1.
Women In IT
Strategies and Initiatives to encourage
more gender diversity
March 2014
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2.
Executive Summary
Salary was also a key driver for women’s career aspirations and
disappointingly half of the women surveyed believed there was
still a gender gap in pay within IT. This was even more
pronounced when analysing responses from those women who
had been in the industry for over 11 years.
Current statistics show the participation of women in the IT
industry in Singapore to be around 15%.
Why are more women not drawn to a career in this often
lucrative industry? And once there why don’t they stay?
Despite this, an overwhelming 85% of women wanted to stay in
the IT industry, however many cited this was simply due to the
difficultly in changing industries.
Global technology recruitment specialists Greythorn, with
offices in Singapore, surveyed their female IT candidates to
uncover some answers to help companies redress this
imbalance. The results are summarised in this report.
Whilst is it promising to see many companies now addressing
attraction strategies to encourage more females into this
industry, an over-riding theme throughout the results was the
lack of flexibility offered by employers, whether that be working
from home options or flexitime. This was considered critical
not only in attracting women to the industry, but retaining them
following maternity leave. Given the ability of modern
technology to allow working remotely, companies would do
well to consider better family-friendly options, if they have not
already done so.
Dung Nguyen, Manager at Greythorn Singapore commented:
“The technology sector is growing rapidly in Asia and the battle
for talent is becoming more fierce. There is substantial research
to show that organisations with gender diverse management
teams perform far better. The benefit in promoting gender
diversity is significant and we are delighted that many of our
clients are committing to hiring and retaining the best
technology talent in the market, regardless of gender.”
We hope you find the results insightful. We would be happy to
discuss any of this further with you.
Greythorn
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3.
Introduction
In February 2014, Greythorn, specialist Technology
Demographics:
141 responses from women in IT in Singapore
recruitment, carried out a survey of women in IT in
Singapore, receiving 140+ responses.
89% of respondents
The purpose of the survey was to uncover women’s
have been in the IT
experiences and beliefs regarding equality in the IT
profession greater than
industry in Singapore.
6 years
In particular, topics included were:
• Gender Diversity
• Pay Equality
• Strategies and Initiatives to encourage women
to join the IT industry and to retain them
• What other companies are doing that has
achieved this
The survey was carried out by means of an electronic
questionnaire and all results are anonymous.
57% have direct reports
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4.
Encouraging women into IT
Career progression and a good salary are the two
most important drivers for women when
choosing a career.
Third, was flexible work options, illustrating the
importance of this benefit.
When asked about what would inspire women to
pursue a career in the IT industry, again, flexible
work conditions was stated by 70% of
respondents. Is this an area where the IT industry
could look to improve its current offering and
reputation? The perception of long hours may
actively discourage women from beginning
careers in IT. Offering work from home options or
flexihours or utilizing mobile or cloud
technologies may be a simple solution for some
roles.
Profiling female role models in senior IT positions
was also seen as inspirational.
One third of respondents also stated sponsoring
of graduate programs for women in IT would
make a difference. One such program is
Microsoft’s DigiGirlz program described overleaf.
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5.
.
Encouraging women into IT
Case Study: Microsoft’s DigiGirlz
program
Case Study: Profiling female role
models in IT
“The DigiGirlz program gives high school girls the
opportunity to learn about careers in technology, connect
with Microsoft employees, and participate in hands-on
computer and technology workshops.”
“In January 2012, Ayna Agarwal, a Microsoft
intern co-founded she++, a community that seeks
to inspire women’s involvement in computer
science. she++ sponsored Stanford's first
conference on women in technology in April
2012, an event that attracted more than 250
attendees and hosted a line-up of inspirational
women engineers, including employees of such
Bay Area tech firms as Google, Facebook,
Dropbox, and Pinterest. After positive feedback
the she++ conference has become an annual
event at Stanford, one of many initiatives that
she++ sponsors in its effort to create momentum
for female technologists”. Source: Microsoft.com
DigiGirlz High Tech Camp Microsoft DigiGirlz High Tech
Camp is a multiday experience that gives high school girls
an in-depth look at Microsoft and careers in technology”.
Source: Microsoft.com
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6.
Why Women Leave IT
A significant 68% of females believe that women
leave the IT industry due to family reasons. This
could be interpreted as either women leaving to
have a family and not returning to the IT industry
or that once having a family, the struggle to
balance both work and family is resulting in
women leaving. The IT industry is renowned for
long hours and with a lack of flexibility cited by
52% of respondents, it would appear no longer
appealing to mothers.
Career progression was also an issue. Why is
this? A recent study by NUS Business School and
Board of 677 SGX listed companies found that
Singapore has one of the lowest number of
females on the boards of its publicly listed
companies, despite a high workforce participation
rate and literacy rate. It stated “At the current rate
of improvement, it will take until 2026 for
Singapore to catch up to regional benchmark
Australia - that is, if Australia remains at current
gender diversity levels”. Singapore Board Diversity Report,
National University of Singapore Business School 2013.
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7.
Pay Equality
A substantial half of women in IT believe there is a
gender gap being offered in salary.
Key reasons given by respondents of the survey were:
1. A perception that:
• Women will leave to go on maternity
• Men do a better job
• Women can’t work as long hours due to
family commitments
2. Assertiveness
• Men bargain harder
• Men are less afraid/are more assertive
when asking for higher salaries
3. Unconscious bias
• Many senior roles are male and therefore
there could exist an unconscious bias
towards their own gender
Interestingly, only 30% of women who have been
in the IT profession for less than 5 years, believe
there is gender inequality in pay, however this
changes dramatically when comparing the senior
professionals - 68% of which believe there is
inequality. Is this a sign of change for the younger
generation, or reflection that those who have
been in the profession longer perceive more
inequality?
