The Changing Role of Women in Technology

As a small business owner and a woman in tech, I have often wondered about the role that women play in the evolving world of technology. Recent studies show that only 15% of tech jobs are filed by women. The even drops lower when you narrow that number down to black or Hispanic women.

In 2010, the American Association of University Women (AAUW) published the paper

Why So Few? Women in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics. The study revealed societal stereotypes and cultural bias were at least partly to blame for a lack of women’s interest in the STEM fields. “If women and men in science and engineering know that this bias exists, they can work to interrupt the unconscious thought process that led to it,” it said. In other words, we can change societial views on purpose. The key question is how?

I don’t think it’s a problem of knowledge (STEM) but a problem of attitude. The tech world is competitive, demanding and cutthroat - and a lot of women feel very alone in this world when they fail to change their mindset in order to succeed. I often ask myself why I must wear jeans and an old sweatshirt just to fit in. What is wrong with me coding in my heels and prada? Why must I change my core as a woman for technology to accept me? My male counterparts are not better or smarter and if we were to have a 1:1 competition, I would easily win. When they hear my powerful heels clicking as I make an entrance, they know that I am in it to win it.

Here’s my advice to women in tech.

1. Be yourself

2. Be a SME

3. Know your power

4. Appreciate your smarts

5. Stay true to your core

6. Filter the noise and focus on making an impact.

7. Stay Fabulous!

In the famous words of 44, we are the change that we’ve been waiting for. Change will not come if we wait or rely on others to cause that change.