Jobs for Women in Tech
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Big Tech is Getting Bigger
According to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics, “Employment in computer and information technology occupations is projected to grow by 13% from 2020 to 2030, faster than the average for all occupations.” Certainly with so much room in the tech job marketplace, there is surely more room for women to move into the tech workspace. Reportedly, there is huge growth in the market in five major categories: hardware, software, telecommunication services, IoT (Internet of Things), and automation. Therefore, most of the market will be cornered by hardware and software development, especially in the United States and other western countries with more developed infrastructure.
Even with industry-wide pushes to increase female participation in the tech industry, the numbers don’t seem to be growing. In fact, for the last decade, the number of women in the tech industry has not grown by much.
Challenges for Women in Technology
As much of the labor force in the tech and IT world is made up of men, there are few role models for women to follow into the sector. On that same note, the lack of women in senior positions leaves little support or sponsorship for women to feel at home in their roles or to seek promotion. This is also a critical cause of the loss of women in the sector which displays a marked retention problem. Women will often leave their technical jobs to seek employment with other companies where support will be greater.
Gaps in STEM (science, technology, engineering, math) degrees for women is a key challenge for this sector. More than half of the women going for an undergraduate degree in a STEM subject are in the biological sciences. According to the National Girls Collaborative Project, there are far fewer in computer sciences (18%), engineering (20%), physical sciences (39%), and mathematics (43%).
Workplace culture issues are another hurdle for women in this field. Women are often faced with making difficult decisions as caregivers. Similarly, when their workplace primarily consists of men, it can add to stress. Companies that want to diversify their teams must do more to advertise equitable programs they have, such as maternity leave, backup childcare, etc.
Why we Need More Women in Technology
Representation is one of the key drivers of labor shifts. We can site the “CSI effect” as critical proof for the motivational power of representation where this popular CBS TV show featured women in forensic investigator and other leading scientific roles. The popularity of this TV show led many women to visualize themselves in a forensic career and the industry has seen a dramatic increase in female participation.
Research shows that diverse teams perform better and are more innovative. Along with gender diversity, having teams with diverse ages, races, and sexual orientation are important aspects of a more representative workforce.
How to Get More Women in Technology
There are some great programs at work that could help shake up the industry. Girl Scouts, in partnership with the National Cybersecurity Alliance introduced a series of cybersecurity badge programs in 2017 – even for their youngest membership groups – to encourage more girls to enter the workforce in the future. Ultimately, the badges were created with the purpose of arming the girls with confidence in cybersecurity topics such as understanding cryptography and how to make devices more secure.
There are several coding organizations that have sprung up recently that aim to close the gender gap in tech. Bootcamps, coding academies and camps, support forums, and membership organizations are popping up across the globe to offer support and skills development for girls and women.
Although there are many efforts underway to get more women into technology, there is more that must be done. In many instances, women credit early exposure to programming as the primary factor for their pursuit of a career in computer and technology fields. There is a need for a national strategy for improving the basic tech knowledge of our students from an early age. Consequently, computer literacy is a fundamental part of this, but it must be broadened and accentuated within the educational system if we want to make real headway.
Top 5 Highest Paid Tech Jobs
Jobs in the technology sector can be lucrative. In fact, the median annual wage was $91,250 in May of 2020. The table below covers the top 5 paying occupations in the computer and information technology sector according to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics:
| Occupation | Summary | Education | 2020 Median Pay |
| Database Administrators and Architects | Database administrators and architects create or organize systems to store and secure data. | Bachelor’s Degree | $98,860 |
| Information Security Analysts | Information security analysts plan and carry out security measures to protect an organization’s computer networks and systems. | Bachelor’s Degree | $103,590 |
| Software Developers, Quality Assurance Analysts, and Testers | Software developers design computer applications or programs and software quality assurance analysts and testers identify problems with applications or programs and report defects. | Bachelor’s Degree | $110,140 |
| Computer Network Architects | Computer network architects design and build data communication networks, including local area networks (LANs), wide area networks (WANs), and Intranets. | Bachelor’s Degree | $116,780 |
| Computer and Information Research Scientists | Computer and information research scientists design innovative uses for new and existing computing technology. | Master’s Degree | $126,830 |
Resources for Women Who Want to Break into the Tech Industry
Are you interested in getting yourself or someone you know more exposure to a tech field? STEMfeed has put together this list of resources that may work for you:
| Organization | Description | Location(s) |
| We Are Tech Women | Supporting women in tech | UK |
| ChickTech | Non-profit offering programs to empower marginalized genders who work in tech | USA |
| Django Girls | Provides tutorials and events to inspire women to embrace tech. | Global |
| Girls Develop It (GDI) | Provides inclusive opportunities for women and nonbinary people to enhance their tech skills. | USA |
| Girls in Tech | Nonprofit with a mission to eliminate the tech gender gap. | Worldwide |