What would it take for business to really turn the dial on gender equality?

For years, we’ve been asking women what kind of changes they want to see in the workplace, and they have not disappointed.

Reports such as the 2025 Lovelace Report from Oliver Wyman and WeAreTechWomen or Work180’s series of What Women Want reports go into significant detail regarding the problems that drive women from the STEM workforce. They also make actionable suggestions as to what companies can do to move towards a more equal workplace.

But these changes still aren’t happening.

Even with a robust economic argument, eg, companies with women in over 30 percent of senior leadership positions are 15 percent more profitable, business activity on gender has either flatlined or regressed.

TechTalentCharter closed because a review of their data showed “a trend of D&I initiatives being sidelined and given lower priority across the sector.” Ada Lovelace Day closed because of a lack of financial support from industry.

Yet there are still lots of business leaders who believe in gender equality and want to do the right thing. So how can we help them?

I am about to start researching a report which will look at this problem from the other side of the fence: What experiences do business leaders have when working on gender equality? What practical, cultural, or structural barriers are preventing employers from executing recommended changes? What can we realistically fix and how?

I will be asking these key questions:

• What gender equity initiatives have been tried?
• Why did those that failed fail, and why did those that succeeded succeed?
• What prevents you from acting on more report recommendations?
• What cultural or knowledge-based barriers exist?
• What practical, financial or structural barriers exist?
• How could we successfully overcome these barriers?

My aim is to produce a practical roadmap for getting more women into leadership positions so that women, their colleagues and their employers can all benefit.

I’m delighted to say that Digital Science are the lead sponsor on this project, and I’ll be working with them on data collection and analysis.

If you’d like your company to sponsor this report, get results early, have a workshop or call to help you understand how to apply my findings to your company, and have your name/logo on our report, drop me a line!

Q&A with Boitshoko Phalatse, after her presentation from the Finding Ada Conference 2020.

Synopsis

This session will look at marrying old school methodologies with new school technologies and adaptation into digital educational platforms and resources. Our use of coding platforms to promote innovation and collaboration. My believe is that technologies such as case study simulations and AR/VR will expand the interest of STEM as a career choice within young girls in rural communities and reach the desired social breakthrough and advancement.

About Boitshoko

I enjoy the opportunity to revolutionise experiential learning through emerging technologies that introduce agility and automation. I strongly believe technology to be an integral role player in transforming communities. I have a strong passion for sharing knowledge I’ve gained along the way, learning and mentoring in the field and have participated in numerous panel discussions including the Harvard African Development Conference and guest lectured on Impact tech.

LinkedIn: /BoitshokoPahaltse

Boitshoko Phalatse’s presentation from the Finding Ada Conference 2020.

Synopsis

This session will look at marrying old school methodologies with new school technologies and adaptation into digital educational platforms and resources. Our use of coding platforms to promote innovation and collaboration. My believe is that technologies such as case study simulations and AR/VR will expand the interest of STEM as a career choice within young girls in rural communities and reach the desired social breakthrough and advancement.

About Boitshoko

I enjoy the opportunity to revolutionise experiential learning through emerging technologies that introduce agility and automation. I strongly believe technology to be an integral role player in transforming communities. I have a strong passion for sharing knowledge I’ve gained along the way, learning and mentoring in the field and have participated in numerous panel discussions including the Harvard African Development Conference and guest lectured on Impact tech.

LinkedIn: /BoitshokoPahaltse

Q&A with Erika Pessôa, after her presentation from the Finding Ada Conference 2020.

Synopsis

Somos Cintia is a podcast that has women, technology and gender equality as main topics in all episodes. This talk will discuss how this initiative is contributing to give and raise women’s voice, value their works, experiences and researches; how it has been inspiring other women to talk, tell their stories and/or pursuing a computer career. Also, it will share some challenges and tips on how to make a podcast in a “so specific” topic from scratch without any financial or material support.

About Erika

I’m from Pernambuco, Brazil and in the present time I’m pursuing a PhD in Computer Science, focusing on studying how to better retain women that choose a graduation in the computer science field and started this graduation to not give up while working at Thoughtworks Brazil as a developer consultant. I advocate gender equality and antiracism at all spaces and opportunities I have and I believe that the world can change to a better place for all if we all engage in this change.

Twitter: @EricaParaujo
LinkedIn: /erikapessoaa
Instagram: ProgramaEssaMenina!

Erika Pessôa’s presentation from the Finding Ada Conference 2020.

Synopsis

Somos Cintia is a podcast that has women, technology and gender equality as main topics in all episodes. This talk will discuss how this initiative is contributing to give and raise women’s voice, value their works, experiences and researches; how it has been inspiring other women to talk, tell their stories and/or pursuing a computer career. Also, it will share some challenges and tips on how to make a podcast in a “so specific” topic from scratch without any financial or material support.

About Erika

I’m from Pernambuco, Brazil and in the present time I’m pursuing a PhD in Computer Science, focusing on studying how to better retain women that choose a graduation in the computer science field and started this graduation to not give up while working at Thoughtworks Brazil as a developer consultant. I advocate gender equality and antiracism at all spaces and opportunities I have and I believe that the world can change to a better place for all if we all engage in this change.

Twitter: @EricaParaujo
LinkedIn: /erikapessoaa
Instagram: ProgramaEssaMenina!