"Women in Technology: How Far Have We Really Come?” Survey Program
Challenge
It’s no secret women are under-represented in the technology industry, making up only 28% of its workforce. And there are important initiatives dedicated to fixing this imbalance, including encouraging young women to study STEM-related fields and begin careers in technology. But what happens once they start those careers? Are their surroundings and colleagues as supportive as we’d hope? Or are they subject to internal ‘unwritten rules’ and perceptions holding them back?
At Navisite, we believe that in order to address the gender gap in tech, it is important to take a deeper, and even uncomfortable look at what’s really going on industry-wide in conference rooms, office hallways, cyberspace and beyond.
Actions
Navisite surveyed 100+ women working across the technology industry to better understand how women feel they’re being treated day-to-day in their respective companies and then use this insight to shape new internal and industry initiatives. The results of the survey revealed truths beyond our expectation, and we believed it needed to be released on a wider scale. Thus, the survey was launched in Q1 of 2022, and the results were announced April 12th.
Outcomes
The survey uncovered some startling statistics about how women in the technology industry feel about their day-to-day work environments and the opportunities available to them – examples include:
- 94% feel they are held to a higher standard than their male colleagues
- 61% believe they have lost out on a promotion or job opportunity because of their gender
- 75% say they or other women they've worked with have consistently been asked to perform administrative tasks over their male colleagues, including taking notes, getting coffee/tea, etc.
- 74% feel their opinions have been overlooked or discounted during meetings because of their gender
The study was picked up by major publications, sites and organizations worldwide, including Girls Who Code, VentureBeat, BetaNews, TMCnet and Women of Color, to name just a few.
Read the press release here.
Infographic with survey finding can be found here.
Blog on the survey findings can be found here.
Women continue to come up against outdated and biased practices in the workplace. It’s not only a disservice to the incredible talent and contributions women are making across all sectors of the economy, but it also hinders progress and innovation. As a technology company, we take the results of our ‘Women in Tech’ survey seriously and encourage others to as well. We’re committed at Navisite to supporting women in tech and the next generation of female leaders in STEM, but we still need to recognize these hurdles and actively work against them.