Paula Ratliff, President of Women Impact Tech, joins ChedHER to discuss how the tech industry compares to other industries when it comes to equity in the workforce, and how we can empower more young girls and women to break into the vast tech industry.

chedHER

Creating Equity for Women in Tech

joining us now is Paula Radcliffe, president of the Woman Impact Tech Paula. What is the actual mission of women Impact Tech and what does the community offer? Thank you so much for having me, Alicia Women Impact Tech. We are focused on creating an inclusive community where we host conferences throughout the United States with a two pronged approach um First to allow our attendees and women in technology the opportunity to network with other women to create an opportunity for them to mentor or provide them an opportunity to have a mentor in their industry to help them advance their career. The second prong is we partner with companies that sponsor our conferences and they are Fortune 500 companies, mid sized small companies, even great innovative startup companies that are looking for an opportunity to showcase what they're doing to enhance and for women to accelerate their careers in technology within their organizations or they're looking for some support to create better D. And I. Initiatives and we support them and provide them this amazing network of other women that can help them drive their desire for improving equity for women in tech in their companies. In that vein, I'm curious how does tech and the I. T. Industry compare to other industries when it comes to equity in the in the workforce And and and you know, there's a problem here, where is that problem rooted? Yeah, Alicia used shared two of the most staggering statistics. So when you think about women in the workplace in the technical space, women make up just 26%, a mere 26% of that workforce. And to exasperate the problem, 38% of the women that have been pulled plan to leave the tech industry over the next two years and move from their jobs. So, you know, my opinion is when you look at that, it really just shows and emphasizes some of the areas in in the tech space where we're not hitting the mark and we need to focus if we want to drive diversity and these underrepresented communities in our workforce. So one of the areas, of course, is benefits. Um, companies in the tech space are not doing their very best foot forward to create more flexibility. Um flexible, not just from the days of week that they're in the office, but flexible scheduling as well. So flexibility is a really big one, where we're seeing the need to drive more opportunities for women in the workplace in text so that they have the work life balance needed to really thrive in their career, about 33%, this is another staggering statistic. 33% of married women still report that they are the primary, if not the sole provider of childcare and child responsibilities in their home. So ensuring they have a flexible workforce and also offering benefits that allow for work life balance are essential for companies in the tech space and we're falling behind, they need to improve in those areas to drive a workforce that's going to be more equal with a nice share of females at the helm. If there was a day to highlight, you know, that need you have a jobs report released today. It certainly has some indicators adding to, to your point there. You know, when we look at tech right? And we hear the term tech, we often think of opportunities with big player names like apple and google, but what other careers and opportunities are there, you know, within the industry? That's a great question, Alicia and I'm so glad you asked me because that's the one area where I see tremendous hope for women in tech. You know, this year we did our inaugural women impact tech 100 awards and we looked at companies with outside data from underrepresented communities like LGBT Women, Um persons of color and their data on what they thought about the culture and their workplaces. And we honored 100 of these companies that are not just talking the talk but truly walking the walk to create an inclusive endeavors culture where women can thrive. And the interesting thing is like when you think about tech companies, you think of the names you mentioned and many more. And when we looked at the top 100 that we honored in this list of who's doing it really well and providing a great culture. It was companies like Chili's it was companies like bath and body works and those to really jump out at me because those are areas where women are the primary consumers. We buy the boxes and the food for the pets in the house were often the ones going buying holiday soaps or lotions. And so when you begin to think of what the future of tech will look like and how the pandemic pandemic has actually put so many consumers into online purchasing. It is a fantastic area where women can thrive. Um and those companies that recognize the value women will bring because they understand the consumer market. Those companies will be the future where women cannot just drive at the helm but will continue to grow and outpaces other tech companies with jobs for women intact. Before I have to let you go here, I'm just curious what's in store for the future of women impact tech it and how can people get involved. Thank you for that question. Also we have five more amazing conferences in front of us for the remainder of the year. The next one is Seattle in just two weeks in the month of May after Seattle will be headed to Denver boston Chicago and new york. We would love to see mid to senior level technologists and women in tech join us at our conferences as well as companies that are looking to either showcase what they're doing for women in tech or look for some additional support to grow the women in their workforce. Well maybe when you come down to new york or come over to new york and we'll stop by and say hello and catch up with you again. Then Paula really appreciate your time, Paula Radcliffe, president of Women Impact Tech.