The tech industry has traditionally been male-dominated — but it doesn’t need to stay that way. There’s enough room for everyone at the table, as long as employers are willing to do the work to create those opportunities.
While women hold half of all jobs in the U.S. and more than half of the college degrees, they only fill 26.7% of tech-related jobs, according to the WomenTech Network. Until the tech industry recognizes their role in the recruiting process, the statistics will remain startlingly low.
It’s a two-pronged problem, says Paula Ratliff, president of Women Impact Tech, an organization driving equity in tech: employers aren’t always implementing the right hiring practices, and women aren’t necessarily looking for them.
“It's a supply and demand problem,” Ratliff says. “Women are typically very loyal — once we do find a great career we have a tendency, more than our male counterparts, to stay at those organizations. We don’t search the market like our male colleagues do and take new opportunities as frequently. So recruiting for women in technology is really tough.”
Forty-eight percent of women in tech and STEM jobs reported some form of discrimination in the recruitment or hiring process — 66% of women reported a lack of a clear path forward in tech professions and 39% viewed gender bias as a significant barrier in tech job access, according to Builitin, an online forum for startups.
The solution is to reimagine the approach to recruiting in its entirety and ensure that the environment employers are recruiting women into is safe, comprehensive and fair, Ratliff says. Here are her top tips:
Continue reading: https://www.benefitnews.com/list/recruiting-tips-for-tech-employers-hiring-women
While women hold half of all jobs in the U.S. and more than half of the college degrees, they only fill 26.7% of tech-related jobs, according to the WomenTech Network. Until the tech industry recognizes their role in the recruiting process, the statistics will remain startlingly low.
It’s a two-pronged problem, says Paula Ratliff, president of Women Impact Tech, an organization driving equity in tech: employers aren’t always implementing the right hiring practices, and women aren’t necessarily looking for them.
“It's a supply and demand problem,” Ratliff says. “Women are typically very loyal — once we do find a great career we have a tendency, more than our male counterparts, to stay at those organizations. We don’t search the market like our male colleagues do and take new opportunities as frequently. So recruiting for women in technology is really tough.”
Forty-eight percent of women in tech and STEM jobs reported some form of discrimination in the recruitment or hiring process — 66% of women reported a lack of a clear path forward in tech professions and 39% viewed gender bias as a significant barrier in tech job access, according to Builitin, an online forum for startups.
The solution is to reimagine the approach to recruiting in its entirety and ensure that the environment employers are recruiting women into is safe, comprehensive and fair, Ratliff says. Here are her top tips:
Continue reading: https://www.benefitnews.com/list/recruiting-tips-for-tech-employers-hiring-women
