Tech Nation, March 8, 2022 9 min read
We are proud to celebrate International Women’s Day (IWD) 2022. Here at Tech Nation, we want to take this opportunity to shine a light on some of our wonderful female tech founders and leaders. This year’s IWD theme is #BreakTheBias – focused on the stereotypes and discrimination that women face in different aspects of their lives and that have led to entrenched societal gender inequality.
The tech industry suffers from its very own set of biases that challenge women’s entrepreneurial journeys. According to Girls Who Code, about 74% of young girls express interest in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) jobs for their future. However, WISE reports that only 24% of STEM roles are actually held by women, and TechCrunch highlights that only 5% of leadership positions in the technology industry are held by women.
As noted by PwC, gender bias in STEM starts in women’s young schooling years, which inevitably influences their later career paths. For those women who do end up working in tech, other biases await.
As our founders underline in this article, working in a startup implies a heavy focus on fundraising – but according to the FT, less than 1% of venture capital funds in the UK go to all-female founder teams. Compounded by the male-dominated nature of the sector in which they work, the fundraising gender gap can have an effect on women’s sense of legitimacy or credibility, as some of our founders point out. To remedy this, they emphasise the need to know their subjects like the back of their hand, to network, and to leverage their so-called “feminine” skills.
The sometimes chaotic nature of working in a startup also means a strain on work-life balance, which must be addressed to create a diverse and inclusive work culture. To manoeuver this challenge, founders highlight the need to ensure that women are given flexibility or a range of benefits that empower women to be successful at their job while taking care of their other important responsibilities.
PwC has found that women are in fact “much more committed to choosing a career that enables them to make a positive difference to the world around them”. Knowing the transformative potential of technology in all areas of society, we must encourage women to join the tech workforce, so that they can play an equal role in shaping the future for all of us.
How do you like to empower women in your company/team?
I wholeheartedly believe that the way to get the best from colleagues is to create an environment in which they can thrive, recognising that as working women we will likely be spinning multiple plates at a time. Colleagues are encouraged to be honest about what they need to ensure they have a good worklife balance. Whatever the challenge may be, our colleagues work flexible hours so they can work around other commitments – be it a sports day, school run, visit to the vets or elder care. As a female CEO, I also model this behaviour and I’m honest about how challenging life can sometimes be, rather than present myself as some sort of superwoman as I think this narrative is actually negative and unrealistic.
“As a female CEO, I’m honest about how challenging life can sometimes be, rather than present myself as some sort of superwoman as I think this narrative is actually negative and unrealistic.”
What is one piece of advice you would share with young women that want to join the technology/startup industry?
Be brave and take up space. It is very easy to become ruled by fear and to allow it to paralyse and stunt your growth. There is a quote I recite when I am overcome with fear, which says: “Bravery is not the absence of fear, but the action in the face of fear.” Having a bias to action and commitment to move forward is what has kept me going on this startup journey, and part of that action is confidently entering the spaces you need to in order to get things done. Do not let others tell you where you belong and do not worry about whether you belong there; your only concern is the outcome and impact you want to achieve.
What is one piece of advice you would share with young women that want to join the technology/start-up industry?
Be brave and don’t be put off – there are huge opportunities out there to really grow yourself as the company does the same. Research and prep to understand what the startup industry is all about and how it differs from joining a corporate, as they are very different environments; you need to decide which one is suited to what you want out of your life and work.
What is one piece of advice you would share with young women that want to join the technology/startup industry?
Don’t be intimidated by technology, as it is nothing more than an enabler to automate solutions for everyday problems. Technology is for everyone, which means you should have the confidence to use your voice and get creative, because there will always be people that benefit from what you bring to the table.
How do you like to empower women in your company/team?
Every member of the team owns their brief. This means they are empowered to make decisions and be accountable for making those decisions. Team members also need to complete a self-development task that they share back to the team at the end of the week.
What is one piece of advice you would share with young women that want to join the technology/startup industry?
