Latin America. Technology is the answer to many of humanity's problems, it is a science that understands neither geographical nor gender barriers and, on the contrary, has been responsible for democratizing access to opportunities.
According to a recent linkedin study, the presence of women in senior positions in the technology industry in Latin America increased by 18% in recent years, along with hiring for technical positions: technology directors by 60% and website developers by 43%.
However, and taking into account that women represent a little more than half of the world's population (about 7.3 billion), only between 20 and 25% study technology careers. According to the Global Alliance for Information on Technology and Services (WITSA), increasing female participation in this sector would represent an increase of 9 trillion euros per year in global GDP.
In addition, a report by the consulting firm McKinsey points out that if in the United States it were possible to guarantee gender equality between men and women in the field of Information Technology (IT), the country's GDP would increase by 26%.
In the Colombian case, regarding the data provided by the IT observatory of the Ministry of Information and Communications Technologies (MinTic), the participation of men in the technology industry is 61%, while that of women is 39%. This figure is complemented by the wage gap between men and women in the IT sector, which, according to the study published in 2018 by Ticjob.co, is 15%.
And although today technological adoption and digital transformation have had greater interference in education and companies, giving rise to new professions and roles, the existing gender gap is clear, which is still measured by the percentage of women who study in this area. Proof of this is that the IT Talent Scholarships granted by the Colombian Government are occupied by 76% by men and 24% by women. Likewise, the reality stands out compared to the enrollment to university careers where the female quota in careers such as Systems Engineering is 39% and in Electronic Engineering is only 18%.
"At Cisco we have been doing awareness and education about the technology market for several years. Therefore, we began to develop initiatives to eliminate gender barriers, enabling opportunities to educate, support and train current and future generations of women through Cisco Networking Academy.
This initiative currently has 124 academies, 280 instructors -16% women- and more than 39 thousand students a year, of which 24% are also women, "says Sandra Eslava, Manager of Digitalization and Industries for Latin America of Cisco, a leading company in the accompaniment of organizations, governments and communities towards digital transformation.
Understanding that diversity is a key factor that drives innovation and is a fundamental aspect for the development of the technology sector, companies are now more aware of the role that women occupy in the labor market, specifically in the technological area.
Booking.com, a leading digital technology travel company, presented new findings from a study that seeks to uncover the experiences and perceptions of women working in the tech sector and stated that 4 out of 5 women currently working in the industry are looking to stay there in the next 5 to 10 years; 9 out of 10 women say they would recommend young women to study a career related to technology; and 38% of those who already work in the sector have the opportunity to work for gender equity.
Sandra Eslava, Cisco's Manager of Digitalization and Industries for Latin America, says the company's career plan has allowed the women in the organization to evolve steadily. "Digitalization makes skills and talent matter a lot, and we start to develop different skills. I, for example, am an electronic engineer with a specialization in process control and it has been, precisely, the revolution of those skills that has allowed me to have an important role within the industry. Women are very good at structuring, regulating, analyzing and organizing things in a specific way and at a pace that makes us stand out showing a great differential, so we need an active development of talent and skills to address the current technological gap, "she adds.
At Cisco, the entire month of March will be dedicated to elevating the role and capabilities of women in the technology industry, highlighting fundamental pillars each week: inspire, give back, develop and celebrate. Each country, including Colombia, will develop activities that foster connection and learning.
It is no secret that women's talent contributes to generating diversity, quality and competitiveness in the education system and in the labor market, which is why it is so important that companies in the sector continue to promote initiatives that boost their knowledge and experience. The popularization of the internet, the digital transformation and the establishment of electronic commerce in Colombia and in the world are consolidated as opportunities for ICT talent, including women.
