THE proportion of women graduating with a computer science degree peaked around 1984 (37%) and then steadily declined. In Malaysia, women currently make up only 35% of the country’s total digital economy workforce, with the total number of women in the workforce standing at 6.1 million (55.6%).
While opportunities within cloud computing continue to grow, a majority of females in the workforce are struggling to achieve lasting advances. In my experience, the problem is twofold – first, not enough women are considering careers in cloud computing, and second, for those who do, many ultimately leave.
A more inclusive environment for women on your team
I’ve spent my career in technology, designing broad training programs and mentoring women, and have seen the positive corporate impact of encouraging women and underrepresented individuals to grow into IT leaders. Here are some of the key learnings I’ve seen along the way:
- Accept biases and actively work with your teams to combat it. It’s important to invest in helping your teams understand their own biases and how to actively interrupt them before they become a barrier.
We need to create mechanisms to reduce implicit prejudices, such as requiring training for combatting bias, both in formal situations such as addressing employee performance issues, and informal situations such as developing professional mentoring relationships.
These mechanisms should also include setting goals for hiring and promoting talent, by rethinking how your organization sources job applicants and ensuring that promotion-related training opportunities are available to a wide array of individuals.
- Nurture communities that build employee confidence. Ensure allyship exists for women and other underrepresented employees. Isolation can lead to imposter syndrome—an internal experience of believing that you are not as competent as others perceive you—and can cause individuals to leave their roles. Set the tone for inclusivity from the very top of the organization.
- Improve opportunities for career growth. There’s ample research that shows an employee’s relationship with their manager is the leading cause of retention—or attrition—in the workplace.
A manager’s key responsibility is to create an environment where employees can do their best work and continue to grow professionally—perhaps even outside the traditional bounds of the employee’s role. For example, I met a young woman at an IT consulting firm who wanted to build cloud skills among women in non-technical roles at her organization.
We hoped for 300 participants, but to date, almost 900 women have signed up for the program, which has support from the company’s senior leadership. Employees need to feel included, valued, and rewarded for their contributions.
- Reward risk taking and continuous feedback. There can be a tendency for employees to not speak up or propose a new idea unless they think they know the right answer or have done all the necessary research. This can lead to inefficiencies, lost productivity, decreased morale, and an imbalance in decision making within organizations.
At Amazon Web Services (AWS), we invite all employees to put their ideas down on paper in what we call a “narrative,” to encourage big thinking and feedback from across the organization. This practice allows our employees, regardless of their tenure, level, or role to bring ideas forward and get feedback from the highest levels of the organization.
- Acknowledge the need for a work-life balance. While women are now more educated and employed than ever before, statistically they continue to take on more of the household and familial responsibilities than men.
Encouraging a balanced approach towards non-work obligations boosts overall job satisfaction and appreciation among employees as well as long-term loyalty and productivity. We’ve learned a lot during this last year, and one thing we’ve taken away is that employees value employers who understand and honor the fullness of their lives.
What comes next
Throughout my life, I’ve seen the power of women helping women and watched as more and more women climb the ladder into leadership positions, including the recent inauguration of the first female US vice president, who is also woman of color.
As organizations work to foster a more diverse and inclusive environment, those of us with industry experience should not only find opportunities to learn as much as we can, but to use that knowledge—and our positions—to advance opportunities for women and underrepresented individuals. Ultimately, that’s what it’s all about.
By removing the barriers standing in their way, we can create a diverse community of leaders and builders of all skillsets to drive inclusivity, equity, and innovation around the world. – Aug 10, 2021
Maureen Lonergan is the Director of Training and Certification for Amazon Web Services (AWS), where she leads a team of builders committed to training the next generation of cloud talent.
The views expressed are solely of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Focus Malaysia.
Photo credit: Women’s web
