Industry Opinions

Tackling Diversity in the Tech Industry

Lysa Campbell, CEO at Retail Marketing Group discuses the current state of diversity in tech

Over the last few years diversity in the tech industry has slowly been improving; it is clear that companies have been trying to take steps in the right direction to become more inclusive through various initiatives. This is shown through companies like Cisco and Microsoft who have taken huge strides in advocating for women in tech and for promoting values of multiculturalism. But are these initiatives enough?

When it comes to diversity, there are so many aspects and people to consider; companies can’t just choose one and claim that they are diverse. Though a company can be a huge advocate for women, on the other side of the scale they could also be seen to discriminate against older people. Other tech companies have also been seen to have a serious lack in their diversity of thought, as well as a ‘boys club’ culture.

How can companies positively improve their diversity?

When looking at the overall performance of diversity in any industry, the main sector that is highlighted to have the worst performance has always been tech. A primary reason for this is that for a long time the narrative for recruiting in the tech industry, especially coding and computing, has always been ‘it’s for boys’. To change this narrative, schools and companies have been taking steps to educate and inform the younger generations through reinforcement of STEM subjects and initiatives primarily for women. Yet, even these subjects are restrictive in their teachings of the wider industry and the multitude of opportunities and roles that are available.

On the other side, retained employees are seeing less activity when it comes to addressing diversity in the workplace. This last year has thrown a huge hit to the tech industry as a whole, with millions of people being put on furlough and some being made redundant. McKinsey & Company’s recent report shows that COVID-19 has, in some areas, widened the gender gap in the workplace, highlighting women’s fear of an increasing ‘double shift’ when it comes to their work and family, compared to that of men.

Elsewhere, employees who identify as LGBTQ+ and BAME are feeling more isolated, reporting higher workloads than their straight and cisgender peers. This has overall impacted their feeling of connection and belonging. It is clear that companies must not only put their focus on recruiting, but turn their eyes internally on how they can improve their working culture.

Tackling the discrepancy

What tech companies need to prioritise in order to positively affect diversity in their ranks is to push understanding and visibility in both recruiting and retaining.

Recruiting

Teaching STEM subjects in schools has done wonders in increasing the level of women in the industry, with the tech sector now hosting 22% of female directors. Yet with only 19% of tech workers being women, it is clear that the ‘it’s for boys’ narrative still prevails. In order to shift away from this mindset, companies need to provide young women with representation, by showcasing female leaders wherever they can.

Tech companies should also look at where they are recruiting and how. Are they appealing to a diverse market through the job description or location of advertisement? It may be that companies are actively looking for a diverse workforce, but where and how they look are holding them back. Simple aspects of a job description can stop people from applying, such as flexibility of the contract, working hours and holiday allowance. In Ireland for example, 56% of women say they are restricted in their career opportunities due to their family lifestyle. Limited holiday and long working hours work against female applicants or those with families.

Retaining

It is not necessarily always about the big steps with company wide initiatives. An often underestimated aspect that holds tech companies back is diversity of thought: the idea that people in a group don’t need to look different or identify with an underrepresented group in order to bring varying, diverse viewpoints to the table.

It is discussions that come from these thoughts that open people up to better understanding of one another and the world around them. A discussion in the breakroom could teach more cultural understanding for religious employees or even make colleagues aware of your individual background than a company forced webinar. Tech companies need to encourage these conversations, starting with visibility in the leadership roles. This will then filter down to the other employees, allowing transparency and diversity of thought to evolve into a pillar of the workplace culture.

Seize a diverse future

As the world begins to heal and emerge from the events of the last year, tech companies must seize their chance to progress diversity and open themselves up to new avenues of ideas that would come with new perspectives. They must push for a better understanding of their roles and the individuals who they hire, and be visible in their efforts.

Improving Social Mobility through Virtual Work Experience

Maya Dillon, Vice President of Growth and Innovation at Corsight AI and Jason Elsom, CEO at Speakers for Schools,

explore how organisations in the tech sector can close the diversity gap.

Diversity in all its forms is essential for building highly adaptable teams and there is a plethora of data to prove it. According to research from Harvard Business Review, diverse companies are 70% more likely to capture new markets than organisations that do not actively recruit and support talent from under-represented groups. Yet, most employers do not have the necessary resources to coordinate a fully inclusive UK-wide talent search in practice.

For the technology industry in particular, far more needs to be done to ensure that diversity becomes a priority in the recruitment and selection process, as sadly, diversity is still a stubborn problem. For example, a study in 2019 found that women accounted for just 17% of UK IT specialists, a number that rose 1% in five years.

Closing the diversity gap

According to a recent report from Stride. Inc, more than 50% of respondents - aged 18 - 65+ believe that tech jobs are too tough to land and require significant skills they don’t have time or money to pursue. However, gaining the skills and experience to land an exciting job in the sector has never been easier, especially with a plethora of work experience programmes on offer.

