Women in Technology, Thank You!

OP_Women in Tech TY
Here we go. My first blog post, please give me a long leash.

To get the ball rolling, I’d like to highlight the importance of women in technology.

You may ask why I chose this expansive topic. Well, I happen to love what I do in the technology space and have an extreme respect for the women who dove in and broken many a stereotype in a male-dominated industry.

In my 20+ years of experience, I’ve witnessed how the increased presence of female leadership has had a positive impact on my growth and the growth of new leaders in the tech industry.

With that said, I’d like to highlight some thoughts about recruiting with gender diversity in mind and why female leaders are critical to the future of technology.

Gender diversity in the workplace is not only a ‘hot’ topic but one that offers various platforms to build community. Events, podcasts, and articles increase our awareness daily on the accomplishments of female leaders in technology. But, we still have work to do.

In an article* published by Forbes, Meghan M. Biro, offers insight on the four tasks that we must do to continue the fight for gender equality in the workplace. She notes, “…women are the lead adopters of technology, and Dow Jones found that successful startups have more women in senior positions than unsuccessful ones.”

Be an advocate – help to shine a light on women in technology. Walk the talk by recruiting and recognizing female leaders.

Why?

On a personal level, as the only male growing up in a household of females (my mom and three sisters) I was totally outnumbered. Once I was old enough for my sisters to stop bullying me, I realized that it was the women in my family who gave me strength and wisdom in a quiet, yet firm way. The technology industry has had a similar epiphany.

Gender diversity in technology roles has provided the industry with more a transparent, compassionate, moving, compelling, and disruptive landscape that has inspired the millennial generation regardless of their gender.

We live in a highly visible world, it’s the industrial revolution times 20. The sewing machine is our Facebook and the fabric is being able to access a network of channels to draw inspiration, education, and connections. However, I have been recently told, Facebook is for old people. Guess I am old.

It’s important as an industry we use these channels to continue making visible our strong female partners.

Another Win.

I am a strong believer in diversity in the workplace, period. Ideas come from great minds and those minds are diverse. I love the example set by Etsy. Check out this clip from Working Woman Report highlighting their diversity achievements.  

In my career, I have worked with Goldman Sachs, Bloomberg and a variety of other enterprise organizations and startups who encourage diversity recruiting. This is something that has always come naturally to me and it’s exciting to see the increasing focus on women in technology.

Starting early and supporting programs for girls.

I am always encouraging my daughter to immerse herself in technology. The public schools are still rather antiquated in how they teach programming.

We have only taken baby steps in influencing a new structure to get a computer science course of study within the core public school curriculum. Yes, there are technology camps for those with the funds to support it, but what about the youngsters who don’t have that?

Girls Who Code is a great example of how a non-profit organization has not only made an impact on the young lives it interfaces with but on the technologists and mentors themselves. Check out their work in NYC this summer and learn how you can get involved.

So there you have it, my first post.

Thanks, Mom.

Marc Salvati_Objective ParadigmMarc Salvati is a Practice Director with Objective Paradigm. For more from Marc and other leaders in recruiting follow OP on Twitter and check out our news page for blog posts and more.

 

 

 

 

 

 

References

*Forbes Women In Technology – Why it’s good for everyone

http://www.forbes.com/sites/meghanbiro/2015/04/27/women-in-technology-why-its-good-for-everyone/#4f6030157813

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For more on Girls Who Code: https://girlswhocode.com/

 

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