On a recent board call, I was asked directly why it’s so hard to find and keep women in tech.
Before I could answer, someone on the call answered with words learned in corporate-sponsored training.
Now I’m not trying to throw anyone under the proverbial bus. I am sure this gentleman’s intentions were in the right place. But we can’t reduce it to a uniform bullet-point list of reasons why women don’t enter and stay in tech. It is not possible to include women in one training event. If you want to understand exactly what women are saying, let them say it As an individual.
We are different. Our experiences are different. Our brains think and receive information in different ways. These differences should be respected and not reduced to bullet points. So that begs the question: why aren’t more women technically in it? Why is the poverty rate for women in technology double that of our male counterparts? How do we address gender inequality?
Provide HR tools to recruit and retain female talent
We need to give HR departments the tools to assess and develop soft and transferable skills in our existing workforce. Instead of poaching talent from each other, we need more internship programs and internships in data center jobs. We learn from each other and value certifications, on-the-job training, and many different orapps for this industry.
Think about it: Even with engineers, programmers, cyber professionals and other specialized roles in the data center, an entire site can fail due to dust-related problems without simple cleaning. A data center is an ecosystem, and every skill level is critical to its survival. Why aren’t we celebrating the depth and breadth of employment opportunities across our ecosystem?
Raise women in leadership
In our business leadership, event panels and presentations, and in the general information center space, we seek more female role models to reflect the desired makeup of our industry.
Women want to work in companies where they can see career growth for themselves. Whether it’s true or perceived – after all, the perception is true – women can pass up a company if they don’t see themselves on the road in today’s man.
All-male C-Suites and all-male boards do not provide that vision. Companies led by women do better financially. Companies with more women on their boards realize more rewards.
Sponsor training programs for early career women
Additionally, we need more schools and programs to reach young women. While code academies are startups, they represent a small portion of the industry. Young students who don’t like coding often abandon technology altogether.
From construction to the cloud, we need to showcase more roles in the data center industry and get women where they want to work. We should celebrate creative “hands-on” talent as much as boardroom talent.
Provide sponsorship and mentorship
It is a shame that experienced workers are leaving not only their jobs but the entire industry. We need to ensure that women in the data center industry are exposed to other areas in the ecosystem. Skills in one area may translate well to another specialty. One does not have to be “techy” to work in a data center position.
If we want to work meaningfully for gender equality, companies must embrace women and their needs. If you have a corporate team building activity that excludes any women, realize that you are cutting off resources that you could use. Ask what they need. Could this all be as simple as a conversation?