Women in Leadership: Achieving an equal future in a COVID-19 World
The IWD 2021 campaign theme is #ChooseToChallenge
IWD is celebrated annually on the 8th of March to create awareness on the social, economic, cultural, and political advancements of women worldwide.
Over the course of our lives, we have experienced and heard about women deliberately placed on a lower pedestal than their male counterparts, so we seek to educate, and inform the general public about the need for equal rights and opportunities for all.
Men and women seek to advocate for a future free from stigma, stereotypes, and violence. To get us there, women need to be seated at the table where decisions are being made, in every field.
This year, the theme for IWD, Women in Leadership: Achieving an equal future in a COVID-19 world celebrates women shaping a more equal future in light of the COVID-19 pandemic and the challenges that accompanied it.
According to the Silicon Valley Bank Startup Outlook Survey, half of startups have no women on their leadership team, only about 40% of US startups have at least one woman in the C-suite or on the board of directors. It is worthy of note that more women pursue science-oriented degrees than engineering-focused ones, which tends to lead to an overall disparity in the number of women in tech leadership.
The tech industry is an exciting and constantly growing one, and women are not left out of this trend. A careful evaluation of challenges women face in tech will help streamline the problem and devise possible solutions.
1.Gap in remuneration and benefits: Women are known to earn lesser than their male colleagues, for the same role. Wage differentials have fallen substantially, as a result of awareness, and though we still have a long way to go to ensure this cuts across all industries, progress is being made.
2. Shortage of mentors and role models: The shortage of women to look up to often poses a major problem for girls looking to embrace tech. Tech-themed events, conferences, seminars, and bootcamps need to bring forth brilliant women making meaningful contributions to the tech world to motivate the audience and prove that women are doing it too.
According to a recent survey by Specops, some of the most recognizable female figures in the tech industry are :
- Susan Wojciki- CEO, YouTube
- Jacqeline de Rojas- President, techUK
- Marissa Mayer- CEO, Yahoo
- Ginni Rometty- CEO, IBM
- Dr. Sue Black- Computer Scientist
Bringing it home, we have the likes of:
- Omowale David-Ashiru- Country Director, Andela
- Khadijah Abu- Head of Product, Paystack
- Juliet Ehimuan- Country Manager, Google
- Adora Nwodo- Software Engineer, Microsoft
- Odunayo Eweniyi- Co-founder, Piggyvest
These women are constantly championing the change we desire. You can too!
3. Lack of confidence and support: Women tend to suffer from imposter syndrome a lot and this has tremendously affected their level of confidence, women need to own and take responsibility for their actions, celebrate their wins, no matter how little, and accept compliments when dished out.
Within the work environment, women need to uplift one another and engage in healthy competitions. Tech still remains the most accommodating industry and presents an almost equal playing ground, so much can be accomplished with just the right amount of dedication and consistency.
“Investing in women is smart economics, and investing in girls, catching them upstream is even smarter economics.” WTO-General, Dr Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala
At Dufuna, we strongly believe in empowering women with relevant skills, and that is why we partner with organisations including UK-Nigeria Tech Hub and AHK Nigeria to further bridge the gender gap within the tech space, and ultimately elevate them to leadership positions.
Amid a growing focus on the lack of women in tech leadership, there is evidence that women are filling executive roles. Progress is slow, but it is an improvement compared to previous years.
A challenged world is an alert world and from challenge comes change. So let’s all choose to challenge.
