D&I thought leaders speaking at last month’s Comms Dealer Channel Forecast insight session have called for an industry-wide collaborative and unified approach towards accelerating the women in technology agenda.
According Zest4 CEO Mandy Fazelynia (pictured left) the time has come for a more collaborative and cross-industry approach to increasing the number of women in tech. “Every individual and every business has their own ideas, but we need to pull together to bring positive change,” she said. “A centralised group all pulling in the same direction is going to be more effective than individual efforts.”
Zest4 is broadcasting this message through a women in technology initiative. Wildix is also driving the women in tech agenda having hosted a networking event – and the company has a blog to showcase female role models in the industry. Kellie Barrett, Office Manager and HR Admin Assistant at Wildix, commented: “We know the importance of creating more visibility and networking opportunities for women in technology and the broader industry. More discussions between organisations needs to be happening.”
Aphra Brooks-Barnes (pictured left), CPO at PXC, highlighted that (in the main) efforts to promote women in technology have generally been female-led. She stressed the importance of bringing more male advocates into the discussion. “As a sector, we need to understand that if the conversation about driving the women in tech agenda is being vocalised predominantly by women, then there is still a lot of work to be done to drive change,” stated Brooks-Barnes. “PXC’s Women in Tech network has an executive sponsor, Dan Richardson, a strong male ally for women in the world of technology who is helping to support and raise awareness around the work we’re doing.”
It is also important for the industry to collaborate with those outside of the technology sector, specifically at a grassroots level, believes Fazelynia. “We need a more joined up approach to how we promote technology as a career path for women,” she added. “We need to collectively ask how we can promote technology in the education sector and how we can get schools and colleges more involved. This will help us to attract more female applicants.”
Recruitment matters The recruitment process is an area that all panellists are working on to increase inclusivity and promote more diverse candidate pools. Lauren Knight, Senior Account Director at Vorboss (pictured left), shed light on how the current situation can dissuade women. She said: “In a highly technical sector, job adverts often make it seem as though they are searching for someone who knows absolutely everything from the get-go, which is more likely to put off female applicants than male ones. When recruiting we advertise that certain skill sets or levels of experience aren’t necessarily required. We also advertise the robust training that we offer to get new employees up to speed.”
As a company rolling out a fibre network across London, Vorboss hires for install tech roles that are typically seen as male dominated. By altering its recruitment strategies Vorboss has achieved a balance of one third females in its install tech team and is aiming for 50 per cent by 2027. Knight added: “Advertising training has been key for us and opened doors, closing gaps when recruiting females into those roles.”
According to Barrett (pictured left), achieving gender parity in technical roles is an area that Wildix is also aiming to address. It has 21 female managers and recently appointed two women to C-Suite roles, but finds candidates are put off by the more technical roles. She reaffirmed Knight’s advice on altering job descriptions. “The percentage of women in technical and engineering positions remains lower than we would like,” added Barrett. “That’s why we are revisiting our job descriptions to make sure they are inclusive and appeal to a wider, more diverse talent pool.”
PXC’s approach to recruitment is informed by two key pillars – representation and being more data-driven. The company has compared realtime ONS data in Manchester, close to its headquarters, with its own employee data to curate a demographic snapshot of its business and show how representative it is. Brooks-Barnes added: “We are tracking this demographic data within our candidate application feed to appreciate how attractive we are as an employer to different groups. We’re doing this ahead of launching a new employee value proposition and employer brand for the PXC era.”
Fazelynia noted how prioritising flexibility and tweaking roles can increase candidates across all demographics. “Post-Covid our commitment to offering more hybrid and flexible working solutions has helped our recruitment of both males and females,” she explained. “Giving individuals more time back with their families is a clear benefit for anyone looking to join us.”
Overcoming bias The unconscious biases that can skew roles towards men tend to be stronger in male-dominated industries, observed Knight. She noted that Vorboss has seen this play out in its civil engineering teams, and improved some of the practices that made the day-to-day work a challenge for females. “For women on our civils team digging up the streets and laying fibre, access to toilets is incredibly important, especially when they are on their period,” she stated. “This isn’t something most people consider but is clearly obvious once it’s pointed out to them.”
Vorboss has designed a portaloo that provides more comfort for women as well as providing work clothes designed specifically for females, as opposed to female staff wearing smaller versions of men’s uniforms. Understanding the changes that make work easier and fairer for staff is also key to PCX’s D&I strategy. Brookes-Barnes commented: “We’re working closely with colleagues and wider networks, asking them what’s important in their day-to-day work and getting their opinions on how we can cultivate change that would enhance the employee experience.”
Senior leadership level is another area where a greater balance needs to be established. On this point Fazelynia said: “I have been in the industry for nearly 30 years and when I first started I would estimate female representation at senior level to have been around five per cent. It’s perhaps doubled since then, but that’s not nearly enough.”
The Zest4 board has a 50-50 split of males and females, but generally a lack of flexibility makes it harder for women to build an upward momentum in their careers. Knight commented: “It’s a challenge being a female in this industry, and being a parent adds to that. It is so important to have empathic employers who understand the difficulties of parenthood. I have seen a huge difference in the amount of support I received from male mentors with children. That level of understanding can help women to keep their career moving in the right direction.”
Barrett also identified imposter syndrome as another key reason that women may struggle to progress to higher leadership positions. She said: “Being in a male-dominated industry feeds into a lack of visibility of leadership opportunities. To counter this, the most significant tools in my experience have been self-advocacy and continuous learning.”
A historic lack of visible female role models in leadership positions has also been a block to progress. “This is where a more collaborative industry effort comes in,” added Barrett. “Joining professional networks and learning from other women in the industry can be empowering. I’ve been lucky enough to have a strong female mentor at Wildix who has helped me build more confidence and advance my career. But if those role models don’t exist within your network, then seek them from other industry companies. They’d be more than happy to talk and give advice.”