How can we bring more women into technical roles?

In honour of International Women’s Day, we’ve been featuring several women across CI&T throughout the month, highlighting their perspectives on how they drive inclusivity across their respective fields. We looked at the importance of designing inclusive experiences, ways to champion inclusivity in the tech industry and the significance of empowering women’s voices across teams.

We’re concluding the series with a conversation with Gini Kingsley and Priya Martin, Scrum Masters in Product Delivery at CI&T, about their take on the main hurdles in encouraging women to pursue technical roles in their careers. Here’s what they shared.

What’s the biggest obstacle to getting more women into coding? 

GINI: One of the biggest challenges is “time”. Time for women to learn “what” coding language is, and to understand the investment required to do so. It’s especially challenging when their interest in coding didn’t start at an early age. It leaves a restricted time for women, particularly those with families to look after and a daily 9-to-6 job, to learn how to code and progress rapidly in a technical role and the desire to get it right from the onset.

Another obstacle is the existing stereotype that a man is more mentally capable of handling complex and technical tasks and that coding is reserved solely for those who are mathematical and analytically inclined.

There is also a lack of awareness about the opportunities women have to develop their technical skills at a young age. The value of these skills and roles is not properly communicated to young women as a career path nor included as a form of coaching for careers.

PRIYA: The lack of visible female role models in the technology industry reinforces the stereotype that women are less competent than men in technology, creating a vicious cycle that makes it challenging for women to be hired and succeed in tech roles. It also creates an urgency for perfection and over-commitment among women. 

In coding specifically, women are sometimes influenced by society and their families to pursue careers involving nurturing and caring, in contrast to coding, which can be seen as a more unemotional career. This gender bias contributes to a glass ceiling, which needs to be shattered through education around unconscious bias and equality, along with mentorship programmes for women so that they have a fair shot.

Why are women and other minority groups important in technical roles? 

GINI: Representation of women across technical roles is a huge challenge. Inherently there are fewer women in technical roles and even fewer minority women in these roles. It is essential that women from all backgrounds are represented to be an example for young girls to grow up knowing a career in tech is possible and continue to erode the masculine stereotypes, making more space for women. 

There is an opportunity to champion women in technology now and to invest in programs encouraging women and girls to choose tech for the future. It’s a case of normalising technical opportunities that align with the female experience, not just the male experience. There are so many career paths in the technology sector with varying skill sets, so educating women on the possibilities from a young age is essential. Think like a tech career bible of sorts. 

Technology has shown us that remote work is both productive for businesses and conducive to maintaining a work-life balance. With clear goals and a defined path, it ensures that women can pursue a technical career but also sustain their home lives. Company cultures must be flexible as well, supporting women in technical roles whether they are in the office or based at home and compensating them equally to men in the same roles

PRIYA: People from varying backgrounds, especially women and minority groups who are currently underrepresented in tech, bring different valuable contributions to technical decisions through their diverse range of perspectives and experience. This diverse input of ideas and experiences strengthens innovation and improves user-centred design and business durability by incorporating the experiences and needs of more of the population.

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