If you’re a woman who works in IT, chances are you’re often the only female in the room. Stats about the number of women working in the industry vary, but even the most optimistic estimates say women fill less than a quarter of tech jobs. The lack of diversity can have real consequences.
At the Women in Technology luncheon at TechEd earlier this week, five women from Microsoft spoke to the crowd about change and transition in the workplace. During the Q&A portion, an attendee stood up to say that her company actively wants to recruit more women for IT roles but has a hard time getting enough female applicants for open positions. As one of the panel members put it, if half of Microsoft’s clients are women, wouldn’t it benefit the company to have half of the people developing products also be women? Of course, that’s easier said than done. To that end, the panel offered up this advice for attracting more women to IT roles in your organization.
1. Have women on staff. This one’s pretty obvious, but having women already on your staff will show prospective employees that your company environment is one in which a woman would want to work.
2. Make sure women executives are part of the interview process. The interview process is as much about the candidate assessing the organization as it is the organization assessing the candidate.
3. Establish a women’s group. Maybe it’s a monthly meeting or a quarterly lunch, but establish a formal get-together of the women in your organization so they can build a network and have the opportunity to talk openly about their challenges and goals.
4. Showcase a culture that appeals to women. When you’re talking with a potential employee, try discerning what’s important to her. Is it flexibility? Work-life balance? Pay attention to the types of questions she’s asking about the company’s culture, and try to show her how you’ll meet her needs.
5. Encourage women on your staff to be as visible as possible. Women who are passionate about their jobs have an obligation to put themselves out there and tell other women how much they love their work. This might mean speaking at events when possible, attending user groups or even just being active on social networking sites.
Is your organization actively trying to recruit women? What are some of strategies that have worked for you? Tell us in the comments section and see below for a recording of the luncheon.