What is the current situation of gender inequalities in tech companies?

 

What is the current situation of gender inequalities in tech companies?

Technology is everywhere in our lives, from the moment we wake up until we go to sleep, every single day. If we want to listen to some music? Tech. Read the news? Tech. Look for information about a specific topic? Google is our friend. With new technologies, the internet, and all the appliances at our disposal, it is way easier to access what we are looking for. In other words, tech is the future. The future of news and music, but also the way we work. 

    

Since the COVID-19 pandemic, tech has been our savior, and remote working a routine. To still be productive and work from home, we needed to be equipped. According to an article posted in 2021 by 20minutes.fr, shipments amounted to $70 billion in the fourth quarter. Over the fourth quarter of 2020, it represents an 11% increase. 

The author, Anaëlle Lucina, also indicates that two well-known brands have succeeded in emerging unscathed, Apple and Acer. Their deliveries increased by 20% in 2021 compared to 2020. 

 

Nowadays, a huge number of terms exists to talk about tech: big data, Cloud, Software as a Service (SaaS), or even artificial intelligence (IA). But should intelligence not be more on reducing gender inequalities rather than being artificial, satisfying our needs, and improving our life?

 

In Europe, the gap between men and women in terms of salaries amounts to 18.45% according to the 2018 Women in Tech Index, which means approximately €400,000 less over their whole career compared to men. France is ranked sixth, regarding tech workforce, with approximately 1,380,000 people employed. The first country being the United States (US) with about 6,490,000 workers. 

 

Regarding women’s representation in this innovative sector, these two countries are much lower in the ranking. The US are in the seventh position (24.61%) while France is in the sixteenth with 18.09%. It is important to mention that the number one country is Bulgaria, which employed approximately 80,900 people with 30.28% being women in 2018. There is not gender equality in tech companies. 

 

When we look at the annual tech average wage, the first country in the ranking is the US with approximately $98,000 but is ranked 34th concerning gender pay gap, amounting to 11.86%. In France, the annual tech average wage is around €59,000, placing France in twelfth place. Yet, France is better than the US in terms of the gender pay gap (11.80%). 

Before analyzing the gender inequality index and gender pay gap in countries, we could think that countries in which tech is common and is a real attractive sector, these problems do not exist. It is quite the opposite. For instance, Mexico is in the eleventh position in terms of tech but is number one regarding gender equality. 

Why such results?

    According to the article entitled “To put an end to wage inequality in tech by 2050”, written by Caroline Ramade, co-founder of 50inTech, there are some factors that can explain why women are paid less than men in tech companies: 

1.  Gender bias. This bias explains why 39% of women are not promoted.


2. Women are not taken seriously in tech firms. Ramade explained: “In 2021, 78% felt they had to work harder than their male colleagues to prove their worth. Add to that the fact that 66% of women say they don't see clear career development opportunities in their current role, and you have a statement of mentoring failure and poor decision-making throughout their corporate development.”


3. The third reason to explain these inequalities is to be found in self-imposed obstacles. Studies explained that women are less willing to negotiate their starting wage, are “four times less likely than men to ask for a raise”, and can suffer from the impostor syndrome, explained Ramade.

How can these current inequalities be tackled?


Hugo. P 

Words: 739

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Comments

  1. Anonymous25 November 2022 at 12:28

    Your article is very interesting because often we think about gender inequalities in everyday life and in companies, but it is true that in some sectors this is more obvious, especially in technology, science or even some manual jobs. In these fields, I think it is less easy for women to integrate, even if these women are trained and educated, because for some men these are men's jobs and not women's. We are gradually becoming aware of this, but there is still so much injustice and I think that it is really in all areas that we must act so that women can be as respected as men.
    At the end of your article, you say that women tend to negotiate their starting salary less, but I think that it is up to the employer to ask the question to a female employee, because the woman often does not feel legitimate to ask the question.
    And maybe the state should impose some standards that the company should respect for equal salary.
    The three solutions that you advocate, especially the software that presents the data of the different salaries to the managers, can be a good solution.

    Justine.R

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous26 November 2022 at 04:40

      Hey Justine! Many thanks for your comment.

      I totally agree with you, some efforts remain to be done from every actors, in every company. I hope transparency will be the key for equality!

      Hugo.P

      Delete
  2. Kevin Saenz1 October 2024 at 00:01

    Gender inequalities in tech companies DomaiNesia persist, with women underrepresented in leadership roles, earning less than male counterparts, and facing biases in hiring and promotions.






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