The past few decades have sparked increasing concern over the underrepresentation of women in technology and other STEM fields.
Today, women occupy only 27% of jobs in computing, and this number drops further for Black women and Latinas, who hold only 3% and 2% of computing jobs, respectively. This results in at least two costly consequences. First, it inhibits innovation by ignoring the perspectives and life experiences that a diverse range of women can bring to developing the technologies of the future. Second, lack of access to these increasingly influential fields threatens to exaggerate existing socioeconomic inequalities for women, especially for women marginalized by race/ethnicity or other identities.
Why does a field that prides itself on innovative solutions continue to see such a gender gap? The answer is a lack of attention to culture — educational cultures, workplace cultures, and broader societal cultures. Instead, change efforts have historically relied on “fix-the-person” approaches. However, encouraging women to be more “confident” or to have better “executive presence” will never change the status quo. Women often must implement strategies that make them seem “less confident” or not “direct enough” to survive a system that otherwise perceives them as too assertive or aggressive. If we do not change these systems and cultures, real change will not occur.
Here are a few research-based actions to help create this kind of change and establish truly inclusive cultures that foster innovation.
Interrupt everyday biases and subtle slights
These come in many forms, like “prove-it-again” biases, motherhood penalties, and perhaps most notably, personality or “likeability” penalties. Extensive research shows that women, and especially women of color, receive more personality or stylistic criticism than men both in formal evaluations and in informal conversations. Interrupting a comment like “if only she would tone it down a bit” or not “be so abrasive” can lead to productive discussion and the creation of new cultural norms.
Pay attention to whose voices are heard
Research also shows that underrepresented students, faculty, and employees are interrupted more often than others, and they often do not get as much credit for their ideas. Simply looking out for these patterns and ensuring everyone can contribute makes an enormous difference.
Provide encouragement and early exposure to technical experiences
Doing so helps girls and other marginalized kids counter stereotypes and other negative messages that hinder their participation. The National Center for Women and Information Technology (NCWIT) offers several programs educators, parents, and others can utilize in this way, including Aspirations in Computing, Counselors4Computing, and Teach Engineering.
Address biases in educational and business systems
These systems include admissions and recruitment processes, performance evaluations, employee development practices, and return-to-office or hybrid work practices, among others. NCWIT’s Tech Inclusion Journey is a powerful, research-based, systemic approach that can help academic and industry leaders make systemic culture changes.
To be sure, this is an all-hands-on-deck effort. If together we have the courage to tackle these deep-rooted biases, address systemic barriers, and foster inclusive cultures, we can create a truly diverse and innovative technical future.
