Corporate and industry giants have noted gender disparity in tech for the past decade and beyond. Yet, despite all the diversity and inclusion initiatives, technological innovations, and women studying STEM subjects, not much has changed.
One Business Today India article highlights that while 43% of STEM graduates are women, women make up a mere 14% of engineers, scientists, and technologists. Plus, you’ll only find women in 7% of all executive leadership roles in tech.
This disparity extends lower down the hierarchy as well, with women making up only 13% of director positions and 17% of mid-level manager roles.
And if we look at women’s general participation in tech in all roles, representation was at 30% in 2013, and 36% in 2023, which is just a six-point percentage jump in ten years. And to add fuel to the fire, female tech workers in Canada are paid an average of $20,000 less per year than male counterparts in the same roles.
The dark side of AI seems to be playing a role in the disparity. Recently, Amazon introduced AI to their hiring process and since most of Amazon’s past recruits were male and white, the algorithm reflected that bias in its candidate recommendations.
Another factor stems from the culture. Diversity targets might place some women in executive leadership roles later in their careers, but career nurturing should start earlier when they first enter the workforce.
Still, not all hope is lost.
A closer eye on AI can reverse the damage, as Forbes points out in this article. Brands can use it to identify and reduce bias from:
- Marketing campaigns
- Recruitment materials
- Job advertisements and descriptions
- Resumes (blind hiring)
The gender disparity in tech plus limitations to AI inspired two Canadian women to found Toast, an AI talent software that’s dedicated to increasing female representation in tech companies.
The software’s algorithms are trained to assess diverse datasets without gender and racial bias. Co-founder Marissa McNeelands created those algorithms herself, backed with robust expertise from a master’s degree in AI.
While the platform offers practical fixes to gender bias like name removals off resumes, it’s more than just a software. Toast runs a membership club for women to connect with and support one another, share best practices, and find job opportunities.
