Impacts beyond the workplace Again, the statistics tell their own story. So, what does this persistent gender In our study, 50% of the females we imbalance mean? In our view, the gap interviewed say the most important factor between men and women studying when choosing their future career is and working in technology isn’t just “feeling like the work I do makes the world unjustifiable in societal terms, and a better place/has a wider impact”. The unfair with regard to female skills and corresponding figure for men is only 31%. participation in the workforce. It also In fact, females rate the opportunity to means that – as our personal and working make the world a better place as the second lives become increasingly shaped by most attractive attribute of a career, with technology – technology products and only “having interesting work” ranking services are being developed and delivered higher for them. based on the perspectives of only one half of the population, and not designed with the needs of everyone in mind. Women make up half of consumers and technology companies need to reflect this in their workforce designing those products. A further impact of the gender gap is that it’s preventing women from playing their full role in shaping the future of our society – or in realising the powerful potential for technology to make the world a better place. Our research shows clearly In our study that improving the world is seen as a more important goal by females than males . Working in technology can provide women 50% of the females we interviewed say the with a way to do this. most important factor when choosing their future career is “feeling like the work I do makes the world a better place/has a wider impact” Women in Tech – Time to close the gender gap 2