Female CEOs and Role Models in Tech

Why is the technology industry becoming more diverse?

This progression is being made due to multiple forces, both internal and external.

1. Social pressure

Incredible groups like “Women in Tech” are encouraging businesses to be more diverse with their recruitment, eradicating the false perception that females are incapable of managing technology corporations.

2. Hiring awareness

Recruiters all over are having honest conversations with themselves about their hiring processes, trying to eradicate unconscious bias in their decision-making. This is largely thanks to the media’s ongoing reports on diversity in technology.

3. Employee shortages

The majority of technology firms are desperate for workers and are therefore accepting every application that comes their way - reducing the barriers to entry that were previously in place for women pursuing careers in the industry.

4. Role models

Advancements are also being made by the role models who continue to demonstrate that ability is not tied to gender. There are some incredible female and non-binary CEOs who have worked hard to prove themselves worthy of the position they’ve climbed to.
 

Memorable female and non-binary role models in tech

While there’s still work to be done (where Exploding Topics reports that only 10.9% of CEOs or senior leadership roles are women), it’s nice to see that the statistics are improving. 

Just a few years ago, this list would have been very sparse. 

Instead of just a few names, we can proudly call attention to multiple incredible female role models in technology. These are just a handful of the ones out there:

• Lisa Su: CEO of Advanced Micro Devices

• Safra Catz: CEO of Oracle

• Susan Wojcicki: CEO of YouTube

• Mikela Druckman: CEO of Gray Parrot

• Amy Zupon: CEO of Vertafore

• Sarah Friar: CEO of Nextdoor

• Melanie Perkins: CEO of Canva

• Sarah Reynolds: CMO of Udacity

• Amina Ali: CEO of Airside

There are also other women, like Ginni Rometty and Marissa Mayer, who only recently stepped down from their CEO positions at global Fortune 500 companies. The former was the first female to lead IBM and the latter took Yahoo to greatness.

“In some ways, I think women can keep everyone’s egos in check and behave in a way that best leads the way through organizational challenges.” - Amina Ali

The difference female CEOs make to the tech industry

As well as doing just as great a job as their male counterparts, women in technology are changing perceptions in their day-to-day lives and shaping the future of the industry. 

1. Opening doors for others

By being seen in these positions, they are encouraging other women and minorities to pursue a career in technology. They’ve demonstrated that there is potential for anyone to climb and thrive - all they need to do is seize the opportunities that come their way.

2. Creating support for all

Rather than accepting microaggressions - which has led to women having twice the turnover of men in technology (Source: Bayside Group) - the presence of female leaders means action is more likely to be taken. It gives vulnerable employees a chain of command that they can trust.

3. Getting the job done

As Mikela Druckman said so well in an interview with the World Economic Forum, “Women will have a tendency to downplay or be more cautious in their projections, but are equally capable of building great ambitious companies”. They show up and get the job done.

How to recruit more consciously

Even if it isn’t deliberate, there’s an obvious and long-lasting bias present in the technology industry. 

This is evident in the fact that leaders are more likely to progress men into the next stage of their job application, where 40% of roles don’t request interviews with any female candidates at all (Source: ZD Net). 

That’s worrying, isn’t it?

In a world where diversity offers so many advantages to a company, it’s everyone’s responsibility to combat unfairness in their hiring processes. You need to reflect critically on whether your recruitment is fair and equitable, providing training if not. 

As well as making internal changes to address issues along the line, you should also consider working with an external team, like OHO. Our diverse recruiters will be able to increase your perspective and support your hiring goals long into the future.

Recruiting through OHO 

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