Women in IT are working hard to be promoted. So, why do so many leadership teams across the industry still resemble a boys’ club?
According to a recent Acronis report, 71% of women say they work longer hours in order to advance their careers at a faster pace.
Despite these efforts, the gender gap in leadership teams across the industry remains sizable. A 2023 Development Dimensions International report found that only 28% of leadership roles are filled by women in the tech industry at large. Claire Marrero, founder and CEO of The Talent Source, a boutique executive search firm, told IT Brew that the percentage decreases substantially when solely considering the number of women in leadership positions in the IT industry.
“The numbers of women in C-suite positions in IT tends to fall somewhere around [the] 5% mark,” she said.
Glass ceiling. Marrero—who is also the president of ITWomen, a not-for-profit organization that supports women in the technology and engineering fields—told IT Brew that women face several hurdles that prevent them from advancing their careers. She said those who serve as primary caregivers to children or aging parents, for example, may not have the flexibility to attend after-work networking events or prolonged business trips that can help them elevate their careers.
“If women can’t travel for work, then they’re typically not taking on the stretch assignments that give them the experience that will see them recognized and eligible for promotion,” Marrero said.
Oreoluwa George-Taylor, director for Gartner’s HR advisory practice, added that biases during the performance review and talent management process can also obstruct female employees looking to climb up the career ladder.
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Room for improvement. The case for increasing the number of women in leadership positions is an easy one to make. Alona Geckler, SVP of business operations and chief of staff at Acronis, told IT Brew that diverse teams generate better decisions and ideas because of the range of perspectives brought to the table.
Organizations across the industry can take several steps to address the gender gap crisis within leadership teams. Neveen Awad, managing director and partner at Boston Consulting Group, told us that businesses can start by increasing the number of female employees in middle management roles.
“As the middle managers identify high-performing women and start to give them leadership opportunities early, that will create an awesome trajectory for more women in leadership,” Awad said. “So, it has to start early.”
George-Taylor added that organizations should actively assess if their policies and benefits meet the needs of their female employees and ensure that their workplace culture is inclusive of them.
“One of the best ways to understand that is to speak to the women in the organization and to understand what some of the challenges and barriers for engagement, retention, and advancement are,” George-Taylor said.
George-Taylor further stressed that the “onus” of mitigating the ongoing leadership gender gap crisis across the industry shouldn’t fall on female employees, but on organizations.
“We have a lot of power, agency, and autonomy,” George-Taylor said. “But I recognize that even with all of those things, often a system needs to change in order for outcomes to change as well.”