The state of women in tech in major tech firms

This International Women’s Day focused on gender equality, and how the world plans to achieve 50-50 status by 2030, in line with the United Nation’s theme for this year being “Planet 50-50 by 2030: Step It Up for Gender Equality”.

This chart complied by Statista shows the levels of women employment and roles in the biggest tech firms of the world:

You will find more statistics at Statista

The report also stated that:

‘Female employees make up between 27 percent (Microsoft) and 43 percent (eBay) of the workforce at major tech companies, with the percentage dropping much lower when it comes to actual tech jobs. In terms of leadership positions, the status of women in the technology sector, as represented by the eight companies in our chart, is roughly on par with the rest of the economy. Women currently hold 25 percent of executive-, senior-level and management positions in S&P 500 companies – a percentage that the tech industry roughly matches but is still far from parity.’

Technology is an industry still far from gender parity, with many parts of the world accustomed to having men focus on technical skills while females are encouraged to either stay home or study ‘less serious’ courses. This is similar to the situation in Zambia, with many females themselves saying they ‘can’t do it‘ when asked about courses to do with IT/Computer Sciences. Isn’t it about time we go past that?

We know there are many women and girls out there in the tech fields, but we need to know their names too. Do you know of any worth highlighting in Zambia? Share them with us in the comments below or email The Blogger.