CIO OPINION a range of perspectives , which can enhance creativity and the design and deployment of transformation projects , resulting in a greater chance of success .
Laying a path for women to lead
A diverse workforce is especially needed within the technology industry , which currently lacks an equal gender balance and includes predominantly male leadership teams . Despite there being a push to encourage females to study STEM subjects , the percentage of women in tech-related careers has actually decreased by 2.1 % in the past two years , with women holding only 26.7 % of technology jobs in 2023 . Moreover , women represent only 10.9 % of those in CEO or senior leadership positions .
For more women to take on digital and tech leadership roles , the infrastructure and day-to-day working environment needs to enable them to reach their potential . It is no coincidence there are so few women in leadership in a sector that traditionally has many barriers to career progression for women .
Research from LinkedIn reveals that both men and women are interested in hearing about new opportunities , with 90 % of men and 88 % of women being open to finding a new job . But although women seem just as engaged as men , data shows that women tend to apply for less jobs than men . The same study took behavioural data and found that women apply for 20 % fewer jobs than men because they don ’ t generally apply for positions where they don ’ t meet all the requirements . In contrast , men commonly apply after meeting 60 % of the criteria .
Recruiters are also 13 % less likely to click on a woman ’ s profile when she shows up in search . Statistics like these show the recruitment process must also be reviewed if we are to find , attract and retain more female talent and this involves making job adverts far more inclusive . The use of language , for this reason , in job descriptions is extremely important . For example , certain words like ‘ confident ’ or ‘ professional ’ are often used and yet they can often cause certain individuals to be discouraged from applying . To solve this problem , some companies have started using Artificial
For example , it ’ s often difficult for women to progress professionally given they are often bypassed for promotions and new roles due to outdated assumptions around child-rearing and caregiver responsibilities . Data shows that female employees are 14 % less likely to be offered a promotion than male workers and only 52 women are promoted to manager for every 100 men across the tech industry .
The number of women leading Digital Transformation projects remains concerningly low .
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