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8.
Once again flexibility was the over-riding initiative
Initiatives to Keep Women in IT
favored by 70% of respondents to ensure women
remain in the IT profession. Related to this is
creating a family friendly work culture.
Companies would do well to review their flexible
work options, is there an opportunity for
companies to consider remote access options?
Cloud computing may also offer some solutions.
Another option may be internal mobility options.
Whilst all roles may not be suitable for flexible
hours, there may be other opportunities within
an IT team for women who are seeking flexihours
or job share options, particularly after returning
from maternity leave. In this way, the
organization retains the talent whilst providing a
solution to a work-life balance.
Transparent remuneration policy in what is
deemed a traditionally male-dominated industry,
would also do well to dispel stereotypes
hindering women joining the IT industry.
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9.
Initiatives to Keep Women in IT
Unfortunately a substantial 82% of respondents have not
experienced any positive initiatives to encourage their career in IT.
Of those 18% who have, the top 6 initiatives are shown to the
right. It is encouraging to see some original ideas being employed.
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10.
Initiatives to Keep Women in IT – case studies
Video collaboration enabling flexible work – Polycom
Utilizing mobile and cloud technologies – NTT
“Polycom is the global leader in video and voice collaboration
and we practice what we preach with regards to flexible
working. Around the world, 100 per cent of Polycom's
employees are equipped with tools like video conferencing
technology, which supports our flexible working policy.
Many staff take advantage of
this opportunity to allow
them to work from home
or work remotely.
“In this highly competitive industry, to be able to be
recognized and be seen as a key contributor in the
company, women need to put in double or triple
efforts. Introducing flexibility measures at work or
having flexible work conditions are important especially
for working mothers who need to juggle family and
work. This would encourage more women IT talent to
stay on in this industry.
One great benefit to our working mothers returning to work
after maternity leave is to use video to reconnect and ease
themselves back into work. Importantly, not being confined to
an office does not necessarily mean that mothers are at the
losing end where career progress is concerned.” A Polycom
spokesperson
Riding on the mobile and cloud
technologies, we (at NTT) have
taken the steps to allow our
staff to be able to work at any
place and anytime.”
HR Executive Director NTT
Polycom Singapore was awarded the 2013 ‘Best Company
Award for Mums’, by the National Trade Union Congress for
their efforts in offering flexible work arrangements and helping
employees to achieve work-life balance harmonization.
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11.
Initiatives to Keep Women in IT – case studies
Maternity Networking Program
Task-Based Employment
One such initiative suggested was a
“maternity networking program” which offers
employees returning from leave a support
network to assist with the transition back
to the workforce with other mothers who
had recently experienced the same thing.
A unique but simple idea. Other organizations
had implemented diversity forums who met regularly
to discuss initiatives to increase diversity.
Another initiative gaining momentum is
task-based employment, which gives
employees the opportunity to manage their
time based on the successful completion of
tasks. With employees free to come and go
as they please regarding hours and annual
leave the focus is on the quality of work
rather than the quantity of hours. There is
some evidence to suggest such programs
increase productivity and decrease leave
taking.
A 100% mobile workforce – Deloitte
At Deloitte, work-life integration is a key part of its talent experience to
help employees achieve better work-life harmonisation. In 2008,
Deloitte Singapore introduced Work@Deloitte, a work-life integration
scheme that allows employees to adopt flexible working hours or to
work from home.
Deloitte provides all staff with remote access via VPN into its network
from the users laptops. Today, Deloitte Singapore has a 96% mobile
workforce and the practice is working towards a 100% mobile
workforce.
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12.
Will women stay in IT?
Despite the overwhelming gender imbalance in the IT
industry, the good news is that the majority (84%) of
those women who had now chosen this career path, plan
to stay. Unfortunately a key reason was simply that it was
too difficult to switch career, rather than a choice they
have made.
Many did however state they enjoyed working in such a
cutting edge challenging industry which is forever
evolving.
“With technological advancement, work is no longer
confined to location. Work is not somewhere you go to,
but something you do. Performance should not be
measured face to face, but rather on the outcomes. We
urge more employers and employees to embrace and
explore the possibilities [of how] technology and flexible
work arrangements can lead to win-win outcomes for
both.” Sylvia Choo, Director, Women’s Development
Secretariat, National Trades Union Congress.
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13.
Suggestions for companies
1. Make gender diversity a priority, review your existing policies and culture – are there any
barriers to women, either explicit or understated
2. Review current hiring procedures
• Are females on the interview panel?
3. Consider more flexible working options
• ‘Task-Based’ working eg Gap, whereby the hours of work are not determined by set 9-5,
but by the time it takes to do that day’s activities
• Remote access options
4. Provide management training for females with direct reports
5. Provide female mentors for “return to work” programs/forums or to encourage females to
progress up the corporate ladder within the organization
6. Offer equal pay for roles, regardless of the gender of the incumbent
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14.
Contact Us
Dung Nguyen
Managing Consultant
65 6590 9148
dung.nguyen@greythorn.com
Craig Brewer
Director - Singapore
65 6590 9154
craig.brewer@greythorn.com
Disclaimer
This research was carried out by means of an electronic questionnaire. The information was supplemented with
data and market information that Greythorn has access to. The results are provided as generic market information
only. Greythorn does not make any warranties regarding the use, validity, accuracy or reliability of the results and
information obtained. Greythorn will not be liable for any damages of any kind arising out of or relating to use of
this information.
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