How many of your staff are female? For the past decade women in technology have accounted for 17% of staff(1). And in the UK, this minority percentage has started to decrease further (2).

What percentage of your job applicants are female? And what percentage of people applying for promotions are female? Recruiting, retaining, and promoting women in STEM (Science, Tech, Engineering, and Maths) doesn’t just happen. 

There are fundamental changes that have been proven to increase the RECRUITMENT, RETENTION and PROMOTION of talented women in STEM. These are the 3 aspects of creating a more gender balanced company that I will be exploring in this series of articles, and in my Digileaders webinar on the 17th June.

We have to start by recognising that we have created a culture that is not inclusive in the STEM sectors. The lack of women in STEM fields is a complex, multifaceted issue that requires persistent, long-term action. However, research has shown that there are tangible steps you can take to make a real difference now. Companies such as Nokia are taking these steps and seeing their talent pool open up to both genders.

Research has shown that everything from the wording in job descriptions to the nature of mentoring programmes has perpetuated the gender imbalance in STEM. These are tangible processes and communications that we can change. We can open up the talent pool to women. We just need to recognise how we are turning them away.

Sign up to Join the Digileaders Webinar: How Do We Get More Women in Tech? Practical Steps for Leaders

Part 2: How to Recruit Women – coming soon! Over the coming months I will be sharing a series of articles containing insights, ideas and tangible actions on how to recruit women in tech.  If you’d like this series sent to your inbox, sign up here. Or come back in a week when I plan to post the next in the series.

1. 1. Guardian 2020 https://www.theguardian.com/careers/2020/jan/02/ten-years-on-why-are-there-still-so-few-women-in-tech
   2. Rose McCarter-Field 2021 https://projectrecruit.com/why-has-gender-equality-not-improved-in-the-technology-sector-in-the-last-ten-years-and-why-is-it-now-getting-worse/
   3. Forbes 2020 https://www.forbes.com/sites/joanmichelson2/2020/02/12/9-ways-to-recruit-and-promote-women-in-stem–from-the-cofounder-of-the-grace-hopper-conference/
   4. WES https://www.wes.org.uk/sites/default/files/u102/Improving%20the%20recruitment%20of%20women%20in%20STEM_0.pdf
   5. Talent 101 2019 https://www.talent-101.com/blog/how-to-recruit-more-women-to-work-in-stem 
   6. Talent Works 2019 https://www.talent-works.com/2020/02/a-simple-guide-to-attracting-more-women-to-stem-roles/
   7. Glassdoor 2018 https://www.glassdoor.com/employers/blog/3-top-companies-strategies-for-hiring-retaining-women-in-stem/
   8. Glassdoor 2021 https://www.glassdoor.com/employers/blog/10-ways-remove-gender-bias-job-listings/