Today is International Women's Day, a day that provides an opportunity to celebrate the achievements of women around the world and highlight the struggles they face. For the technology industry in particular, it's an opportunity to reflect on the progress we've made, consider the work that still needs to be done, and devise stronger strategic advances.
Leadership gaps are evident in most industries, but they are much larger among technology companies. Statistics from DDI's 2023 Global Leadership Forecast, which surveyed nearly 2,000 human resources professionals and nearly 13,500 business leaders from more than 1,500 companies around the world, show that women currently occupy the highest percentage of technology leadership roles. It is approximately 28%. In recent years, the field has recognized the importance of bringing women's perspectives into science and technology, but numbers show that real progress is not being made. As a result, women in technology leadership positions still face an uphill battle to secure C-suite and board seats.
For example, when Mae Govender, group CIO of pan-African financial services group Old Mutual, first started climbing the corporate ladder, she was one of the few women to do so. As a result, she didn't feel like her partner was really listening to her or taking her ideas seriously. She expressed her opinion and was ignored, but she remembers that a few minutes later her male colleague suggested the same and she was praised for her ingenuity. There is.
“I distinctly remember feeling like people were listening to me when I expressed my opinion on a topic, but not really being heard,” she says. Masu.
May Govender, Group CIO, Old Mutual
old mutual
Also, because women in leadership roles typically worked in other areas of the business, such as marketing or human resources management, people did not recognize their technical abilities. And being a minority means being excluded from an all-male clique, she says. She described these struggles as a bit of a “branding” issue, where she felt prejudiced and unfairly scrutinized because she was different from everyone else in the room.
Aveena Mothilall, CIO of African energy group Engen, faced similar hurdles early in her career. Like Govender, she struggled to break into male-dominated circles and gain trust. Additionally, many of her colleagues have negative opinions about the other responsibilities a woman has to take on, for example, thinking that she doesn't take her job seriously because she has to attend her children's school assemblies. I had this understanding. According to Motilal, the industry has come a long way since then, but she believes a lot needs to change to create space for women in the tech industry and increase the number of women in leadership roles. admits.
