Creating Opportunities for Women in Tech

It’s a fairly well known fact that women are underrepresented in the worlds of science, technology, engineering, and math. Some progress has definitely been made, so let’s see where the statistics stand today.

Statistics show that women now hold a lower share of computer science jobs than they did in the 1980’s.  New technologies are advancing rapidly and solutions to store, compute, and transfer data across the tech industry continue to expand, but opportunities for women have shrunk.

The importance of improving opportunities for women in the space has never been more key. But it’s not enough to just spark an interest, it’s honing that interest over time through mentors, programs, and training pathways. And beyond that, creating welcoming workplace cultures, career opportunities for small business development, and access to capital for women entrepreneurs in the technology sector.

Some large organizations are leading the charge – Federal Agencies have developed procurement goals to increase the number of women suppliers, corporations like HPE, SpaceX, Facebook, and Oracle are appointing women to their highest leadership positions and Boards. Organizations like NASA, Tesla, and Iron Mountain are creating STEM Days to generate awareness and introducing middle school girls to careers in science, technology, engineering, and math.

Most important, those organizations are starting the conversation and generating support at multiple stages – and recognizing that Women in Tech evolve from Girls in STEM and every journey is different.