In March 2020, Speakers for Schools introduced its Virtual Work Experience programme to make it easier for young people from UK state schools to access high-quality work experience, regardless of background or location. This initiative introduces young people to the reality of working life within a willing organisation and helps them secure and sustain employment in the future.

Against a backdrop of significant disruption, however, the Virtual Work Experience programme has quickly established itself as a more accessible alternative to traditional in-person work experience and has witnessed a huge surge in uptake from young people. Over the course of the 20/21 academic year, the charity offered over 56,000 free virtual placements to 14-19-year-olds from state secondary schools and colleges across the UK compared with just under 3,500 placements the previous year.

This dramatic growth curve is also evident in the number of employers who have partnered with Speakers for Schools since March 2020. From just 50 employer partners, the charity now works with over 700 – including the likes of Corsight AI, who recently engaged in the programme in July 2021.

Corsight AI offered 170 virtual work experience placements to young people across the UK, actively prioritising applicants from ethnic minority backgrounds aged between 14-19 years old. The sessions were aimed at providing vital insights into the ethical use of AI and facial recognition technology (FRT). This hands-on programme didn’t require any prior knowledge of FRT, opening up new horizons for young people and helping them consider careers in the technology field.

The pandemic has accelerated the demand for an online alternative to in-person work experience. Still, there is no doubt that Virtual Work Experience has the potential to keep improving social mobility in the longer term. Particularly, as the majority of virtual work experience placements are free, and do not incur any travelrelated costs – breaking down barriers for those in lower socioeconomic groups.

Moreover, research conducted by YouGov for Speakers Schools in June 2021 confirms that half of the 16-19-year-olds surveyed see getting work experience in a relevant field as helpful to improving their confidence in their future career – attracting more votes than any other activity. It also showed that employers rate work experience as the most beneficial catch-up activity for young people following the pandemic, but 55% of young people aged 16-19 view not having access to work experience opportunities as the most significant barrier to success for their future career.

These findings further reinforce the importance of employers, like Corsight AI, and Speakers for Schools continuing to work together to make Virtual Work Experience more accessible for young people across the UK as we emerge from the pandemic.The technology industry desperately needs initiatives like this Virtual Work Experience programme that encourages young people to explore new career options.

The responsibility is now with the senior leaders in the tech industry, that have the power to make decisions, offer mentorship and champion those that have their voices heard less often, in order to create a more progressive and inclusive workforce. While Virtual Work Experience does not represent the full solution to improving social mobility in the technology sector, it is certainly a good place to start.

Top five tips for growing diversity in the channel

Katya Ivanova, VP Worldwide Inside Sales

at Acronis offers her views on diversity in the channel.

Diversity in the channel, just as in IT in general, remains a major issue for many companies out there. I therefore want to share a few tips on how to fight the diversity battle. I run 200+ sales organisation at Acronis, and I am proud to say that we have built a team, which is close to 50/50 percent split between male and female both in leadership and individual contributor roles. The Oxford English dictionary defines diversity as the practice or quality of including or involving people from a range of different social and ethnic backgrounds and of different genders, sexual orientations, etc. But who is responsible for including and involving diverse people in the workplace? Should it be on the company to drive diversity programs or on employees? In reality, it is the responsibility of both: employer and potential employee. Potential employees should apply for the role they want to get, not only to the one they think they can get. The majority of people constantly doubt their skills and as a result deprive themselves of opportunities. Today, out of 20 CVs I receive for sales leader positions in the US, 17 would be from white males, 2 from females and 1 from black applicants. Applying simple mathematics (without even talking to these applicants), white men have a 17/20 or an 85% chance of getting hired while females have a 10% chance and people of colour just 5%. So, diversity rule #1 is to apply for positions to which you aspire, and ask for those opportunities irrespective of whether you believe you can do the job or be accepted. The worst-case scenario you will not get hired, and that is exactly the same outcome as if you never applied in the first place. Diversity rule #2 is for managers to support and coach women. Women tend to have a common belief that, if they are good enough and deserve a raise or promotion, their manager will recognise it and give the raise or promotion without the employee even asking. While this does happen, it is not a typical occurrence. Women need to stand up for themselves and ask for what they believe they deserve. The other stopping factor, which dramatically differs between men and women, is that men will confidently sign up for a job they might not be qualified for, whereas women would wait until they are qualified or even overqualified before they apply. This again creates a disproportionate pool of candidates where most are male and just few candidates are female. Managers play a crucial role here, as they need to empower women and help them see their true worth and impact. Diversity rule #3: Parents must support children with different hobbies, pursuits and interests. Often, whether consciously or unconsciously, we create a mindset in our children that certain jobs and hobbies are gender or ethnicity specific, for example, that hockey is a male sport, gymnastics is for girls, or programming is a male occupation. Providing children with the opportunity and encouragement to try out different fields is a massive investment in their future. They will grow to know themselves and will not be afraid to go after what they really want to do in life instead of what is expected of them. Diversity rule #4 is to promote success stories more often. Most people are followers not leaders by nature. It is therefore against their character to take risks and go against the ‘known’. By promoting success stories, we inspire others to follow in the footsteps of the firsts and confidently face the unknown. Currently in the US, fewer than 18% of computer science graduates are women, fewer than 8% are Hispanic and under 6% are black. This automatically creates a problem of lack of diverse talent pool as there are simply not enough candidates on the market. By sharing success stories, especially with children and teenagers, we help them see the future they can have in any field they find interesting. Diversity rule #5: It is never too late. Do not create glass ceilings in your head by thinking that you are too old to make a change in your career. If you really are passionate and committed to be successful, other people will recognise it and will support you. Knowledge, experience and diplomas are just one piece of the puzzle; however, motivation plays a crucial part in becoming successful. Motivation to succeed is the most powerful engine for self-development and growth. To conclude, whether you are a hiring manager or a potential employee, take risks, aim high, and don’t be afraid of failure. As Robert Kennedy said, “only those who dare to fail greatly can ever achieve greatly.”

