In the digital age, technology organizations face relentless pressure to innovate before they are out-innovated or wholly disrupted. But many tech organizations are undermining their ability to compete by not making a concerted effort to assemble diverse leadership—including recruiting more women for senior executive and board roles. They are also risking their long-term survival. That includes both well-established technology enterprises and “born-digital” players on the rise.
More Diverse Leadership Could Help Reduce Risk Exposure
Women make up half of the total US college-educated labor force, yet they account for less than a third (29%) of employees in the science and engineering workforce. And the current gender imbalance in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) will have employers struggling to fill the millions of STEM jobs that will be created over the next decade. Without an ample supply of skilled talent, technology organizations will not be able to keep pace with change, let alone drive it.
Staying ahead of the change curve is already a key concern for technology executives, according to the 2018 Executive Perspectives on Top Risks survey from Protiviti and North Carolina State University’s (USA) enterprise risk management (ERM) Initiative. Technology, media and telecommunications leaders who responded to the 2018 survey identified the following as the top 2 risk factors for their organizations this year:
- Rapid speed of disruptive innovations and/or new technologies within the industry may outpace our organization’s ability to compete and/or manage the risk appropriately, without making significant changes to our business model.
- Our organization’s culture may not sufficiently encourage the timely identification and escalation of risk issues that have the potential to significantly affect our core operations and achievement of strategic objectives.
These risk factors are related and could be better managed through more diverse leadership, which can help to do 2 things. First, as explained earlier, a C-suite and board of directors (BoD) that are more representative of what the real world (and, ideally, the organization’s workforce) looks like will lead to better business decision-making and products and services that are more relevant to customers. Second, having a more diverse senior executive team and BoD helps to create a more open and collaborative corporate culture overall, where everyone is comfortable sharing ideas and speaking up about potential risk.
Diversity Matters to the Future Tech Workforce
The first step to change is, of course, admitting there is a problem to be solved. Tech organizations need to take a hard look at the current makeup of their C-suite and board, and then set clear goals for improving diversity in both areas, if needed. It is likely they will find plenty of opportunity for change. For example, according to the 2020 Gender Diversity Index, women held just 19.8% of board seats at organizations in the 2017 Fortune 1000, and smaller and newer firms lag behind larger organizations in finding women to serve on their boards.
So, if technology organizations do not commit now to improving workforce diversity throughout their entire enterprise, it will without question impact their ability to recruit and retain in-demand talent in the future. Brand cachet and other “cool factors” will not be enough to satisfy a generation of professionals who expect to work in an inclusive environment guided by diverse leadership.
Go Bold in Setting a New Standard
The commitment to recruiting more women for leadership roles—and helping to increase the number of women working in STEM careers, generally—must be a bold initiative for the tech industry if real change is to occur. Technology enterprises, large and small, old and new, should be asking themselves, “What are we doing to ensure that we are creating an environment where women, who represent 50% of the workforce population, can participate meaningfully and rise up in our organization?” These organizations should also adopt strategies such as:
- Taking a chance on new talent—Because the current population of women in technology leadership roles is small, organizations should consider recruiting up-and-coming women in the industry, including from start-up enterprises. Tech leaders should turn to their own professional networks for ideas and recommendations and explore resources such as theBoardlist, which is “a curated talent marketplace that connects highly qualified women leaders with opportunities to serve on private and public company boards.”
- Providing relevant training—Women’s attrition rates are higher in the tech industry than in other non-STEM fields, according to a report from the National Center for Women and Information Technology. One common reason that women leave technology jobs is the lack of opportunities for training and development. Providing such opportunities is important for attracting and retaining all tech talent, but employers will be wise to ensure that they are targeting female tech professionals specifically.
- Charting the path up—Technology enterprises need to outline to their female employees exactly how they can advance in the organization. Over time, as more women assume top leadership roles at the enterprise, this path will become more obvious. But management should never assume that the female tech professionals on their team already visualize the way up. Female staff should also be strongly encouraged to pursue leadership roles (if they have those aspirations). Managers should also work closely with women employees to help them set career goals, outline clear steps for achieving those objectives, and access the necessary support and resources.
These are just a few ways that technology enterprises can become more diverse, including at the top, over time. Another best practice: making it easier for women to transition back into the workforce—or better yet, stay engaged in it—when they need to prioritize other obligations, such as raising young children or caring for elderly family members. Too often, enterprises let their female talent slip away because they do not support women at pivotal moments in their nonwork lives.
A final tip: Technology enterprises (and all organizations, really) should use digital transformation initiatives to raise the visibility of women employees and help them expand their skills. These complex efforts require extensive collaboration across the organization and new ways of thinking and working. This is new territory, and everyone has something to offer in shaping this landscape. So, as organizations pursue digital change, they should seize the opportunity to change the face of their workforce, too. Doing so will help position them for long-term success and inspire more women to see their future in STEM careers.
This article was originally published on The Protiviti View.