Women and technology: the constant demand for employment hampered by the gender gap

The rise of new technologies and the development of new services result in the demand for specialized workers in an area of ​​constant change.

The metaverse, multi-device connectivity and the massive implementation of 5G networks are some of the proposals that attract a large part of companies and, due to their evolution, it is necessary to have personnel that adapt to all these changes.

These are areas that generate a lot of employment today, a demand that will constantly grow as advances are made in the technological sector and new solutions are developed to improve processes, both at home and at work...

Government plans also go along these lines, since education and training in STEM disciplines are the basis for Sustainable Development.

Without going any further, in Spain it is necessary to hire up to 30.000 workers for one of the parts of this sector, such as cybersecurity, according to the report carried out by the International Information Systems Security Certification Consortium.

Likewise, one of the purposes is to promote these careers equally between men and women, since the latter represent a lower percentage than their male counterparts in these disciplines.

According to the latest UN report: The education of girls and women in science, technology, engineering and mathematics: only 35 percent of students enrolled in these disciplines are women.

The origin of this problem lies in factors such as education, where these professions have been associated with men and the roles associated with the female figure have been more focused on other professions.

Spain needs at least 120.000 women with a professional profile specialized in information technologies, according to a recent 'Tech Cities' study carried out by Experis. However, only 30 percent of ICT positions are held by women.

The data may seem complicated, but they show a reality in relation to the gender gap: it is not only necessary to encourage women's interest in these disciplines, but also to achieve their employability and visibility in technology.

That is one of the purposes of the Women's STEM Sustainability and Mobility Chair, taught by the University of Comillas ICAI and developed in collaboration with Iberdrola and EMT Madrid. Its mission consists of investigating the causes of low female participation in these areas.

From here, the social, educational, family and personal factors that make it difficult to choose STEM studies and, specifically, for women, are analyzed.

In addition, employability studies and successful professional profiles are prepared and the need to incorporate women in two important strategic fields is disseminated: mobility and sustainability.

LARGE COMPANIES INVOLVED IN ENDING THE GENDER GAP

One of the most significant events in relation to the promotion of STEM careers in women is the one proposed by HP. HP Codewars is developed, a programming competition in which students between 14 and 18 years old participate to demonstrate knowledge of programming languages ​​​​such as Java, Python or C++.

In recent years there has been a notable increase in female participation and priority is also given to mixed teams or teams made up only of women. Specifically, this growth was 15 to 27 percent in 2021 compared to previous years, this being the year with the highest number of girls registered.

Google is another company that seeks to support and establish women in the field of technology through different programs. They are intended for both those interested in STEM disciplines and the company's employees from different countries around the world.

One of these programs is #IAmRemarkable, an initiative that aims to encourage women and minority groups to talk openly about their achievements in order to end glass ceilings.

Another of them is #InHerShoes, a project that aims to increase the empathy of the male public about the difficulties that women face through talks and conferences.

A LONG WAY TO GO

Another initiative focused on the training of women in technology is proposed by Ironhack, which from March 8 to the 10th organizes three days of conferences within the framework of the 'From woman to woman' program.

These are training workshops focused on web development, UX/UI design and Data, in which professional women from these areas participate.

One of them is Noe Medina, a user interface engineer at Paradigma Digital, who became interested in technology thanks to a master's degree and sees these conferences as a good attraction for women who want to train in these areas.

«10 years ago, intensive development bootcamps did not exist. I believe that this type of unofficial training was the seed for what came later, expanding the training offers that do not require as much investment of time as a vocational training or a university degree," he commented in an interview with Europa Press.

Another spokesperson, Sonia García, data analysis instructor at Ironhack, wanted to highlight the importance of these training and study programs for the initiation of women in these disciplines.

"I came from the field of scientific dissemination and in the Ironhack 'bootcamp' I discovered the necessary tools to dedicate myself to data analysis or data science," recognizing that it is "a world in which you never stop learning." What more could you want?

Despite the interest in these types of programs, both agree that encouraging women to participate in them "is not enough to change the situation."

«There is a lot of deconstruction work in the people who make it up, Medina has assured, insisting that a non-hostile terrain is required in which workers do not feel belittled for the fact of speaking feminine.

This is how she comments on some situations that have happened to her: "I have been urged to bring coffee, wear longer skirts, and I have experienced moments in which a man has repeated my explanation about something and only then have others accepted it as valid." confess.

García has supported those words based on the testimony of other colleagues. "Talking to other women in my sector, there are many environments in which gestures such as going to a meeting are still common and by default it is assumed that the team leader is the man," she adds.

As has been confirmed, there are many factors on which the academic training of women in STEM areas depends, with basic issues such as education.

This is a transformation process in which educational institutions, such as schools and institutes, must first get involved to promote women in companies dedicated to the sector.

Once these changes are perceived and interest is fostered among female students, the business community must offer them sufficient opportunities and draw on all their knowledge to promote equality.