Top career barriers women face in technology sector

Today many women work in the field of technology. However, the majority are men, indicating that there is no equal treatment between men and women in the industry. In fact, according to recent official data, 52% of women in IT believe that gender limits their careers.

The situation in the field of information technology where the male gender is predominant seems to work discouragingly for women, 1/5 of whom are considering leaving their current position.

Five are the most important obstacles in IT companies that according to women affect their career. The main thing is the lack of opportunities for promotion since 38% of women set it as the most important obstacle to their work and development.

 Next follows the lack of confidence. According to 35% of women this particular barrier significantly impacts their career. Some other women (33%) said that the lack of senior support/ role models is a serious barrier preventing them from fully developing their career. The difficulty between balancing work and other responsibilities and sexism/gender bias were also reported by a group of women as two main barriers with negative impact on their career. More specifically, 31% of women mentioned the difficulty between balancing work and other responsibilities, while 29% of women mentioned sexism/gender bias. 

In some top technology companies the percentage of women employees is really low. It is worth mentioning that the percentage of women in technical positions in some top technology companies is even more lower. For example, let’s take Amazon. The total women workforce in Amazon according to data of June 2021 from Statista is 45%, while 29% applies for women in leadership jobs. As far as Facebook is concerned, the total women workforce is 37%, while 34% applies for women in leadership jobs. Also, 24% refers to women tech jobs. 

At Apple, 34% is the total women workforce and 31% of women hold leadership jobs. Also, 24% of women hold tech jobs. Percentages in Google are even lower. The total women workforce according to data of June 2021 is 33%, while 28% applies for women in leadership jobs. Furthermore, the percentage of women tech jobs is 25%. 

Another tech colossus Microsoft, has 29% total women workforce. Another 26% applies for women who hold leadership jobs. Lastly, 23% is the percentage for women in tech jobs in Microsoft. It should be noted that all top five technology companies had more female employees in leadership roles than in technical jobs. 

Many times we wonder in how many countries in the world, there is equality between women and men in the workplace. Despite the fact that women represent just over 50% of the population internationally, they do not even approach 50% in executive positions, in any industry. This fact applies to all countries. According to the United Nations, women around the world hold positions of power and authority in politics and workplace at extremely modest rates. 

One would think that in the US, at least, the percentage of women in managerial positions is very high, but the reality is very different according to research. While 46% of the total workforce is made up of women, only 3% of them hold management positions and less than 0.5% senior management positions.

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