Diversity and inclusion initiatives have helped support the growth of women in tech, but more work is needed to achieve equality in the workplace; According to the Women in Tech Network, “at the current pace of change it will take 132 years until the economic gender gap is closed.”
So what can be done to close that gap? There are a lot of actions that can be taken to support women in tech, and for International Women in Engineering Day – an annual holiday hosted by the Women’s Engineering Society on June 23 that recognizes and celebrates the accomplishments of women in the industry – we spoke with several women to learn what initiatives are most impactful.
For example, companies can create guilds or special groups for women or other minorities that can help provide a support system and networking opportunities.
Aviva Peisach, head of R&D for Wix’ Identity company, says that if a group doesn’t exist within your organization, you can create one. “We’re now establishing one internally in Wix,” she said. “We didn’t have that before, and we had an engineer that joined and said, ‘Why don’t you have it? Let’s do it.’ So we did.”
Women can also seek out groups external to their organization. Peisach is a member of an internal guild at Wix, but she’s also a part of a larger group called Women in Tech Israel. “We do a meetup every two months or so,” she said. “And every meetup includes two talks. One is about diversity and empowerment, and this is where we give tools for career growth, preparation for interviews, promoting yourself or your career, and advancing your career. And the second talk would typically be about technology because this is what we’re passionate about.”
Continue reading: https://sdtimes.com/softwaredev/how-we-can-better-support-women-in-tech/
