Meet the women breaking up the boys' club that is the tech sector

Thursday, 8 March 2018

'Evidence shows that young people can be influenced from a young age to choose careers that are expected of them, rather than simply following their own passions,' Dr Mahsa Mohaghegh says.

Silicon Valley is a modern utopia where anyone can change the world, writes Emily Chang, author of Brotopia: Breaking Up the Boys' Club of Silicon Valley. Unless you're a woman, she added.

Chang was inspired to write the book after interviewing venture capitalist Michael Mortiz in 2015, when the Sequoia Capital then-chairman suggested that hiring women might mean 'lowering our standards'. (For context: nearly 80 per cent of VC firms in the United States have never appointed a woman to represent them on the board of a portfolio company.)

New Zealand is half a world away, yet suffers similarly poor performance when it comes to gender parity in its technology sector. Globally, a quarter of the tech workforce is female. In New Zealand that proportion is slightly less – 23 per cent, according to the MYOB Women in Tech report, published last month.

Technology is the country's fastest growing sector, set to become one of our largest and most profitable industries. But it's held back by the declining number of women, and a lack of diversity particularly at senior levels.

* Technology empowers thousands more women to work for themselves

* #metoo has exposed 'very unpleasant side of life in NZ', says Helen Clark**

In 2016, just 22 per cent of Kiwi students graduating with bachelor's degrees in Information Technology were women. However the issue isn't just getting women into the workforce, it's also retaining them.

Increasing the number of women would, according to MYOB's report, enhance business performance, ease the IT skills shortage, and ensure a fairer future for all New Zealanders —that future is too big a responsibility for a single demographic to be in control.

And some companies are starting to realise a more diverse workforce gives them an edge.

'Women in tech initiatives' is among the top three focus areas for IT employers for 2018, according to the Absolute IT Employer Insight Report, published on Wednesday.

The New Zealand Digital Skills Forum's analysis of the digital skills landscape also highlighted the need for the industry to 'actively encourage a more diverse group of Kiwis into digital technology'.

Dr Mahsa Mohaghegh was the only female in her class while studying computer engineering in Iran. As a lecturer in New Zealand, she says she's noticed there's still a lack of girls in computer engineering and ICT classes.

Vodafone this week launched a strategy to address 'worryingly low levels of representation of women in New Zealand technology companies', with head of HR centres of expertise, Katie Williams, saying the company's goal is to be the best employer for women by 2025.

With initiatives such as the #CodeLikeAGirl programme, a graduate programme with a 50 per cent female intake, and more flexible working arrangements for parents, the company's laying groundwork for encouraging and growing female leadership, she said.

Addressing gender is just one part of the problem — there's also a lack of diversity when it comes to race and class. But to acknowledge International Women's Day today, I've asked three women three different questions about how they're paving the way for a better, more equal tech sector.

DR MAHSA MOHAGHEGH

Kendall Flutey says as a start up founder she's benefitted from the women who paved the way before her in the tech industry.

Auckland University of Technology lecturer and founder of networking and events programme, She Sharp

On what causes the gender imbalance in the tech sector, and what can be done to address it:

'Despite the increasing importance we see today being placed on diversity and inclusion, there are still some pretty strong stereotypes that do hold girls back from huge potential. Discouragement is usually subconscious, but it can at times be voiced (often in humour), and this tends to lead to a pre-conception of who 'should' work in technology fields.

'Evidence shows that young people can be influenced from a young age to choose careers that are expected of them, rather than simply following their own passions. Again — sometimes this influence is conscious, other times subconscious.

'The key here I believe is in the ability to influence. If girls can be influenced not to choose technology, then they can also be influenced to seriously consider it as a career option. I think there needs to be a focused effort made to change the current perceptions of technology fields to be more inclusive to women, in order to remove the negative influence that affects their decisions.'

Chair of Tech Women, Eva Sherwood, has invited both men and women to speak at International Women's Day events around the country.

KENDALL FLUTEY

Co-founder and CEO of Banqer, an online tool for teaching financial literacy in classrooms, and 'reformed accountant'

On being a female founder in New Zealand:

'I'm benefiting from a lot of the hardships experienced by those women who founded companies or worked in tech before me, even those entering a decade before me, as so much has changed.

'I felt more exclusion and patriarchy prevalence in accounting that I did as a software developer, or now as a female founder in tech.

'I'm not saying we don't have an issue in terms of gender diversity in tech, because we certainly do, but the environment that was once close to uninhabitable for women has now changed. We increasingly have emotionally aware companies, leaders, investors, and role models.

'It's not perfect, but I've felt masses of support from the Wellington, Christchurch, and Sydney tech eco-systems. I would like to hope my gender had no weighting on Banqer's success, and certainly wasn't detrimental to it. If we can get to that point then I think we're setting a solid example for other industries, and other nations, such as the United States.'

EVA SHERWOOD

Chair of Tech Women, board member at NZTech, manager at Deloitte New Zealand

On why men need to be involved in the conversation:

'The New Zealand tech industry is a dynamic, growth industry to work in. It offers higher than average salaries, a variety of roles and great career opportunities. The tech sector has an ongoing need for employees, yet women are in the minority.

'We have had a number of professional women's groups and initiatives over the years trying to address this gender gap in tech, but sometimes it feels like an echo-chamber. We won't make significant progress on our goals without the male majority of our sector actively supporting us, so it's fundamental that we include men in our community, projects and events. 

'This year for International Women's Day, Tech Women has focused on creating inclusive events around the country which showcase New Zealand stories of when diversity has really mattered to a business's success. Importantly, each of our events include a male speaker who is an advocate for improving diversity in our industry.

'Equally, it's important that we promote positive messages around diversity, so we can have an engaged conversation about the future.'