We want to see more women in tech! This week, The Global Recruiter reported on an international survey of some 960 CIOs around the globe, and the results made us proud as punch of our Aussie roots. When it came to the subject of women in tech, Australian CIOs had the second most optimistic outlook about evening out the ratio of women to men who hold staff and leadership roles, forecasting that women would one day be on par with men in those roles. Interestingly, the survey also revealed that 53% of Australian CIOs consider challenging existing industry stereotypes to be the biggest challenge for women within the industry. “The survey findings suggest that misconceptions and stereotypes within the industry, rather than concerns about technical competencies and professional capabilities, are the main barriers obstructing progression for women in the IT field.” So if the biggest hurdles for women to overcome aren’t really barriers, just perceived ones, then the path to success is clear to be paved by more kick-ass femme fatales of the tech variety. As the tech industry blossoms in Australia, one of the key imperatives of the government’s National Innovation & Science Agenda is to encourage more women to study Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (or STEM) and to create more opportunities for women in STEM-related fields. The Australian government is investing $13 million to this cause over a 5-year period. Not too shabby. So what kind of career options are out there for women hoping to break into the tech world? Web Development is an area that’s experiencing rapid growth, and employees with the skills required to be such things as a Front-End Developer, Full Stack Developer or UX Designer are in high demand. According to PayScale, the average entry-level salary for a Web Developer in Australia is around $56K. For more insight we turned to one of JobAdder’s talented and experienced Quality Assurance Consultants, Meera, who thrives in her role within the Development team.
“I’ve been in the industry for 8 years now, and I still feel like there’s always something new to learn. I love the fact that I get to build and test in my role, it’s exciting to see the results of what I do right in front of me in the product itself.” Apart from being in a role that allows her to make a direct impact on JobAdder’s core product, her role is one that can be done from anywhere. In Meera’s case, this means getting to divide time between working in the office and working at home with her young bub. So, if we want the stereotypes and “boys club” mentality surrounding the tech industry to erode over time, we need to ditch the notion that boys who grow up playing PlayStation are the ones who are primed for success in the industry. We recently had the pleasure of listening to Natalie Goldman, CEO of FlexCareers, speak on the topics of diversity and unconscious bias at JobAdder HQ. She put it perfectly when she said, “When you see it, you can be it.” Putting a career in tech on the map for women and girls as the appealing vocation that it is and having strong female role models, like Meera, are the ways we’re going to achieve a higher volume of women in the industry and break down those perceived barriers.
Even the iconic trendsetters at Vogue are backers of the women who code movement, celebrating female stars of the Australian tech community with an inaugural #VogueCodes event two weeks ago. And hey, if Vogue are onto it, you know it’s the place to be! Want to know more about a career in tech?
Image Source: Pexels Source: JobAdder Blog – Recruit Everywhere http://blog.jobadder.com/lets-talk-about-tech-baby/
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