After a recent rollout of our hiring campaign to scale TG’s technology department, out of the hundreds of applications we got sent, only 16 of them were from female applicants?
This highlights a fundamental issue; how women are underrepresented in the technology industry. So, we decided to host a webinar titled “Girl Code: closing the gender gap in tech’.
Here are our key takeaways:
Challenges that stand in the way of bridging the gender gap in Tech-based roles:
- Culture
In terms of opportunity and accessibility, there’s nothing in our ecosystem that stops women from joining the tech scene or role. Opportunities are there and available for both genders. However, the current lack of diversity in tech roles can be attributed to some cultural constraints imposed by existing social constructs. Hence raising awareness to overcome these barriers is important.
- Mindset
Women that apply to roles and positions that seem to be advanced from a STEM perspective, usually tend to try to fit in all the points in the job description vs men who just apply without worrying too much on checking all the boxes. Most women assume they need a technology degree to apply to these positions.
However, panelists share that it is all about developing a new mindset, collaborative learning, and being able to work with a diverse group of people from different backgrounds and seek knowledge from various sources.
How to close the Gender Gap in Tech
- Encourage more female participation the STEM degrees. It is important to break the existing gender stereotype to motivate all genders, not just males to pursue STEM roles.
- Develop mentorship programs that include important developmental roles including those of motivator, coach, champion, and consultant to offset the existing gender imbalance. Women’s leadership training combined with a formal mentorship program can help close the gender gap and reduce unconscious bias, ensuring that both women and companies are the beneficiaries.
- Promote female success stories in the ecosystem to raise awareness on existing opportunities
Current awareness initiatives for women in tech:
- In UAE, the DIFC FinTech Hive – “AccelerateHer’ program: a female-focused career mentorship accelerator that aims to equip young aspiring women with the necessary tools and experience to broaden their knowledge in shaping the future of the financial landscape.
- In Bahrain, the Women in FinTech Initiative Bahrain (WIFBH): to promote diversity and inclusion, and raising awareness among the FinTech community, opening the door to career opportunities for women in finance and technology both locally and globally, and more.