{"id":39174,"date":"2021-04-05T09:08:26","date_gmt":"2021-04-05T13:08:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.kaspersky.com\/blog\/?post_type=emagazine&p=39174"},"modified":"2022-07-28T07:55:40","modified_gmt":"2022-07-28T11:55:40","slug":"women-tech-webinar-ada","status":"publish","type":"emagazine","link":"https:\/\/www.kaspersky.com\/blog\/secure-futures-magazine\/women-tech-webinar-ada\/39174\/","title":{"rendered":"10 ways tech businesses can attract and retain more women"},"content":{"rendered":"

Kaspersky\u2019s latest report on its survey of 13,000 women in tech in 19 countries<\/a> has raised encouraging findings yet some troubling questions as it looks back on a significant year for all. While half of those surveyed felt gender would have no impact on their career, 44 percent said men progress faster than women in their organization. Six in 10 said since working from home, they\u2019d taken on most of the housework and homeschooling responsibilities. What does this window into the worlds of women in tech mean for business?<\/p>\n

In the run-up to International Women\u2019s Day 2021, Kaspersky and Ada\u2019s List<\/a> (advocates for women and non-binary people in tech,) held a webinar on the evolution of women in tech<\/a>. The panel \u2013 Dr. Patricia Gestoso-Souto, Global Head of Scientific and Technical Customer Support at research software designers Biovia<\/a>, Tim Campbell MBE, Co-founder and CEO of Iternal<\/a> and Claire Hatcher, Global Head of Fraud Prevention at Kaspersky \u2013 shared their insights on how tech businesses can support and promote more women.<\/p>\n

1.\u00a0 Focus on the business benefits of diversity<\/h2>\n

Claire Hatcher: \u201cWe need to stop thinking about this as an equality issue but as a business benefit. Studies show diversity \u2013 the intersection of background, culture and disciplines \u2013 matter. If you only hire people from the same background, gender and education level, you\u2019ll see challenges and opportunities from a silo.<\/p>\n

\u201cI work in Fraud Prevention. Fraudsters come from all backgrounds. To find vulnerabilities, you have to think like the fraudsters.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Claire<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

Products get launched that have glaring gaps. If there were more women on the team, or women had their voices heard, products could succeed sooner.<\/p>\n

Claire Hatcher, Global Head of Fraud Prevention, Kaspersky<\/p><\/cite><\/blockquote>\n\t\t\t

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Experiences of women in tech<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t

Empower Women report<\/span><\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/header>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
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13,000 women in tech in 19 countries speak out.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t

\n\t\t\t\t\tRead report<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/article>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\n

2.\u00a0 Make leaders accountable for achieving gender equality<\/h2>\n

Tim Campbell: \u201cWe need to set the bar higher. Leaders need to advocate a clear pathway from education into employment. We should hold organizations with the power to recruit to account for setting challenging targets. Ask why we\u2019re not seeing a 50\/50 balance in recruitment and the boardroom. Targets shouldn\u2019t just be words on a website \u2013 they should be measurable, and people shouldn\u2019t be rewarded for unless they achieve them.\u201d<\/p>\n

3.\u00a0 Inform educators about tech pathways<\/h2>\n

Tim: \u201cIn their formative years, people make decisions about where they want to go in society. We need to educate the educators about options for young women. Groups like Stemettes<\/a> and Ada\u2019s List help empower women and open minds.\u201d<\/p>\n

4.\u00a0 Share best practice<\/h2>\n

Dr. Patricia Gestoso-Souto: \u201cThere are no magic bullets. Let\u2019s talk about the challenges and best practices. I see more progress in B2C than B2B companies. B2C can\u2019t say they don\u2019t \u2018see\u2019 color, age or gender in their marketing, but B2B has a \u2018pass\u2019 at the moment.\u201d<\/p>\n

5.\u00a0 Market your organization as an employer for all<\/h2>\n

Tim: \u201cThe danger for corporates is that if we don\u2019t harness the power of diversity, others will find opportunities. People leaving college or university will think about working with a big brand.<\/p>\n