My advice is be yourself and stay curious. Contrary to popular belief, the tech and startup industry can actually suit everyone – don’t buy into the hype and personality cults of what ‘founders’ should or shouldn’t be. Do you, surround yourself with a great support network and focus on excellence.
“My advice is be yourself and stay curious.”
What are your tips for building an inclusive tech company?
I always remain approachable to offer advice, set clear expectations and provide feedback. I constantly evaluate and highlight someone’s strengths in one-to-ones or team meetings, not only to give them confidence but to discuss openly how they can use those strengths to further progress in their role.
How do you like to empower women in your company/team?
We challenge women in our business to think big. Where do they want to go? What do they want to be? We then work hard to provide an environment that facilitates this for them. People will come to Financielle to grow.
What are your tips for building an inclusive tech company?
View technology as a vehicle to solving your problem and recognise that everyone is on their own journey to embracing technology. Our team have embraced technology because they can see the difference it is making to their job and people’s lives, so they are keen to learn more.
Fundraising is tough for all women – the stats speak for themselves. But I promise these things help:
How do you like to empower women in your company/team?
TriMedika is an innovative medical device manufacturer founded by two women, something that is not common within the medtech industry, so it’s unquestionable that the female voices are amplified and empowered within our company. TriMedika focuses on six core values that we believe are important for teamwork and morale. Core Value champions were elected by the team and are empowered to make the values come alive through internal messaging and fun ‘away-days.’
What are your tips for building an inclusive tech company?
Create an environment that genuinely celebrates people’s differences. Make sure your company’s benefits reflect and support the diversity you want to see in your team, and make sure everyone’s communication style is considered, respected and encouraged. Everyone wants to be heard, but not everyone will be comfortable to shout – make sure they don’t have to.
How do you like to empower women in your company/team?
Personally, I have seen women ignore some of the more female-orientated behaviours which are typically under-valued – such as empathy, intuition and care. As a female leader, I try to encourage the women in our team to find confidence and strength in these behaviours, which tend not to be talked about as heavily as other forms of more ‘typical’ leadership styles which are exhibited by men. While all these behaviours from both men and women are valuable, I find that women sometimes lack the confidence to leverage these skills, and so I try to ensure that we pay correct attention and acknowledge these behaviours openly so women can feel empowered by these behaviours and not hindered by them.
What are your tips on building an inclusive tech company?
When building The Tyre Collective, our ethos is centered around working with an interdisciplinary diverse team to develop our technology, and actively supporting open knowledge and research. We prioritize collective action and collaboration to create tangible change. To achieve interdisciplinary work one must structure their companies to encourage free flowing ideas.
“Having a female founder helps to give representation from the highest position in the company, which I hope enables ambition and encouragement to thrive in women.”
How do you like to empower women in your company/team?
We have some incredible women across our business in departments – from technology and formulations to marketing and NPD. I think that having a female founder helps to give them representation from the highest position in the company, which I hope enables their ambition and encourages them to thrive in their positions. I am constantly impressed by their work ethic, dedication and passion and it is an honour to work with the ladies in our company.
Ignore the stereotypes of what the startup/tech world looks like and do some digging to understand the huge variety of skills needed. Although so much of the noise about working in tech revolves around developer and technical skills, that’s not the full story!
Do your homework to understand the full spectrum of opportunities in tech – the sector needs everything from UX, UI, Product and Project Management all the way through to marketing, design and talent management. I guarantee that there will be something that aligns with your interest and skillset and is needed in tech scaleups across the country.
Deliberately diversify your team as soon as humanly possible – the first 20-50 hires are your cultural cofounders that will set the tone for everything that comes next. Creating an inclusive organisation (from a variety of diverse perspectives) is so much easier to do from scratch than trying to retrofit it later.
Be as diligent about the culture you’re building (and how inclusive it is) as you are about the product you’re building. Get used to challenging behaviours and practices (even the small ones) that go contrary to the environment you want to create – you’ll need to be prepared to do that consistently and for a long time before as your organisation grows.
Last but definitely not least, get familiar with the Tech Nation D&I toolkit and tell us what’s missing! We’re thrilled to be able to bring you some practical guidance and would love to know how else we can help.
