On International Women’s Day this Sunday 8th March we take the time to reflect on the gender gap in technology and how ever-evolving changes in the industry are creating new career opportunities for everyone.
The technology industry is wide and varied in terms of the roles available, and, while it has historically been male-dominated, there are changes taking place, albeit slower than we would like.
According to WISE, only 23% of people working in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics) are female and only 5% of leadership are held by women in the industry. Girls are still reluctant to pursue a job in a STEM-related job due to long-held stereotypes about their abilities, despite the fact their results consistently exceed that of the boys.
Furthermore, STEM subjects are often still viewed as not being ‘creative’ enough, even though the skills learned in a STEM subject are widely used across a range of careers.
The majority of women in our industry still tend to be customer-facing, in administration, operations, or HR. We need to communicate the importance of integrating a few key areas into schools and modern apprentice schemes.
Some of the key areas we believe schools and mentorships should focus on include:
Engineering
Engineers are fundamental to society: they have built bridges, skyscrapers, aeroplanes and radios, to name a few!
We recommend a career as a Cisco engineer. It would involve wearing many different hats, keeping the job varied and interesting. You can focus in a specific specialism like hardware, software, networks, or pre-sales and product management.
If you’re searching for a famous female engineer, look no further than Hedy Lamarr, without whom there would be no secure Wi-Fi or GPS as we know it.
Cyber Security
With a global skills shortage and increasing demand for talent, earning potential and job security in the industry is thriving. Social engineering and ransomware are just two examples of the cyber threats posed to everyone from SMEs to political parties. A few of the most exciting roles in the field include network engineer, cybersecurity analyst and ethical hacker.
The Turing’s Testers are a great example of women taking the country by storm with their talents. They even won in the Cyber Evangelist of the Year category at the Scot Cyber Awards 2019.
Consulting
There are dynamic roles available at a range of levels in technology consulting. Presales consultants provide solutions for new and existing customers on managed services, VoIP and more. Alternatively, solutions design and project management offer opportunities to get involved at the important fact-finding and planning stages.
Technology is advancing and developing all the time. This provides a fantastic challenge and lots of opportunities for people interested in, or open to, in a career in technology. The changes will also offer job security for a tech-savvy workforce.
KubeNet Director Julie Inglis said:
“My own background has been operations based and my initial thoughts on this industry was it would be very like IT and boring. This could not be further from the truth! Our industry is fast-paced and there is a wide range of products and services which make huge differences to business. It’s fascinating stuff. By taking the time to understand our clients’ needs and objectives, we can build the right solutions and services to enhance and protect their business. To see the positive impact of this is fantastic and always hugely interesting. On a personal level, I could not recommend a career in tech more – just consider that there are lots of roles to look at and areas to specialise in.”
Although it is clear there is much to be done, we can feel positive about the fact we have a growing number of opportunities open to us. We still need to combat the stereotypes that make girls think that a career as an engineer or a cybersecurity specialist isn’t for them. With more encouraging role models, plus more mentorships and initiatives that encourage women in tech, we will hopefully close that gap sooner rather than later.
We are proud to have several females succeeding and developing in a variety of technical and technical support roles at KubeNet. We therefore welcome applications from talented individuals who are looking to develop a career in tech, from apprentices, engineers and beyond. If this description matches you, please send a CV with a covering letter to careers@kubenet.net.
