Let’s face it, the world is a diverse place and it’s about time we start embracing it! Inclusion isn’t just a buzzword anymore, it’s a way of life and we’re all in it together.
Gender diversity, for example, is something that could benefit companies more than they think. It works in both directions, but there are sectors where men are poorly represented, and sectors where the opposite is the case. IT departments or sectors have been known to have an underrepresentation of women, despite the many efforts in the past few years.
Did you know women only make up 19.1% of the ICT workforce in Europe?
It turns out, however, that the presence of women on the team can result in better performance and engagement.
Different perspectives and skills are the key to success
- Problem-solving skills: When people with different backgrounds and experiences come together, unique perspectives will likely be introduced and new ideas sparked. And who doesn’t like to work in a mentally stimulating environment?
- New abilities: By bringing new abilities to the table, gender diversity will expand the teams’ skill sets. We could take communication skills as an example. Women and men have different perspectives on the purpose of conversations, and that is reflected in their communication styles. While, in general, women tend to use language to boost social connections and build relationships, men are inclined to use it to obtain certain tangible results. This difference in communication style will result in different types of communication skills. Curious, don’t you think?
- Inference and creative potential: Women tend to have higher creative potential when their inference skills are higher. It is like one ability is stimulating the other. With men, the opposite happens. That means that when they have great inference skills, their creativity levels tend to be lower. So not only gender has an influence on our skills, but also on the relationship between our abilities.
- Influence on companies’ productivity: More specifically, gender diversity positively contributes to a business’ revenue and market value, and the more gender diversity has been normatively accepted, the bigger the benefit.
Therefore, by having women in an IT team that mainly consists of men, new angles can be seen and other skills can shine through, bringing benefits to the companies.
The magnetism of a diverse workforce
76% of job candidates consider that a diverse workforce is an important factor when evaluating a potential employer. Diversity in the workplace is especially important for minority groups. This makes sense: the more diversity, the bigger chances are that you find a fit. When it comes to women, 61% consider the diversity of the employer’s leadership team in their assessment, and 67% take into account whether the company has any role models similar to them.
And it’s not only potential candidates that care about diversity, employees also consider this to be very important, which might help when it comes to talent retention. We can’t forget that the way employees see the company they work for is a huge part of a company’s employer brand, and that influences the way people see the organisation.
So, if your company wants to attract and retain top talent, then creating a gender balance might be the first way to step up your game.
The challenges
Even though the situation seems to be improving, there are still some women who suffer prejudice based on their gender, resulting in several disparities (e.g., salary, leadership, representation) when compared to their male colleagues.
Stereotypes also need to be taken into account, which makes the whole situation more challenging.
All of this leads to difficulties in attracting and retaining talented women, contributing to the permanence of a low rate of females in tech.
The efforts
Big tech companies like Microsoft, Cisco and Dell, however, try to actively instigate diversity on their teams. Moreover, they try to educate the IT sector by giving extra attention to the female gender and their accomplishments.
At Dilaco, we also value a diverse work culture and strive to create a diverse team, making our female employees feel as welcome as anyone else. And the fact is, that we are noticing that more and more girls are showing interest in pursuing tech careers and breaking stereotypes along the way. Do you want to join this evolution? Take a look at our jobs right now.
This article was brought to you by:
Celine Junius
HR & Marketing Manager
Get in touch
Sources:
Women in Tech Statistics
How Men And Women Differ: Gender Differences in Communication Styles, Influence Tactics, and Leadership Styles
How Diversity Makes Us Smarter
Critical Thinking, Creativity and Gender Differences for Knowledge Generation in Education
An Institutional Approach to Gender Diversity and Firm Performance
Research: When Gender Diversity Makes Firms More Productive
What Job Seekers Really Think About Your Diversity and Inclusion Stats
Winning the fight for female talent
The Biggest Challenges for Women in Tech: Explained
Women in tech statistics: The hard truths of an uphill battle
How Gender Stereotypes are Still Affecting Women in Tech
