In the 2022 KnowBe4 Women’s Day Survey, released last week it found that 95 percent of female survey participants say they were satisfied in their technology jobs.
The survey interviewed more than 200 women from across the technology industry in South Africa to find out more about how they perceive the industry, the gender gap and discrimination.
Anna Collard, the senior vice-president of Content Strategy and Evangelist KnowBe4 Africa, said, “The results shed some positive light on our industry where women are increasingly given more opportunities and richer support. This support comes in the form of roles that allow for job satisfaction, flexibility, colleagues and from senior women within the sector who offer them guidance and mentorship.”
While most of the women, 53.5 percent, felt they had experienced little to no discrimination on the basis of their gender when applying for roles or at work, 43.5 percent said that they were not paid the same as their male colleagues and 38 percent said that women were not assertive enough compared with their male colleagues.
The survey also found that while discrimination was not perceived as a significant issue while at work, it was listed as one of the biggest challenges that women faced when joining the industry. Around 28 percent of women cited discrimination as an inhibitor to work, 31 percent highlighted sexism and 33 percent felt that they were not taken seriously enough in the industry.
However, 28 percent were frustrated at being assigned roles that were not related to their jobs such as taking meeting minutes.
“Women are drawn to this career and enjoy working in this space,” said Collard.
“They thrive on the challenges it presents and the opportunities it gives them. This is why it’s important for companies to address the issues that remain such as not being taken as seriously as their male colleagues or being assigned mundane tasks more often perceived as ‘female roles’. There also needs to be a concerted effort to make the technology and cybersecurity professions more enticing to young women and girls.”
Of the women surveyed 22.5 percent joined the industry because they had a good role model while 72.5 percent did so because they always had an interest in technology.
The survey found that nearly 60 percent of respondents felt that science, technology, engineering and maths need to become available to girls early in their school curriculum, and 51 percent believed that cybersecurity needs to become more accessible as a whole. The latter requires more understanding and opportunity at a grassroots level to not only level the gender playing field but to address a rapidly growing skills gap.
An impressive 78 percent said that it is important to mentor young women early in their careers – a much-needed approach that would make access to the industry more inclusive and far less daunting for young women.
“This is necessary not only to make women feel like the technology industry is a good fit for them, but to give them more confidence when it comes to salary and role negotiations,” said Collard.
“While 85.5 percent of respondents would absolutely feel confident about seizing the opportunity for a promotion within their organisation, 8 percent believed they shouldn’t try because it would go to a male colleague. In addition, 70 percent believed that women could overcome the challenges in the industry by treating female colleagues as partners, not as adversaries, while nearly 35 percent said that it was important to find a tribe of like-minded groups and organisations.”
Meanwhile, Nikki Bush, a human potential expert, said last week, “If you’re going to take the lead role in any area of your life (this does not mean you have to be the CEO of a multinational, although you may want to be), you have to shift how you see yourself; to elevate how you think and act – or you will remain in the chorus. It’s International Women’s Month, a great time to start.”
Her tips to elevate yourself:
Elevation is:
- Honing your skills and making yourself supportable (not just supportive).
- Leaning in, so the other members of the cast and the crew can uplift you as you give your best performance.
- Raising your self-worth – how you view yourself is how others will view and treat you.
- Investing in yourself, so there’s sufficient security to carry you “between shows”.
BUSINESS REPORT