"It’s high time for the tech industry to talk about the growing gender divide". We were surprised to read recent Pareto Law research that only 7% of tech positions in Europe are filled by women. LinkedIn figures reveal a similar gender gap: just 17% of people in tech roles are female and 83% male.
Hoping to challenge the shortfall of women in technical roles, an investigation into our own Retail Assist teams revealed that 34% of our overall workforce is female. What’s more, our Management Team is 34% female, and our Operational Board is 20% female, bucking the national trend. Retail Assist has always advocated inspiring and empowering women in the business and in the boardroom.
We’re proud that our latest appointment to Retail Assist's Operational Board, responsible for our entire Solutions portfolio, is female. The software development industry has long been considered a male niche, and yet our female Solutions Director brings over 25 years of expert technical and management experience.
Inspiring women in business must be a necessity in 2016. It’s true that 2015 was a fantastic year, with a number of ‘firsts’ for women. In the recent New Year’s Honours List, there are 578 successful women candidates, representing 48% of the total – brilliant equitable recognition. The list also sees a significant rise in the proportion of awards to women at senior levels (38% female at Knighthood/Damehood/C-level compared to only 31% female at those levels in the 2015 Birthday Honours). During the course of 2015, Libby Lane became the First Female Church of England Bishop, Susan Ridge became the First Female British Army General, and Louise Richardson became the First Female Vice-Chancellor at Oxford University.
At Board Level, there are now more women on FTSE 350 boards than ever before, with representation of women more than doubling since 2011. It now stands at 26.1% on FTSE 100 boards and 19.6% on FTSE 250 boards. This beats the Davies Report target set in 2011, to see the representation of women on FTSE 100 boards at 25% by 2015. There has also been a much needed reduction in the number of all-male boards: down from 152 to 0 in 5 years in the FTSE 100. It demonstrates a profound culture change at the heart of British business, but there is still a way to go in the STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) sector.
Let’s hope that the culture of success of women in different areas of society is interconnected, and that the empowerment of women in one industry can reinforce success of women in another, permeating deeper into the technology sector.
Our Technical Services and Operations Team in Northampton is currently looking for 2 Trainee Operators to join the department, helping to support our customers around the clock. Successful applicants will receive comprehensive on-site training with the opportunity for promotion to Operator role. Find out more and apply here.
Sources: Pareto, Women on Boards
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