\"Tim<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

Organizations should market how they\u2019re different than their competition. One way is to put up a big sign saying, \u201cbest talent, whoever you are, is welcome here.\u201d If I can attract the best talent, I will be better than you!<\/p>\n

Tim Campbell MBE, Co-founder and CEO, Iternal<\/p><\/cite><\/blockquote>\n

6.\u00a0 Ensure career time out doesn\u2019t affect promotion<\/h2>\n

Patricia: \u201cEmployers should think about why they are rewarding employees. There should be different paths for promotions \u2013 like not penalizing people for taking time off. We need to be able to get on and off for maternity, paternity or caregiving.\u201d<\/p>\n

7.\u00a0 Use emotional intelligence and consider everyone\u2019s circumstances<\/h2>\n

Claire: \u201cKaspersky\u2019s study showed the burden of home chores fall more to women. We need to be mindful of people\u2019s situations. We should help them exceed, considering their circumstances. We need more emotional intelligence in leadership. We need to shift how we think about work to outcomes rather than hours in front of a screen. We need to be flexible with timing: People may need to juggle homeschooling 9 to 5, but may be more productive later in the evening.\u201d<\/p>\n

8.\u00a0 Review recruitment data to find the problems<\/h2>\n

Tim: \u201cIn my organization, we measure at every point in the recruitment process. We analyze how many women apply and who gets lost in the funnel. With more data, we can see where things aren\u2019t going so well or if bias is impacting recruitment.\u201d<\/p>\n

9.\u00a0 Support professional networks for women<\/h2>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

I was often the only woman in the role, and I questioned if it was me or I was doing something wrong. Having a network with other women meant I could understand others\u2019 experiences and identify systemic issues. Networks create opportunities for role models and sponsoring women.<\/p>\n

Dr. Patricia Gestoso-Souto, Global Head of Scientific and Technical Customer Support, Biovia<\/p><\/cite><\/blockquote>\n

Claire: \u201cWomen may be in the minority in IT, but we must have informal networks to go to for advice. Communications within organizations can bring people together to talk. Then they can advocate for change in the organization.\u201d<\/p>\n

10.\u00a0 Be willing to change your behavior as a leader and at home<\/h2>\n

Tim: \u201cI thought I was a true advocate for women until the Me Too movement<\/a> made me look at my behavior. I realized I was sometimes showing \u2018alpha\u2019 behavior<\/a>,<\/u> and I reassessed myself. There\u2019s a danger we point the finger at those affected to do the fixing. Men in leadership need to set an example.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re good at talking about equality at work, but not always in our personal lives. During the pandemic, my wife and I sat down and distributed home responsibilities equally. Talk to your partner about achieving equality in your home.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Three tech business leaders shared these insights on how to retain and recruit more women during Kaspersky and Ada\u2019s List\u2019s recent webinar. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2642,"featured_media":39250,"template":"","coauthors":[4078],"class_list":{"0":"post-39174","1":"emagazine","2":"type-emagazine","3":"status-publish","4":"has-post-thumbnail","6":"emagazine-category-leadership","7":"emagazine-category-opinions","8":"emagazine-category-women-and-diversity","9":"emagazine-tag-careers","10":"emagazine-tag-women"},"hreflang":[{"hreflang":"x-default","url":"https:\/\/www.kaspersky.com\/blog\/secure-futures-magazine\/women-tech-webinar-ada\/39174\/"},{"hreflang":"en-us","url":"https:\/\/usa.kaspersky.com\/blog\/secure-futures-magazine\/women-tech-webinar-ada\/24494\/"},{"hreflang":"en-gb","url":"https:\/\/www.kaspersky.co.uk\/blog\/secure-futures-magazine\/women-tech-webinar-ada\/22536\/"}],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.kaspersky.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/emagazine\/39174","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.kaspersky.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/emagazine"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.kaspersky.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/emagazine"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kaspersky.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2642"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kaspersky.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/39250"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.kaspersky.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=39174"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kaspersky.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/coauthors?post=39174"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}