Women are making huge strides in the tech industry, yet many companies are failing to notice. Rhian Morgan interviews the most influential woman in the UK IT industry, Jacqueline de Rojas, about changing the corporate culture

When Business Insider recently released a list of the top-voted tech chief executives, not one was female. And more than one in four companies in London’s tech sector employ no women at board level, other figures claim. Plus another study showed almost half of young women do not even consider careers in STEM sectors, put off by sexism (13 per cent), and a belief that men are better suited to the industry (9 per cent).

Jacqueline de Rojas is set to challenge all that. The Northern European VP of global software company Citrix was appointed president of techUK, which strives to change attitudes in the sector. She has recently been named Computer Weekly’s Most Influential Woman in the UK IT industry.

I talked to Jacqueline about her mission to encourage diversity in tech.

How do you think we can encourage more women to join the tech sector?

For many women, senior positions within the technology sector can feel out of reach. From male-dominated boardrooms to networking over golf and in the pub, not only can this industry be hard to break into, but the stereotypical boys’ club image is off-putting. This has to change if we are not only to recruit but retain women.

The number of women in senior posts in technology firms has increased over the past few years and female representation on FTSE 100 boards has increased from 12.5% in 2011 to 23.5% in 2015. There is, however, a lot of work to do before we reach the 50/50 mark. Part of breaking the glass ceiling is helping women understand they can reach these positions.

The first step calls for senior women in the industry to demonstrate that, despite the obstacles, women can still succeed in top roles. We need intelligent, ambitious women to recognise the huge opportunities for progression within the IT industry.

Secondly, emphasising the huge wealth of support is key. As role models, senior women in technology must not only articulate what women can achieve but also communicate the challenges they have overcome. We can make more of the brilliant community of women in technology supporting each other.
Lastly, creating more career options which appeal to women would help enormously. Technology companies can harness these solutions to encourage more women.

What is the main challenge facing women?

The culture needs to evolve. Practices are slowly changing as we use technology to enable a more productive and diverse workforce but we need to break barriers and adjust out-of-date perspectives. We risk starving the tech sector of a wealth of talent and insights while relegating Britain to an ‘also ran’ in the race to become a digital nation of significance. The tech industry is currently worth £100bn to the UK economy and women, along with other diverse groups, are crucial to the acceleration and growth of its future.

What are the benefits of having women on board?

Research has found women make a positive impact to a business’s bottom line. A recent McKinsey whitepaper looking at gender equality in French multinational firm Sodexo analysed the data from 50,000 managers worldwide, and found that teams with a male-female ratio between 40 and 60 per cent produce more sustained and predictable results than those of unbalanced teams.Having women on the board is also shown to be aligned with a positive performance. A catalyst study into corporate performance and women’s representation on boards in Fortune 500 Companies found those companies with more women board directors outperform those with the least on a return on capital investment by 66 per cent, on a return on sales by 42 per cent, and on a return on equity by 53 per cent.

Businesses, government and organisations must work together to tackle diversity, gender balance and digital inclusion to ensure more women are properly considered for senior roles. The value of increasing women’s representation in the workforce holds significant potential for not only companies but also the wider STEM industries in terms of innovation, collaboration and the creation of a competitive advantage.

How can new technology encourage a more flexible workforce?

With the rise of cloud and the consumerisation of IT, innumerable companies are professing the advantages of mobile working technologies and how it can be a key driver in attracting a diverse range of professionals. By harnessing these solutions, the technology industry can lead the way in breaking down some of the barriers. Businesses which offer flexible working options attract more women as well as diverse talent. This could massively reduce the drop-off in talent so frequently seen following maternity leave.

Breaking down barriers built around the traditional male-orientated work culture is important to ensure those working flexibly are as championed as their office counterparts.