New drive needed to get women into top tech jobs
Ōtepoti – Technology is now New Zealand’s second biggest exporter and is the fastest growing sector.
But female representation among functional tech leadership, such as chief technology officer or chief information officer, has been slow to level up.
Improved gender balance among these roles is better for businesses as it unlocks consumer spending and gives companies a competitive edge.
Covid has accelerated the global demand for New Zealand tech which has driven the growth of Kiwi tech exports, NZTech chief executive Graeme Muller says.
The tech sector has an interesting diversity challenge. In some ways it is incredibly diverse with most tech firms or tech teams in organisations resembling the United Nations.”
New Zealand’s tech sector contributes more than eight percent to GDP and every four percent in tech growth productivity contributes 2.7 percent to the country’s GDP.
Its annual exports globally are worth $8.6 billion globally and they grew 10.8 percent between 2019 and 2020, Muller says.
The average annual tech salary is $100,000 and New Zealand’s top 200 tech exporters employ 57,262 people globally.
Organisations can redress the gender imbalance by focusing on internal talent development, considering hybrid roles, improving inclusivity and casting the net wider when recruiting.
Gender balance within functional tech leadership remains an unfulfilled promise, heightening the challenges. Globally, typical female representation within functional tech leadership sits in the 15 to 25 percent range. While it has been moving in the right direction, it has been slow and needs much improvement.
As technology evolves, companies without a diverse tech leadership will lose ground to competitors, including their attractiveness as a destination for women in tech. So, what can forward-looking organisations do to find female talent for their CTO and CIO roles?
Building confidence in candidates is key as it can be lacking among women in tech roles, causing them to undervalue their skills and overlook themselves for promotion. Coaching can help develop self-belief from the start of their careers, setting them up for senior tech roles to help accelerate New Zealand business.
Lisa was born in Auckland at the start of the 1970s, living in a small campsite community on the North Shore called Browns Bay. She spent a significant part of her life with her grandparents, often hanging out at the beaches. Lisa has many happy memories from those days at Browns Bay beach, where fish were plentiful on the point and the ocean was rich in seaweed. She played in the water for hours, going home totally “sun-kissed.” “An adorable time to grow up,” Lisa tells me.
Lisa enjoyed many sports; she was a keen tennis player and netballer, playing in the top teams for her age right up until the family moved to Wellington. Lisa was fifteen years old, which unfortunately marked the end of her sporting career. Local teams were well established in Wellington, and her attention was drawn elsewhere.