Closing The Gender Gap In Today's Tech Industry

Although gender discrimination is illegal today, the gender gap still persists, ranging from subtle to obvious in every industry. The tech industry is no exception.

Niyati Shah, Product Marketing Manager, at Synopsys Software Integrity Group

I often think about the difficulty one of my idols faced on the way to becoming the first female employee of a male-dominated industrial engineering company. Despite her capabilities, the company had refused to hire her because she was a woman. Although that kind of obvious discrimination is illegal today, the gender gap persists, ranging from subtle to obvious, in every industry. The tech industry is no exception.

Gender bias often keeps women from entering or staying in the tech industry. We can see how women with same expertise as their male counterparts are still offered lower salaries or lesser opportunities. We see how a woman or a person of minority gender in a leadership position is not taken seriously for their abilities. We are aware of the premium put on how presentable we are, how good we look, how “cool” we can be. Change in the perspectives toward all genders — but particularly women in tech — and a drive to create culture of inclusion can play huge role in reducing and closing the gender gap.

ADDRESSING THE GENDER GAP AT HOME AND WITHIN COMMUNITIES