that women have historically been discouraged from careers in science, engineering, technology, arts and mathematics (STEAM). Despite the fact that 56% of women currently working in a technology role have been interested in STEAM since childhood, most have faced setbacks from an early age. Nearly half of the women (48%) were discouraged from a STEAM career in high school or earlier, and 34% say they’ve been warned about difficulties they’ll encounter in a technical field because they’re women. 

For female minorities, the discouragement is even more severe — 91% of Latina women in tech and 72% of Black women have experienced discouragement and setbacks. So, it’s no surprise that 42% of working women in tech have felt discouraged about the male-dominated nature of their fields during their careers.”

Debbie Connelly, SVP CPO, Hyland 

“Digital literacy is increasingly seen and acknowledged as an essential skill for employability, and correspondingly higher earning potential and new economic opportunities. Given those factors, it’s crucial that we continue to find ways to narrow the digital gender gap. 

Studies have shown that, globally, women are less likely to own tech devices than men and use such devices differently  – namely, using a smaller range of digital services. In turn, women use such digital services less often and less intensively, deepening the gap in comfort and knowledge in the use of technology.

In turn, that gap translates to slower economic and social growth for females as the digitization of economies expands; a growing number of jobs and, indeed, daily activities will essentially require significant digital literacy to engage with an increasingly digital economy.” 

Lalitha Rajagopalan, Co-founder and Head of Product Strategy, ORO Labs

“Women’s limited access to the digital world has proven to financially impact entire families as well as the economy as a whole. And this gap is actually increasing in developing countries. In fact, only 26% of the women in Asia have access to cell phones; in the least developed regions, women’s access to the internet is an abysmal 32%. 

As a South Asian female and tech startup founder myself, I’ve seen firsthand how this lack of gender parity continues to impact everything from social inequalities to bias in business operations. Today, 90% of jobs that pay above minimum wage have a digital component. 

Even basic, everyday functions and activities like banking and travel require one-time passwords or other digital verification in order to participate. This means that the digital gender gap creates a higher – sometimes insurmountable – barrier to entry for women that don’t have a way to access these or other online spaces.” 

Laura Ritchey, COO and EVP of Radial

“The pandemic and subsequent lockdowns have exacerbated challenges faced by girls and women by further limiting opportunities to access technology. Opportunities to use a friend’s internet, go to the public library, or even use a computer at work were all severely limited. Since this persisted in varying degrees for years, the impacts will be felt for some time. 

These impacts include less access to higher paying work opportunities because of limited ability to connect to job postings and boards, reliance on social networks to obtain work which may perpetuate a narrower view of advancement opportunities, and potential bias in the information about the economy perpetuated by available news sources. 

Our Women’s Initiative Network (WIN) network at Radial is designed to address many of these limitations by providing access to the internet at work, posting information about opportunities in various mediums, and meetings to build life skills through education.”

Margaret Dawson, Chief of Staff to the CEO & Chief Communications Officer, Apptio

“I think we need to look more broadly at the digital gap beyond gender as the gap impacts and is widening across diverse and marginalized populations ethnically, economically, educationally and gender-wise. Not having access or the ability to afford basic internet access, computing devices, and online educational opportunities are leaving huge portions of our society stuck in lower-paying jobs and unemployment. 

In addition, this can lead to a high rate of depression and other mental health challenges, which can contribute to other societal issues around drugs, alcohol, and suicide. As we become more reliant on digital experiences and technologies in our personal and professional lives, narrowing this gap must be an absolute mandate for all governments and organizations. 

How do we fulfill visions from the 1990s of ensuring every child has a laptop and internet access? How do we ensure every person has basic digital skills? The digital gap is directly tied to our economic gaps, and these will both continue to widen unless we intentionally change the game through access and education.”

Samantha Humphries, Head of Security Strategy EMEA, Exabeam

“In 2023, it’s no secret that there are still notable barriers for women looking to enter or stay in the tech space. 

For those looking to enter the sector, we are still struggling with a lack of balance when it comes to role models. Marian Wright Edelman, founder and president of the Children’s Defense Fund, once said, “You can’t be what you can’t see,” and that still very much stands. There is still so much more that needs to be done to highlight and uplift women in the technology industry – if a company wants diversity, they have to show it and actively strive for it, and when they do so, it pays dividends. 

Even when women do break into this male-dominated industry, they often find that the technology sector is still fundamentally designed for men. It’s not enough to simply get women in the door, there needs to be resources and support in place that keep them there. 

For example, employee support groups, mentorship programs, initiatives such as menstrual and menopause policies, comprehensive medical insurance – the list goes on! Each business is different, and some of these may not be applicable to all, but the bottom line is that organizations need to adapt their policies to their people. We can’t simply keep copying and pasting the same HR policies that have been in place for decades; it’s time to adapt.”

Astrid Gobardhan, Data Protection Officer at VFS Global 

“Digitalization, across global industries, has boomed in recent years – and was turbocharged by conditions of the COVID-19 pandemic. In 2021 alone, almost $100 billion in private investment was committed to this area – double the figure of the previous year – and there are no signs, yet, of a slowdown.

According to a 2023 industry survey, 78% of hiring managers say they’re planning to increase their budget and headcount on IT-related roles over the next year in order to meet their organization’s demands.

