What’s wrong with the ‘natural’ state of women in tech

August 28, 2014

In short NOTHING is ‘WRONG’ what’s wrong is how we have perceived this and ‘treat it. Ultimately when looking at the “issue or problem” of recruitment, promotion, and retention of women in technology fields, I propose that the chief problem is the topic is fundamentally flawed:

• It assumes that the “natural” state of the number of women engaged in technology studies and careers is a “problem” that needs “fixing or correcting”; and
• It layers a gender lens over the ensuing discussions, research, and actions.

This matters because the way we perceive a topic determines our responses to it. For example, if we believe artificial external factors are the main cause, it implies that artificial interventions to ameliorate those factors will have a significant benefit.

Traditionally that’s exactly what has happened intervention programs have been ‘thrown’ at the ‘problem’ despite the reams of global research and decades of well-intentioned work by organizations, activists, and advocates to tackle the problem—including ad hoc, systematic, and comprehensive efforts, comprising career days, computer clubs, role modelling, mentoring, coaching, general promotional events and more—the attempts have been futile. A multitude of things have been done, but their goal of increasing the number of women in IT remains elusive. Yet, belief in the value of the programs persists, despite the lack of objective evidence.

For decades, we have been worried about how few women there are in IT and other technical fields. We have generated theories and interventions relating to surmised barriers that keep women out of IT or drive them from it after they enter it. We have achieved nothing – so why do we think more of the same will achieve more?

It’s time to STOP. It is time to accept that the natural state of women in tech is what it is.  IT IS WHAT IT IS. STOP trying to intervene.  Individuals will make career choices individually, and it just so happens that whilst women CAN do IT for the majority their interests lie elsewhere and they chose a career of the highest interest.

In my book “Women in IT in the New Social Era” I review 30 years of literature, from across the globe, on this topic and present original research.  Four simple key facts that slice to the heart of the ‘issue’ and that I found most interesting are:

• Only between 1% and 6% of women currently in IT roles got there via an intervention program. Thereby providing evidence that interventions have not worked.
• More than 93% of women currently in IT knew they were interested in tech at a young age, or they discovered their interest via exposure to technology at work. Which is clear evidence that the individual and her personal interest is the core driver when it comes to career choice. In turn this implies that attempting to artificially adjust this via intervention programs has little to no effect, and the statistics over the past 30 years prove that.
• Whilst most women in tech came there out of their own personal drivers, most of them think that interventions are important for bringing other women into tech. This disconnect is one of the drivers of intervention programs – and why they fail.
• There are likely to be me more differences within the female gender than the well-known fact of differences between males and females. Bringing implications for gender theorists to focus on those differences within instead of between. But will that still be “gender” theory?

I’ve produced a video providing a good summary of key themes, results and some of the recommendations.

• Key Themes at 0.33 – 1.30
  Key Results at 7.01 – 8.21
  Recommendations at 12.17 – 18.15

Stop living in the past. Stop thinking that gender imbalances mean there is a problem we have to fix. Realize that the old structural barriers are mainly just a memory, and that the remaining much smaller barriers will be swept away by the tectonic changes of the new social era, which is changing faster than we can adapt. If you still want to “do something”: do something within that new social era. Stop using traditional methods and look into supporting hackfests, code camps and social media groups. Drop old, big and centralized, and adopt new, small and agile.