While inequality can occur in any industry, it appears that inequality is especially pervasive in the male-dominated tech industry. There are frequently several projects and events aimed at increasing the number of women in the IT industry and an educational push to increase the number of women enrolled in STEM programmes.
According to the latest Tech Nation 2021 report, women make up 25% of the tech workforce, which, while still disproportionately low, is good to see that this had increased since 2018, when it was just 19%, indicating progress in the right direction. Only 22% of UK tech directors are women, suggesting that while we need to attract more women into the field, we need to do more to retain and support women in leadership roles.
Technologists Confidant interviewed Sheree Atcheson to share her insights, guidance, and expertise to shine a light on female tech professionals and motivate more women to pursue careers in technology and leadership.
Multi-award winning global diversity, equity & inclusion leader, keynote speaker and published author, Sheree Atcheson is listed as one of the UK's top most influential women in tech and an international multi-award winner for her services to diversity & inclusion. Sheree is a global diversity, equity & inclusion senior leader, advisory board member of Women Who Code, and contributor to Forbes. She is the author of "Demanding More" - a book that aims to teach readers about how deliberate exclusion has been embedded in systems and society, so we can be purposefully and deliberately inclusive moving forward. Her life journey is capitative, encouraging and inspiring; she is the live example of what Nelson Mandela once said - "Everyone can rise above their circumstances and achieve success if they are dedicated to and passionate about what they do."
Our Editorial Team approached Sheree, the UK’s top tech influencer, to share her viewpoints on women in tech. As a passionate advocate for inspiring and retaining women in the industry, in 2013, she launched & led the award-winning UK expansion of Women Who Code, the world's largest non-profit globally dedicated to women in tech now sits as an Advisory Board Member.
Her career aims to ensure people are aware of the fantastic opportunities the industry has to offer & make sure that all humans can benefit from these & reach their full career potential.
On being asked about the first thing coming to your mind when you think of “Women in Tech”, Sheree answers, “untapped and forgotten talent”. She adds, “there is a phenomenal amount of talent currently being passed over for promotion, overlooked for new roles and opportunities, purely because of gender bias (intersected with the bias which exists for people of colour, disabled people and so on). The tech industry requires diversity in those creating the solutions of today and tomorrow - women of all backgrounds play an important role in that. Unfortunately, this is being missed by many.”
Men and women perceive things differently and bring various perspectives to the table. This allows for improved issue resolution, which can boost business performance. Think of all of the purchasing power businesses will access by bringing together a diverse range of genders, cultures, and nationalities.
On being asked about the Global Gender Disparity in the tech sector, Sheree puts forward a strong argument. She said, “I think it's poor and unacceptable. Regularly, we accept things because "It's just the way they are", and simply, that isn't good enough. We must recognise that when a huge population of the world are disproportionately missing from one of the biggest and most thriving industries, there is something wrong.”
The World Economic Forum's Global Gender Gap Report 2021 warns that the existence of gender parity in rising jobs in this future world of work faces considerable hurdles. For example, female representation in artificial intelligence specialists, cloud engineers, and DevOps managers is still less than 25%.
“ I also think it is an opportunity for things to be better and for us to all leave them better than we found them by making and embedding meaningful change driven by measurement of data regularly and honestly on where we are and where we need to get it.”, Sheree adds.
While acknowledging efforts by the tech industry to improve gender and racial diversity, equality and inclusion in the workplace, Sheree concludes that UK tech is the “most exciting industry in the world.” She advises young women entering the tech field in the UK, and she said, “You are joining one of the most exciting industries in the world - it's becoming more and more embedded in our lives, and with that, you have an opportunity to do something extraordinary. There will be times this will be tough - try to prepare yourself for that. Seek a mentor who can help you with guidance and advice. And ultimately, be proud of yourself - for all the big and small successes you may have. You've earned it”.
More about Sheree Atcheson: Sheree is a Global Diversity & Inclusion Senior Exec (currently Valtech, ex. Peakon, Monzo, Deloitte), having worked in many regions developing tailored, data-driven DE&I strategies, with clear goals and lines of accountability to embed success and inclusion that scales. As an industry leader, she has spoken at many global events, conferences and leadership sessions and is regularly profiled for her work, having been featured in many publications, such as Forbes, Business Insider, BBC, FastCompany, Evening Standard, HuffPost, Business Post, Marie Claire, Wired, ComputerWeekly, The Guardian, Sunday Telegraph, Newsletter & many more.
As a subject matter expert, she delivers training/workshops on allyship, privilege awareness, unconscious bias, the business of diversity and inclusion, becoming a Diversity & Inclusion ambassador, personal branding, empowering yourself to empower others.