This is, of course, great news for job seekers. However, it also comes against a backdrop of talent shortfalls and disparities in gender representation, which could hold the tech sector back. 

The fact that, in 2023, women hold just 26% of tech-related jobs and that the percentage of women in all tech-related careers has decreased in the past 2 years should serve as a red flag in the labor market and as a call for greater collaboration between educational institutions and the private sector, so that more women can pursue STEM careers.

How this can be achieved at speed is complex and will require structural change, but there are some immediate steps that could be taken to assist women with entry into the IT sector.

At a school level, we need to see greater teacher, parental, and peer support and the dispelling of outdated stereotypes so that more young women pursue STEM-based education to a later stage, from which they can be hired. Public-private engagement should also be intensified so that there are internships and other opportunities for female students to get hands-on experience and insights into the sector.

At a hiring level, too, there should be a shift in thinking about skills, not degrees, and the potential to utilize online training courses and coding boot camps to widen candidate talent pools. A study published last month by McKinsey found that the adoption of such practices, together with flexible working hours and work-from-home options, could increase the number of women in tech roles – in Europe – by as much as 530,000 by 2027. This shows the growth potential that is there, and that can be unlocked from more creative methods of hiring.

Companies should aim for a long-term commitment in play to improve gender representation, not just in IT roles but throughout the organization. They should implement mentoring schemes, which not only equip new hires with the skills they need to excel in their role but also provide the necessary guidance they need to reach positions of senior leadership.”

Heather Mahalik, Fellow, SANS Institute

“Breaking the cycle of gender inequality starts at a young age. From the early days of high school, we see stereotypes being ingrained and gender roles being imposed, especially when it comes to technology and science. 

As someone who was never encouraged to explore a career in computer security, I know firsthand the importance of opening up diverse paths for young girls and women. To achieve true progress, we need to educate and empower them with the knowledge that their potential has no limits.”

Meredith Graham, CPO, Ensono

“Education, awareness and fostering safe spaces for women pursuing opportunities in tech and in digital spaces are key to closing this divide. Encouraging women that they deserve to take advantage of these digital opportunities from a young age can help to minimize the gap by empowering them to take up space online.”

Svenja de Vos, CTO, Leaseweb Global 

“It’s well known that the number of women in technology is disappointingly low — a recent study put the current figure at just 26%Opens a new window . This is very disparaging, but the main issue with this statistic is that it not only shows the lack of women in the sector but it actively works to discourage more women from joining. 

When people do not have mentors or role models to look up to, they are less likely to be able to envisage themselves doing that job. And while there are numerous men in the tech sector, female role models are few and far between. 78% of students from a recent survey couldn’t name a single famous female working in tech.”

See More: AWS GM of Data Services on How To Balance the Responsibilities of Data Protection

Tanja Omeragic, Director, Technical Sales – Cybersecurity, ConnectWise

“I have had my share of career challenges: Being overlooked for the opportunity to further

 my career in cyber while I was pregnant, people wrongly assuming I’m in an administrative role and having others being given credit for my hard work. I feel lucky to now work for a manager and company that take my voice seriously. 

Tech remains a male-dominated industry. These barriers won’t ever disappear, but we can minimize them as more female leaders break the glass ceiling, inspiring others to do the same. Organizations can support this aim by increasing awareness of the possibilities for women in tech and by encouraging its leaders to mentor other women in the workplace. Having someone invest in your career and growth can make a world of difference.

Finally, my advice to other women: Be stubborn, be bossy and don’t give up. Don’t let anyone tell you that you can’t do something. As former Meta COO, Sheryl Sandberg, said: I want every little girl who’s told she’s bossy to be told instead that she has leadership skills. This International Women’s Day, we need to reframe the narrative.”

Harshvendra Soin, Global Chief People Officer & Head – Marketing, Tech Mahindra 

“Every year on March 8th, we celebrate International Women’s Day to honor the numerous sacrifices, struggles, and successes of women throughout history. While women and people of all genders are consciously defying stereotypes and are actively contributing to breaking barriers, I truly believe that we have a long road ahead in overcoming conscious and unconscious biases.

Having said that, we can all come together to bridge the gap by being supportive allies and creating a sense of not just inclusion but belonging at work for women. While our quest to create a diverse, equal, and inclusive world will take time, what we can collectively do today and each following day is to sow the seeds of change that will bear fruit in the future. 

On the occasion of International Women’s Day, I urge every woman to stay true to their purpose, stand tall, and march ahead to lead the world and bring about a positive change.”

Julie Giannini, Chief Customer Officer, Egnyte

“International Women’s Day is a time to reflect on the progress that we have made and highlight what more we can do, especially in the tech industry. As we continue to strive for equality, it helps to remember that when various points of view come together, the result is greater output and innovation. Representation and diverse perspectives are key to successfully selling a product and supporting a customer.

One of my philosophies toward creating a more diverse and inclusive workforce is paying it forward. Just as a longtime friend and former colleague helped me over the course of my tech career, I’m currently mentoring several young women, including one interested in pursuing a career in STEM. Everyone deserves a seat at the table; this begins at an early age and is fostered through helping others.

In addition to diversity in technology, I am delighted to see the recent uptick in women represented in professional sports, from referees to coaches. Whether on the playing field or in the boardroom, we can all win by embracing equity. We all grow stronger when we embrace diversity and grow together.”

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