Mexico. The data on female leadership seems to be improving year after year, and these dates are always a good opportunity to focus on the path we still need to chart to achieve greater parity and presence of women in technology companies and in terms of the occupation of management positions.
According to figures from the consulting firm Grant Thornton, first of all, there are more women than ever in the top positions. 28% of mid-market companies have a woman as CEO or managing director (MD), up from 15% in 2019. This trend is likely to lead to new diversity strategies focused on increasing diversity at the C-suite level and leading more companies towards gender parity.
Second, external pressures around ESG (Environmental, Social and Governance) factors require the creation of new strategies, including a determined push towards having more women in senior leadership. The establishment of global standards and regulations has an impact on companies to form diverse management teams.
The specific case of the technology sector indicates, according to UN data, that only 24% of professionals in science, technology, mathematics and engineering are women.
Science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM)-related occupations are an important set of high-paying jobs that are projected to increase in scope and importance in the future. Linkedin data on members' job profiles shows that women remain significantly underrepresented in the STEM workforce. Women account for nearly half (49.3%) of total employment in non-STEM occupations, but only 24% of all STEM workers.
In terms of positions within companies, women currently represent 29.4% of workers in junior positions; however, for senior leadership positions, such as VP and C-suite, representation drops to 17.8% and 12.4%, respectively. When it comes to artificial intelligence (AI) specifically, the availability of talent overall has increased six-fold between 2016 and 2022, but female representation in AI is progressing very slowly. Today, the percentage of women working in AI is about 30%, about 4 percentage points higher than in 2016.
In the specific case of Mexico, according to data from Endeavor, 44% of women are in the labor force; Regarding management roles, only 9% of technology companies are headed by a woman and only 23% of these types of companies have a co-founder, founder or director of some area.
At Infobip, for example, we are already 318 women throughout Latam in technical positions, of which 13 are Mexican executives, and the numbers are increasing year after year.
Getting Your Foot in the Door
Women aspiring to start a career in technology face numerous challenges, including the initial hurdle of landing a position in the industry.
Studies suggest that men apply for job openings if they meet 60% of the requirements, while women tend to apply only when they meet 100% of the requirements. This disparity, according to the Harvard Business Review, is not necessarily due to women not trusting their abilities. Rather, female candidates often consider it a waste of time and energy to apply for a position for which they do not meet all the requirements.
The now famous glass ceiling
Considering that more than 80% of job changes involve changing companies, studies indicate that promotions can be difficult to achieve. Women working in tech are likely to face additional barriers and are four times more likely than men to consider gender bias as an obstacle to promotion.
Although there is still a long way to go, there is hope and many actions and entities at a global level focused on ensuring that gender equality in technology achieves upward figures in the coming years.
It continues to be a key role for those women who are fortunate enough to occupy management positions in technology companies. To some extent, we pave the way for future generations to see us as role models, a source of inspiration to achieve their own goals and challenge any pre-established boundaries.
Text written by Fabiola Jiménez, Country Manager of Infobip Mexico.
