Results of a recent survey indexing the attitudes of women in technology careers shows that women in tech careers are running into a number of obstacles in climbing the corporate ladder, which may be impacting their salary and long-term career trajectory. The more than 1,500 women responding to the survey indicated that what they would benefit from most in their workplace was more female role models.
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The joint survey by Pluralsight and Women Who Code which was conducted in an effort to better understand what challenges women in technology professions face in the workplace, and what changes need to be made.
When asked what the biggest challenges were in their careers, respondents listed:
- Lack of opportunities for advancement
- Lack of female role models, and
- Lack of mentorship at work.
Also, more than 60% agreed or strongly agreed with the statement “having more women on my team would be beneficial.”
When asked what issues they felt were holding them back in their career, respondents indicated lack of confidence as the most concerning, followed by male-dominated work environments.
“In the next decade, more than 75% of jobs in the United States will require technology skills,” said Alaina Percival, CEO of Women Who Code. “It’s imperative that the industry as a whole become a more welcoming and inclusive place for women, who have been drastically underrepresented to date.
“Providing women every available opportunity and resource to succeed is crucial, both for their wellbeing and for the stability of the economy.”
Additional findings of the report include:
- Women in leadership roles reported being held back by male-dominated work environments at more than twice the rate of women in mid-level positions or below (19% vs. 8%).
- Nearly half of respondents ages 21 to 49 feel that male colleagues are more likely to get promoted than female.
- 50% of all respondents agree that balancing their career and personal life is challenging.
- Only 8% of respondents said a startup was the “ideal organization” for them, but nearly 50% indicated that working in a mid-sized organization would be ideal.
“We commissioned this study to help shed light on what obstacles women working in technical roles are currently facing in the workplace,” said Aaron Skonnard, CEO of Pluralsight. “Having more women in tech has been shown to create better business results. It’s our job as an industry to create an environment in which women have access to female role models, mentors, and more opportunities for advancement.”
The full report can be accessed here.