And, as WW2 was approaching, men couldn’t do their ordinary jobs anymore, and women were taking their place. And, this is when the human computers' jobs were taken over by women who were needed to calculate the prospects of work. And six of them helped achieve a great mission. They programmed the artillery shell projector, the so-called ENIAC.
In ‘52, Grace Hopper invented the compiler. This was the first time English was added to computer programming. Which translated mathematical code into machine-readable code—an.
However, fast-forwarding a few decades, in the '80s, the tech industry began to be male-dominated.
So, what is the gender gap?
Well, the difference that exists between men and women is reflected in social, political, intellectual, cultural, or economic attainments or attitudes. And you also might be wondering why this is such a big issue in the tech world. Well, the current gap between men and women in this industry is enormous. Only 26% of women work in engineering sectors like AI, and the number decreases even more in the cloud computing and data sectors, where women occupy only 15% and 12%.
Which is quite concerning. The number of women in tech has decreased over the past three decades, almost half. And another study demonstrates that women in this field are changing their career paths after the age of 35.
And, to make matters worse, the gender gap doesn’t only refer to the difference between men and women but also includes the promotion gap, the degree gap, the salary range gap, the retention gap, the workplace culture gap, and the leadership gap. All of them play a great role in the prospects of working in the tech world for women.
However, there are changes that can be made toward a better environment for women in the tech industry.
For starters, it all begins with the education received by little girls and how society shouldn’t view this sector of work as owned by men. This is an important element that plays a big role in the gender gap in the Tech world.
And, this could be accomplished by promoting the tech industry in schools and to girls. Being more inclusive and promoting diversity will create a healthy environment. Creating events and organizing trainings will give them the opportunity to see and choose the path that they want to follow.
And eliminating gender biases from childhood has already begun in many countries. Raising our children in a more gender-neutral space will give them the opportunity to test and see what they like. For example, I think that as girls we received at least a doll, and if boys, they received cars or Lego for them to build. However, despite it being a common practice, this encourages different behavior and develops a certain stigma around what they should do with their lives.
Creative female mentors and role models. This will help build up that confidence needed and will encourage more women to follow this path. As I have said earlier, boys and girls are raised differently. Boys are taught to be brave and spontaneous. However, girls need to be cautious and organized. So, seeing other women follow careers in the tech industry can guide others to do it as well.
By eliminating outdated barriers and teaching more women how to be leaders, we can slowly decrease the gender gap. Studies show that creating a space where women can have paid maternity leave or where they can work part-time and have a flexible schedule will impact the whole process in the long run. So, having senior and leadership roles without having to give up their personal life would increase the number of females working in the tech industry.
The gender gap needs more implications from all of us. Big companies need to take into consideration women's needs and be more inclusive and diversify their environment to create a better workspace. By reducing gender biases, we can offer equal chances and create a space where equal pay its normality.
