Candice Tillman“A woman in IT is like a guinea pig: not a guinea pig and not quite a woman. And not quite a programmer, and not quite a woman” – this joke was relished and played on many times by students and professors of technical universities. But the IT-industry is developing at an enormous pace: not only are the technologies rapidly becoming obsolete, but the gender stereotypes are becoming obsolete too. What roles do women play in IT today?
Pro Colleague
Top managers of major IT companies do not hide the fact that there is a place for gender inequality in their teams. At the recent Mobile World Congress, CEOs of IT and telecom companies were asked, “On a scale of 10 (10 being excellent, 1 being very bad), how do you rate the situation with gender equality in the IT industry?” Accenture’s managing director of communications, media and technology, Harry Hefernan, gave a 4, FTI Consulting’s director of strategy Caroline Das-Monfrace gave a 3.5, and AT&T vice president Bill Hague gave a 6. In other words, the tops’ answers ranged between “very poor” and “satisfactory.”
You can’t argue with the numbers: the gender gap still exists. If you happen to be the first woman in the IT-team, be prepared for a test of professionalism. One could argue that any recruit passes such a test, regardless of gender. But, as some female programmers rightly and ironically point out: if a male developer starts out as a junior, a woman starts out as a woman. She needs to prove that she can in no way less than a man, and that she is capable of taking on a project of any complexity. And this must be stated immediately – at the interview.
In IT-team, as in any other, there are tacit attitudes: for example, that the woman can not become a top-level professionals, because she has family obligations and childcare. For this reason, employers, when selecting candidates, prefer men, even if a woman has more experience.
Meanwhile, American women, thanks to their persistence, have already won a place under the technological sun and receive one of the highest salaries in this industry. According to Forbes’ ranking, the profession of software, application and software systems developer is in seventh place among the 25 highest paying professions for women. The average weekly income for this position is $1415. Slightly less is earned by female programmers at $1,302 per week (tenth in the ranking). Women IT managers have the highest salaries in IT, earning $1563 per week (fourth place).
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Female colleagues are thought to have a harder time finding common ground with male developers. Outside the IT sphere, there is a widespread stereotype that developers are special people so involved in their work that they live in their own world, and their character may seem bad at first glance: the constant concentration and immersion in work provoke chronic fatigue and emotional burnout syndromes. But when you begin to work with them on the same team, it becomes obvious that the image of bearded, stern guys does not correspond to reality. They are really passionate about what they do, so much so that even on vacation they are not likely to lie on the beach, but do something useful, such as learning a new programming language or reading professional literature. Finding a common language with such colleagues may not be that easy, but also not too difficult. Relationships in the IT-team are built the same way as in any other. To join a male team, it is enough to follow three unspoken rules:
- Maintain a professional level (not just for work projects). Women are becoming more and more involved in the life of IT communities. In last year’s Stackoverflow developer survey, the number of women was about 9%, but this year the number has increased, albeit slightly, to more than 11%. This means that women’s activity in professional communities will gradually melt away.
- Being part of a team: mixed teams work more efficiently – people with different perceptions are able to look at problems from different angles, generate more creative ideas, and create successful products. That’s why balancing roles on the team is important for both women and men.
- Being a trusted friend: In the field of interpersonal relationships, simple human qualities such as mutual support, trust, and, importantly, a sense of humor come to the fore. And these qualities do not depend on belonging to a particular sex and are individual in every person.
