One of the most common criticisms of the tech sector is how male-dominated the industry is. According to the study, only 1 in 5 people working in today’s tech industry is a woman. This is an alarming statistic because it shows that women are still underrepresented in this sector, despite decades of progress towards workplace equality.
BairesDev is a company specialized in technological solutions and software development and launched its study Women in Tech 2022, which reveals talent trends and shows the growth of female candidates in recent years. This company is one of the fastest growing in Latin America and to which hundreds of people apply to work every month.
Given the volume of applicants analyzed by the company between 2015 and 2021, these are the main trends that the report highlights:
- Female applicants represent an average of 40% of all applicants during the 2020-2021 period, showing an increase of 400% in their participation compared to five years ago. This includes technical and non-technical positions.
- Female talent applies up to three times more to positions related to SharePoint and testing, compared to other technologies. Xamarin, IOs and Android with increases of 13%, 9% and 8%, respectively, show the interest of women in mobile development in 2021.
- The peak of female participation occurs among young women: women in their 20s represent about 40% of all applications in that age range.
- In the range of applicants between 40 and 49 years old, women represent approximately 37%, with a growing interest in supervisory or leadership positions.
- With 45% of female candidates out of the total, Latin America leads the percentage of women who apply to the company. Among the most relevant countries are Argentina, Uruguay, Honduras, Jamaica, the Dominican Republic, Brazil, Colombia and Panama.
“The availability of female candidates is one of the first gaps that we must overcome to achieve gender equality in the technology sector,” comments Rocío Belfiore, chief innovation officer of BairesDev, a US-based company formed by Latin Americans. “More and more women with greater knowledge of new technologies are showing interest in this industry. We are aware that there is still a long way to go, but these statistics show us that the efforts to generate gender parity are paying off.”
The study clarifies that data from an applicant database covering 6 years in which the company received more than a million applications for both technical and non-technical roles was reviewed.
Other data that emerges are:
- Female candidates in the technology sector represented an average of 41% of the total in the 2020-2021 period, an increase of 400% over the previous 5 years.
- Women in their 20s are increasing the female presence in the tech world, accounting for around 40% of all applicants in that age range.
- Women over the age of 40 are increasingly applying for management positions or leadership roles.
- Women applying for technical positions in the software development industry are mostly senior professionals with a focus on web, mobile, and testing.
- With 45% of female applicants out of the total, Latin America leads the way in the percentage of women who apply to work in our company.
- Gender equality initiatives are helping women to progress in the industry, however that is happening at a slow pace.
other perspectives
In the case of EcuadorOf the total applications from this country, an increase from 17% to 41% is reflected in the participation of female candidates during the 2015-2021 period.
The women who applied to BairesDev in the period analyzed in this study are located in an age range between 19 and 65 years.
What remains to be done so that women have a greater participation in the technological field? “It is important that the recruitment and selection processes focus on attracting diverse talent and providing the same opportunities for all people regardless of gender, sexual orientation, nationality, age, location, among other characteristics. Through our AI-powered recruiting suite, we select the best-qualified talent, largely eliminating the human biases that are prevalent in recruiting processes,” says Belfiore.
The representative points out that the availability of female candidates is one of the first gaps to be overcome, so it is necessary to arouse the interest of women for STEM roles (acronym in English for Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics). “We can see how more and more technology companies open programs to increase the volume of female candidates, however, more than the number of initiatives, the key lies in the ability to be strategic, coherent and constant, in the way in which we attract and we retain diverse talent.”
D&I (diversity and inclusion) programs will always be more successful the more they are aligned with a company’s strategy and corporate culture. “At BairesDev, diversity is one of our core -or fundamental- values and we work every day to promote an inclusive work environment, where diversity means pride, innovation and better results”highlights the expert.
Companies like BairesDev are looking for allies to discover more female potential and that is why they encourage the recommendation of female candidates through the BairesDev referral talent program, “open to all our collaborators and the general public, which grants a higher reward for each Referred and hired woman who stays with the company for more than three months”.
As part of the corporate initiatives promoted by this company to increase diversity and inclusion in the sector, it has a social responsibility program ‘BairesDev GiveBack’, in which twice a year they support non-profit organizations that promote the inclusion and development of women and underrepresented communities in the technology industry. “We know there’s a long way to go, but we think small wins are worth acknowledging. We have seen a growth in the number of female applicants, from 11% in 2015 to 40% in 2021, showing that these initiatives are yielding results”, concludes Belfiore.
Source: Eluniverso
Paul is a talented author and journalist with a passion for entertainment and general news. He currently works as a writer at the 247 News Agency, where he has established herself as a respected voice in the industry.
