The sector of new technologies and digital professions are no longer the only domain of men.
However, while an increasing number of women are taking an interest in these new professions that are emerging in most companies, it must be noted that there is still room for improvement.
More is needed
The Ada WEEK, a week of forums held in Paris in October 2015, provided an opportunity to situate the place of women in the field of engineering, science, and technology.
Inspired by the name of the English Countess Ada Lovelace, who was nevertheless the first person to code in the world in 1843, this event highlighted that while some significant progress has been made, but we can still improve before we achieve gender parity in the new technology professions.
At a time of the digital revolution and Big Data, the estimate of women entrepreneurs represents 3 to 30% of the workforce depending on the sector.
A progressive change in mentalities
Jobs related to new technologies are increasingly popular with women, who are gradually making their mark in this sector. It is shown by the Digital Women’s Day, which will take place on March 10, 2016, for its 4th edition.
Girls in Tech, the French branch of the international network founded in San Francisco in 2007 by Adriana Gascoigne, is another example. One of the objectives of this group is to highlight women entrepreneurs and their careers in the field of technology to encourage gender diversity in a traditionally male environment. Girls in Tech shows that women can code as well as men.
Today, Silicon Valley, a stronghold of the technology industry, is joined by the cities of Chicago and Boston, which have more and more start-ups founded and run by women. Thus, women launched 30% of start-ups working in the field of technology.
In France and Europe, actions to raise women’s awareness of digital professions are also tending to multiply, as is the case with the “Elles Bougent” association, which organizes days of meetings between high schoolers and women who are involved in digital professions. However, although this growth is encouraging, there is still a lot of progress to be made!
Models to follow
Role models such as Joanna Shields, who was director of Facebook Europe before becoming the first minister responsible for Internet safety in the United Kingdom, inspire today’s young women. She was also at the origin of the Tech City UK Initiative, a group aimed at promoting the technology sector in the United Kingdom.
This journey shows that a woman can fully consider succeeding in an area traditionally reserved for men.
Gender equality in the new technology professions, a challenge to be met in the coming years!