The importance of female representation in the data centre sector

Carlyn Foster, Head Of Marketing at 4D Data Centres, looks at how we can encourage more women to pursue jobs in the data industry and the positive effects diversity can have on the sector.

There’s been talk of a skill shortage in IT of late, but that has long been the case for female professionals in this industry. With only a fraction of the UK’s female workforce operating in IT, this is a massive limitation on the potential scale of who could be qualified to work in the sector. In 2019 the proportion of female staff in tech in the UK, sat at just 16% - incredibly, this equates to the same figure as a decade before. Another eye opening statistic is that only 5% of leadership positions in the UK tech sector are held by women.

While in society we are starting to see more women in prominent roles, within the tech sector there is still much to do. This is also true of the data centre industry. In 2019, Uptime Institute published a report on privately owned enterprise data centres, which found that 25% of managers surveyed had no women among their design or operational staff. Furthermore, just 5% of the respondents said women made up 50% or more of their workforce.

These figures underline the challenge that the sector faces when it comes to inclusivity or equal opportunities and, while it is not insurmountable, there is no doubt that it is a large-scale task with no one-size-fits-all solution.

One of the areas we can encourage more diversity, particularly for getting women into tech and data-related roles, is at grassroots level. This includes placing a greater emphasis on a career in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) subjects.

According to a WISE report, from 2019-20 just 24% of the UK STEM workforce was made up of women. A 2019 survey, which asked 176 women studying STEM subjects across the UK and Ireland about diversity initiatives, revealed 74% said they were either very or extremely important.

A similar survey in 2020 saw this figure rise by 9%, which shows how important a diverse workforce is to young women. Additionally, it shows the benefits of diversity initiatives are becoming more universally accepted by students each year.

According to WISE, in 2018 women made up just 16% of IT professionals and 17% IT technicians. While this percentage is and continues to remain low, recent data has shown female STEM students are looking to the future with a positive outlook - and believe the imbalance will change for the better in the next decade. This includes the introduction of initiatives like Girls in Data and Women In Data Centres, which represent progress in moving towards a more representative industry.

Educational institutions have a responsibility to ensure opportunities to learn STEM subjects and make sure they are delivered in a way that is appealing and motivating to students from different backgrounds and genders. Diversity isn’t a tick box exercise that can be fixed by simply imposing quotas; it’s an opportunity to learn and make meaningful changes.

A key part of meeting demand for data centres, not just this year but in the long term, is acknowledging the importance of improving gender diversity in the workforce. There is often a lack of understanding about what the data centre sector is and the career opportunities it presents.

The broader tech sector, as well as the Data Centre sector in particular needs to ensure sufficient representation of underrepresented groups, which is arguably more vital than ever as the development of digital technologies across both business and society is escalated by circumstances facilitated by the pandemic.

A lack of diversity can stifle substantive innovation, not only in terms of technical development but in business structures and organisational development. An increasingly diverse workforce is more creative and innovative and as technological developments grow at unprecedented rates and the data centre industry continues to play a key role in the nation’s infrastructure, it could certainly benefit from innovation.

According to research from Uptime, the data centre industry globally will need to find 300,000 more staff by 2025. This shortage of staff and the creation of new job roles provides a perfect opportunity to boost diversity and the initiatives that have been created. However, we must do more to make wholesale change and create the representation the sector needs to see.

There is certainly not a fool-proof way to address the lack of female representation within the data centre sector, however the initiatives in place represent a start and place a greater emphasis on grassroots that will help to encourage larger takeup levels at an earlier age. Acknowledging the problem is certainly a stepping stone in tackling the issue, but there are many steps we can still take to ensure this isn’t a conversation the sector and broader tech industry needs to keep having.