Women in tech still represent a small share of the workforce.  Not only are gender gaps a concern, but also the roles they have in the industry.  According to the World Bank, women are 40% workforce in the world, and in some countries that number can go up to 59%. However, Payscale reports that the industry is mostly occupied by men at all levels.

A global technology revolution is taking place, and if women are not part of it, the future for women’s rights is desolate.  4Geeks Academy and Bridges Unite

acknowledge the importance of bringing women into tech and have decided to partner in a relationship that will bring coding education opportunities to women in Florida.

We have seen the impact in the industry, like Sheryl Sandberg – Facebook, Susan Wojcicki – Google, Virginia Rometty – IBM, Marissa Mayer – Yahoo!, among others.  In order to achieve gender equality, it is fundamental to appeal to the next generation of leaders.

Some even think that tech women executives lead to a greater innovation and enhanced profitability.   Women only take 21% of leadership roles, but Researchers of Peterson Institute for International Economics found “that having women in leadership positions aligned with a 15 percent increase in profitability, on average”.

Gender Pay Gap in Tech

A preconceived myth still exists when we talk about equity gender in technology.  This is still considered a “man’s world” in the majority of countries.  However, the pay gap in tech is actually smaller than in the rest of workplaces.  There are still various factors that contribute to pay inequity in the industry.

The biggest career challenges for women in tech is not about finding a good job or solving coding bugs, but in finding a healthy and fair work environment to feel part of a team and to be valued by male coworkers.  It actually gets worse as women move into more Senior roles.

A Lack of Mentors & Female Role Models

Based on the results of ISACA´s survey, the biggest barriers women face in the tech field is a 48% lack of female mentorship and a 42% lack of female role models.  Women desire to learn and to be trained from the perspective of other women in tech, but the barriers that we found in the ISACA results are “limited networking opportunities” and “lack of a strong professional network.”

** **Education & Right Tools

According to a Girls Who Code report, today women occupy an 18% of computer science degrees compared to 37% in 1984.  In the United States, by 2020 there will exist 1.4 million jobs in the tech field, but they won´t be filled equally by both women and men.  29% of the jobs will be filled and only 3% of those by women.  Tech evolution and innovation remains in our hands.  We need to gain ground in these numbers.

That’s why it is so important to both 4Geeks Academy and Bridges Unite to promote more female access to the tech world by supporting opportunities for education, scholarship, guidance and mentoring.  We believe that by encouraging innovation, curiosity, and collaboration to expand our establishment and the positive impact of our community, we will get closer to equality in the tech field.

**We are announcing new scholarships to train and bring women into tech.  **Stay tuned for the upcoming announcements.