The gender gap in tech
It’s no secret, that there’s a disparity for women in tech. In fact, women make up just about 25% of technology workers, and the quit rate for women in tech jobs is 41%, or more than 2X that of men. Additionally, as a result of the global Covid-19 pandemic, women were disproportionately impacted, many being forced out of the workforce due to childcare needs and burnout.
As we evolve as a society, we continue to move in the right direction. Forbes recommends four strategies to get more women in tech:
- Overtly encouraging tech careers for women
- Actively working to banish biases that women fight to get into tech
- Constructively calling out people who are contributing to the problem in your workplace
- Proactively connecting women with informal or formal mentors for career development
In addition to the hiring gap, there’s also a wide pay gap between men's and women’s salaries - the average US woman's earnings are around 80% of the average US man's. Not only do women experience a pay gap compared to men, but different groups of women also have a wide disparity in their salaries. Many factors contribute to this intra-gender salary disparity including race, ethnicity, disability, age, childbirth, sexual orientation, geography, industry, and access to education. Generally, white women worldwide outearn women of color, especially Black women.
Despite these disparities, women show immense resilience and forge paths for themselves in the world:
- 20% of startups have at least one female founder worldwide.
- 36% of businesses are owned by women worldwide.
- $5B in funding was raised by female founders worldwide.
- $1.9T of revenue was generated by female-led businesses worldwide.
The achievement gap for women in the entrepreneurial space is even higher. With 80% of founders worldwide being male, female founders are still finding it difficult to get funding or be taken seriously as a founder.
There’s also a massive funding gap with only about 2-9% of all funds deployed to technology startups going to founding teams that included at least one woman (female founders of color receiving an even smaller sliver). The rise of alternative finance can significantly alter these figures in the future by making more funding available to women and minority-led businesses.
However, we know that female leadership and entrepreneurship is really important and has many positive impacts:
- Female leadership can lead to higher performance: Female-founded startups tend to perform better than all-male ones. Women bring an impactful perspective & leadership skills.
- Women are key global financial players: The wealth balance will continue to shift, giving women more influence in the global financial landscape in 2022 and beyond. Especially with more job flexibility and remote work, white-collar women’s ability to earn higher wages is increasing.
- Everyone wins: Ensuring greater equality and financial opportunities for women could add $12-28 trillion to the global economy by 2025.
Even with all the work to be done, there is much to celebrate in the world of female achievement and women in tech. Here at Capchase, we are committed to raising up women in leadership and entrepreneurship. Apply for one of our open roles today.
#WomenOfCapchase
Celebrate female leadership with us this Women’s History Month by joining our Women in tech event on Weds. March 23, 2022 at 1pm ET. Register here.
In the meantime, this International Women’s Day, join us in celebrating some of the extraordinary women of Capchase who are working to #BreakTheBias.
1. Ana Estrada
2. Cecily Sackey
3. Keryn Koch
4. Mallory Piedmont
5. Olaia Irigoyen
6. Sally Hiu
7. Sri Muppidi
To access funding that is helping to #BreakTheBias visit Capchase.com/Grow
