Gabriela
Will I be treated differently in an IT career as a woman?
I have heard that the IT industry is mostly men. So, I was wondering if I will be seen as a woman who is not capable of doing certain things. Will I be given the same opportunities? #technology #IT #information-technology #computer-science #computer
6 answers
Jaikumar Bhatia
Jaikumar’s Answer
Gabriela, women play various roles in IT. From System Analyst( gathering Requirements on what needs to be built) to Application Developers (coding the requirements in various languages like C#, Java etc) to Quality Assurance(testing the code and interfaces itself). They also lead projects as Project Managers. They help build databases, complete infrastructure work etc. I have seen women in all phases of IT projects and operations. When I started out of college I had little knowledge about our systems, how they integrated, how to code using company standards etc. My peers, both women and men, coached me to become better at my job. You will use the skills you learned in college and expand them ten fold. Everyone starts at some place and then grows as a professional. As long you have interest, the desire to work hard, learn and ask questions you will be successful and respected. Women are valued and well respected in our group. Their contributions, their thoughts and ideas are appreciated by all members of the team.
Archana Singh
Archana’s Answer
Great question, Gabriela. I can tell you based on my experience that women have held multiple positions within an organization in IT field, and continue to do so. There are definitely more males than females, however more and more organizations are focusing on diversity and inclusion, so I do believe the trend will change. I have never experienced treatment any different than another colleague. What is valued the most is hard work, integrity and passion for your job. I have been involved with multiple organizations like "Women Who Code" and "Society of Women Engineers", and I would encourage you to engage with such organizations to learn more about the industry and prepare yourself for a career in IT.
Adam Westerman
Adam’s Answer
That being said, if you can accept the challenge of being NOT in the majority, I think you can actually have MORE success because you are rarer. I know multiple amazing female CIOs, Managers, and very talented Individual Contributors. Diversity of THOUGHT is way more important than diversity of APPEARANCE.
Sherrill Moss
Sherrill’s Answer
That is an insightful question you pose. My career has spanned several decades and although I have witnessed many changes and more career opportunities for woman, it will be up to your generation to demand and achieve parity. Just remember that you deserve a seat at the table and your gender should have no impact on your opportunities. I look at the Board of the Fortune 500 companies and note that women only hold 10.6% of those positions. That is the bad news! But the good news is this is an increase of 18% since 1994. 50.8% of the US population is women, so that should be our goal for Board representation as well. I hope you will be one of those women who help to change the make-up of the Boards of US Corporations so women are represented more fairly.
My career has spanned several decades and although I have witnessed advancement for woman, but it will be up to your generation to demand and achieve parity. Just remember that you deserve a seat at the table and your gender should have no impact on your opportunities. I look at the Board of the Fortune 500 companies and note that women only hold 10.6% of those positions. That is the bad news! But the good news is this is an increase of 18% since 1994. 50.8% of the US population is women, so that should be our goal for Board representation as well. I hope you will be one of those women who help to change the make-up of the Boards of US Corporations so women are represented more fairly.
It will be up to your generation to demand parity. You deserve a seat at the table and your gender should have no impact on your opportunities. I look at the Board of the Fortune 500 companies and note that women only hold 10.6% of those positions. That is the bad news! But the good news is this is an increase of 18% since 1994. 50.8% of the US population is women, so that should be our goal for Board representation as well. I hope you will be one of those women who help to change the make-up of the Boards of US Corporations so women are represented more fairly. Good luck--I am rooting for you!
Gail OD
Gail’s Answer
Megan Day
Megan’s Answer
The short answer is unfortunately yes. My first experience started right off when I was hired at $10K less than a male colleague with the same experience. I didn't walk away at that time, because it allowed me to get into the company. My way of dealing with it was to run circles around this person and I became far more successful than he in the long run.
I love my work, it is interesting, challenging and a lot of fun at times. More than my work, I am so very thankful for the really amazing people that I've had the opportunity to work with and in many cases, are now a part of my life as good friends. My three best friends for many years are all male, as yes, it is still mostly a male dominated field. But as is the case with my friends, a good many of the males I know will never treat you as a second class citizen and you should never allow yourself to be treated as such.
If this is your area of passion, you will need to have thick skin and also be ready to stand-up for yourself, even if it means walking away from a job or a toxic environment. As more and more females go into the engineering field, I hope that this will change for the generations coming ahead.
Best of luck to you.
Megan