Why aren’t more women in tech?

Resources from outside the technology industry can aid in ushering in women in tech and helping them advance. Industry groups exist to promote girls’ and women’s empowerment on a local, national and global level.  

Advocacy group Women in Tech hosts events, offers skills development, links mentees with mentors, and increases accessibility to technology for women around the world. Organisations also exist on the national and local level such as the National Association for Women & Information and Technology, Project Include and Girls Who Code.  

Graduate-level education programmes must work with women students to encourage a fully leveraged experience. Hundreds of women at Pepperdine Graziadio Business School are exposed to senior level women in tech through the Center for Women in Leadership conferences and programmes.  

Additionally, our alumni have opportunities to network both in-person and virtually through our full calendar of professional development events such as women in leadership conferences, SEER (Socially, Environmentally, and Ethically Responsible) symposiums and entrepreneurial opportunities. 

I encourage those who want to succeed at the highest level to engage in life-long learning, through formal training like an MBA, or at-work training opportunities like Grow with Google, which is free. Extracurricular reading like technical trade magazines and books are also an invaluable source of exposure to innovative ideas and industry trends.  

An unfortunate reality is that women and other marginalised people in the tech industry face discrimination, mistreatment, incivility and rudeness at levels that often exceed other industries. Merely acknowledging workplace bias is not enough. It requires action from everyone.  

In recent times, companies have intentionally established goals that are data-driven and inherently less likely to be influenced by unconscious biases. In a 2019 study, consulting firm Deloitte described the phenomenon of supporting others who have different experiences, backgrounds or perspectives.  

The study also points to the actions of allies who can close the gap between intention and action. In my own experience, allies foster a culture of empathy, authenticity and awareness and can be crucial in encouraging companies to make changes.  

Advancing women in tech is a long game. At Pepperdine Graziadio Business School, allyship is a key ingredient in our executive MBA programme and a lesson for participating executives. Students in a cohort setting spend 19 months together learning personalities and strengths, and building trust. Learning to be an ally is a best practice they take back to their own workforce.  

An overwhelming canon of academic research correlates mentorship with positive outcomes. Results from a 2008 study in the Journal of Vocational Behavior showed mentors can impart specific knowledge and expertise which contributes to protégé learning and skill development.  

Senior executives all the way to the corporate board can play a role in participating and encouraging mentoring that develops and projects gender-equity values. Participation in an executive MBA or MBA programme gives the opportunity to learn new approaches, share and compare ideas, and lead with cultural competence. 

I am privileged to have mentors and champions who I can call on at any time, who will listen and provide feedback as well as encouragement. I’ve found it essential to have champions who understand the challenges of working and researching in the tech area as well as the difficulties women face.  

I now choose to be that mentor and champion both in the boardroom and in the classroom, encouraging and helping women to find a board seat and meeting with my students and alumni to assist them in their career goals in tech. 

In the face of these challenges, many large tech companies have gone on the record vowing to do better.  

According to Deloitte, software company SAP achieved its target of having 25 percent women in leadership by 2017 and is working toward a new goal of 30 percent by 2022.  

In 2020, Intel established a goal of raising women’s representation in technical roles to 40 percent and doubling the share of women in senior leadership by 2030. Amazon pledged in 2021 to expand the number of women in senior tech and science roles by 30 percent year over year.  

The picture for women in tech startup companies is less flattering. According to an analysis by Crunchbase, the proportion of dollars to female-only founders has also declined, to 2.3 percent, compared to 2.8 percent in 2019. These and other early-stage companies need to be held accountable by their institutional and individual investors. 

In a company setting, the corporate board of directors should also set high goals of representation which will ultimately change the culture and expectations throughout organisations. 

The COVID-19 pandemic took its toll on women who have a larger share of family obligations and as a result, a large number of women departed the tech industry in 2020-2021. However, as the workplace becomes more predictable, the door is open for women to enter the technology industry in large numbers. With greater acceptance of hybrid and work-from-home arrangements, there may be more arrangements available to accommodate schedules with reasonable workloads. 

Corporate training programmes and higher education are part of the equation. However, they also need to up their game.  

In the MBA space, women’s enrollment in full-time MBA programmes increased to a record 41 percent overall in the fall of 2021, up from 39 percent according to data from research firm Forté Foundation.  

However, when compared to nearly 60 percent of overall undergraduate enrollment, the MBA participation rate is far too low. In corporate training and academic settings, access to technology, online programmes, greater marketing, more women trainers, corporate/academic classrooms, and curriculum partnerships need to be integrated and accessible to women. 

For their own sake, women earning an MBA who want to excel in the technology industry should meet with faculty and peers with connections in technology, use MBA programme resources to establish mentoring relationships with executives, join technology groups and clubs, and engage in internships.     

The reality is when women face obstacles the impact reverberates. In the US, the labour force lost more than one million women between February 2020 and September 2022. Any economist will tell you that labour force participation in an era of low unemployment has far-reaching financial consequences including lower gross domestic product, productivity and inflation.  

In the tech industry, famous for worker shortages, the foregone financial impacts from unfilled jobs, stymied growth, and burnout are even more severe. That’s why women succeeding in the tech industry is not a nicety, it is a necessity. 

Encouraging women in the tech industry is critical for advancing economic potential for all workers at all levels. For women seeking a career with generally higher wages, better job security and more interesting work, technology positions are available in large numbers. 

I'm optimistic about the prospect of more women joining and succeeding in the industry. Already, companies, advocacy organisations and graduate business programmes are stepping up to give women greater knowledge and access. As technology continues to evolve, global communities grow and ideas and resources are shared with greater ease. I believe entrenched strongholds can be torn down. In that world, opportunities for women and marginalised groups will be equally boundless.  

Charla Griffy Brown, PhD, is Senior Associate Dean Executive and Part-Time Programs and Professor of Information Systems Technology Management at the Pepperdine Graziadio Business School.