At the WomenTech Network, we’re fortunate to have a wonderful, global community of ambassadors who help us spread the word about our work and who helped us make the WomenTech Global Conference 2020 a success and continue helping us on or mission to unite women in tech. We would like you to meet these wonderful people as well; therefore, we’re going to be introducing you to some of our most active members.
Today, get to know K. Sri Vardhan:
K. Sri Vardhan is a second-year student at G. Pulla Reddy Engineering College (Autonomous), studying Computer Science and Engineering. He's an active volunteer in different organizations, and is passionate about graphic design and the creative outlet it provides. K. Sri wants to be an entrepreneur, so that he becomes a job-provider. In the tech field, his interests lie in artificial intelligence because of its contribution to the exponential growth of different industries.
I feel women are always welcomed in tech industries; they are the backbone for the tech-field. They are equal as men, can work, can ideate, can share and prove.
In K. Sri’s Own Words:
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What is the best part of being women in tech industry?
“Women in technology,” words that echo with phrases like “long way to go”, “gender pay gap”, etc. There are lots of surveys that prove men make up significantly more than half of the job applicant pool in tech, while women are still underrepresented 16% of the time.
Step inside any office, and it’s easy to see that most aren’t staffed to be gender-equal.
The turnover rate is more than twice as high for women than it is for men in tech industry jobs — 41% versus 17%. Fifty-six percent of women in tech are leaving their employers mid-career.Of the women who leave, 24% off-ramp and take a non-technical job in a different company; 22% become self-employed in a tech field; 20% take time out of the workforce; and 10% go to work with a start-up company.
Yet women have wonderful experiences being women in the industry. Some insights that women share:
- Making a positive impact on my organization/the industry
- Encouraging other women to get into the industry
- Being surrounded by other women in tech
- Becoming a great multi-tasker as you master the art of working
- Some fantastic benefits of working in tech, including pay, career advancement opportunities, the chance to work with people all around the world, schedule flexibility, and the ability to work remotely.
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How can men help make the tech sector a better place for women?
Gender inequality has more than one face. Men play a crucial role in improving workplace diversity. These are some ways that men can make work a better place for women:
- Advocating for fair workplace policies
- Take parental leave
- Offer to mentor or sponsor
- Be mindful of harassment
- Give women credit for their ideas
- Don’t interrupt
- Speak up
Women in the tech workplace don’t need male saviors, but they certainly could use supportive allies of conscience and integrity. These allies are willing to hold themselves and their colleagues accountable and create a healthier and more equitable work environment for all—simply because it’s the right thing to do.
Many of them have the positional power to question the procedures and rules that affect hiring and advancement inside of their organizations. Simple things like having diversity policies, reducing gender bias in recruitment and interviewing practices, and encouraging contractors to do the same are easy for men in senior positions. Even men without positional power have the advantage of benefiting from cultural biases about what power looks like.
An angry man is passionate while an angry woman is unstable. A man can raise his voice to make a point while a woman doing the same would risk censure. Men can use that power in the workplace to ensure that women's' ideas are heard, that women get credit for their work and thoughts, and that women who exercise leadership in non-traditional ways are respected. In male-dominated spaces, like boardrooms and IT departments, gender diversity can only be achieved with combined effort.
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Do women in tech need to act like men to be successful?
There’s power in allowing yourself to be known and heard, in owning your own unique story, in using your authentic voice.
If we look at the canvass of the globe, we will find that male dominancy is obvious even in those countries where gender equality slogan is considered as a symbol of their success.
Most of the successfull women had been termed as Iron women, like men or strict ones.
In the prevailing environment, masculine attitude is a key to success for the ladies. But in an environment where workers are sensitive, caring, respectful, hard-working and devoted, the gender does not make any difference. Rather in such ideal working environment, females must be more successful as compared to males due to their caring and kind nature.Both women and men should use emotional intelligence more to understand the needs and motivations of employees.
