What role can recruitment play in creating a gender-balanced workforce throughout the technology industry? Rebecca Topper, Managing Principal Consultant at Glocomms, shares her thoughts for International Women's Day 2020.
The 2020 International Women’s Day theme is that an equal world is an enabled world. What does that mean to you in technology?
There is a major gender gap in the tech industry, and it is sometimes women themselves who feel underrepresented and thus less likely to pursue roles in tech with all-male teams and leadership. But we're seeing a rise in venture capital investments in all-female founded companies over the past year. With female founded Unicorn companies like Glossier and Rent the Runway making a mark, we will see more women being attracted towards roles in tech.
What sort of conversations around gender equality do you have with clients and candidates in your sector?
Gender equality is a huge topic in conversations with candidates and companies in the tech world. Though the tech industry actively seeks out female engineers and leaders, the gender gap is still a real problem in the industry. Women are underrepresented in most tech companies, especially in technical and leadership roles. Companies in the industry will make it a priority to hire female candidates - we have had some of our clients ask us to only seek out women!
What role can recruiters play in creating an equal world?
Recruiters can actively consult their clients on best practices in hiring women into the tech industry. By creating cultures of inclusivity and sensitivity, more women will be attracted to take roles within tech companies. We can also advise on events, webinar, networking groups, industry associations that we partner with, and share their best practices on attracting and retaining female talent.
What advice would you give to a company trying to create a diverse hiring strategy?
Make sure that the hiring team has a diverse background, including men and women, and that women are interviewing other women. Having female leadership conduct interviews can help demonstrate that the culture is inclusive, and that their are pathways to leadership for female talent.
Rebecca Topper is a Managing Principal Recruitment Consultant for Glocomms. She is a senior leader on the Software Recruitment team on Glocomms. She has worked within 3 different brands in the Phaidon International group, sharing her experience and industry expertise across multiple teams. For advice on building a diverse hiring strategy, get in touch with the Glocomms team.
About us
Glocomms is a leading specialist recruitment agency for the technology industry. Our continual investment in best-in-class technologies and consultant training enables us to recruit with speed, precision and accuracy. Today, Glocomms provides permanent, contract and multi-hire recruitment from our global hubs all over the world.