Editorial
As organizational leaders, we should all aim for diversity as a business goal. And for IT organizations, which have long been a bastion of men, gender diversity is really needed. But scan any issue of Harvard Business Review and you’ll see article after article sharing how diversity programs fail.
Given this, I recently brought together a group of female and male CIOs including one woman of diversity who was early in her tech career named Ailesha. She, along with the CIOs, shared the issues they are facing today.
Main Blockers for Women in Tech
The female CIOs suggested that part of the problem is that leaders do not value the skills that women bring to IT. First, CIO Deb Gildersleeve shared that some natural soft skills are interpreted as not technical.
‘Women often lack mentorship,” Gildersleeve added, “and there is a tendency of women to only put themselves forward once they have ticked every box required for the next level.”
University of Michigan Dearborn CIO Carrie Shumaker agreed that there is often an “undervaluing of our skills as women.”
She added that “women do not believe they understand something until they understand it 100%. Adding to this is not seeing leaders that look like us. This does not give women something to aspire to and emulate.”
Manufacturing CIO Joanne Friedman said talented women are often pigeon-holed for this very reason.
“This creates a lack of visibility and exposure within the organization,” Friedman said. “Worse yet, women often have agency without authority. We are empathetic and situationally aware, and this should play to our advantage.”
Interestingly, the male CIOs agreed with many of the issues described above. This included the following: a lack of role models, a poor pipeline to leadership, insufficient development, culture and bias.
“It has been hard for me to convince IT hierarchies of the value some women bring to the work when they haven't pursued specific credentials or always played with technology the way many men traditionally do,” one of the male CIOs said.
And importantly, these attitudes have persisted to today, as Ailesha shared: “Most organizations are rigid and do not have a path that aligns with our lived experience. I am not necessarily a programmer or developer, but I like helping users use technology. We as women can underestimate ourselves when we don't check every box. Men are much more willing to apply when they are perhaps underqualified.”
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How to Better Spot and Enable Potential Women Leaders
So how can organizations better prime women for leadership?According to Gildersleeve, it starts by enabling women in tech.
“We need to give them the opportunities across different areas in technology and opportunities to lead aspects of the work,” she said. “Leaders should, also, mentor them from the start.”
Shumaker agrees: “Connect them to one another. Encourage them to create networks including both men and women. Those are the biggest two! Unfortunately, women often don't take work time to build networks, or think men don't want to connect. It is critical to also invest in professional development. And lastly, leaders need to tell women they can see their potential.”
The male CIOs said it is important to remember that a first job in IT can start a career.It is critical to have women in key positions as well. This can help the organization identify, encourage, and ultimately hire other women. They also suggested being welcoming and encouraging women to apply to positions.
Ailesha shared her own experience: “I have focused on taking the initiative and taking care of things that were being missed as well as keeping busy. Because I had a woman leader, she encouraged me to apply for the first job. I know that my drive got me noticed by that manager. I continue this by still being willing to acknowledge what I don't know and to be a student. I used to joke that people didn't know I worked in IT. But once I started making it known, people became more open to me helping them. By making it known, I set things up for me to be respected, and people think I am confident and capable with technology.”
Secrets to Success for Women Leaders
I asked CIOs what secrets they had to enable women leaders. Friedman said that she found it important to plan her career and make her plans known to those above.
“I also consistently deliver increasing amounts of value,” she said. “I volunteered for the most difficult assignments and projects to push myself. But the most useful thing was becoming known and respected within the industry.”
For Gildersleeve, starting her career in consulting taught her to work with different people.
“It also taught me how to put forward the skills I had while I learned the skills I didn't have,” Gildersleeve said. “The first team I worked with had a few leaders who were invested in my career from the start. Combine good leaders with a natural curiosity and drive and that's a pretty good recipe for those who have succeeded.”
For Ailesha, having a role model helped: “my first mentor was a badass and let me know this was allowed. She allowed us to take initiative and take risks. She was good at trusting her team and keeping the trust of us. I have found that when women make mistakes it counts more than when men make the same mistake. Both men and women learn but the consequences are greater for women.”
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Related Article: To Include Women in the Workplace, We Need to Understand Systemic Barriers
Encourage Women to Pursue Tech Careers
When asked how early we need to take action to get women into technology, Shumaker had a story to offer.
“Recently I asked the mother of a middle school girl who liked science and math if she was interested in studying technology.” Shumaker said. “The mother responded, ‘oh no, my daughter likes people.’ This stereotype of tech workers being isolated loners needs to go!”
Friedman said for this reason, we need intervention in grade school: “Girls need to be encouraged that STEM is for them and encouraged to pursue advanced math, develop spatial skills and most importantly, be nurtured to believe they are equals with male counterparts.”
As Gildersleeve added, “The biases about girls not being good at math start at a really young age. We need to encourage problem solving. We need to encourage team sports. We need to create programs along the way in school that show girls and young women what a technology career can mean.” She added that while girls need quality STEM, they also need digital literacy education that resonates with them.
“I went to an all-girls high school and there was a lot of push for women in tech or girls who code,” Ailesha offered. “Those are great but there wasn't enough information about what the career options were if I didn't want to be a programmer.”
The male CIOs suggested a few ideas as well:
- Make IT more attractive to women (offering flexibility, pay, mentoring and an appealing environment)
- Cultivate women when they arrive
- Spend more time on training women
- Create opportunities for advancement
- Pursue diversity with every position
- Give women credit for risk-taking and bravery
- Emphasize the role of soft skills in IT
Parting Words
There is still work to do if we want to transform the leadership trajectory for women in tech. We clearly need to improve the environment as well as our messaging surrounding technology today and the soft skills essential to succeed. We also need to build the incoming base of women in IT. With this said, we still need to help those in line for f leadership positions succeed and give them time to inspire the next generation.
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