The notoriously low numbers of women employed in technology industries are dwindling further in some countries, according to an infographic from Neomam Studios.
Women account for fewer than 20% of tech leadership positions in Europe, Asia and North and South America. In the US, just 26% of computing jobs were held by women in 2014, down from 37% in 1991. In Ireland, the percentage of women in maths, science and computing courses at universities fell from 47% to 37% between 2005 and 2014.
In SA, these figures are similarly low. Women in Tech ZA states that 23% of tech jobs in SA are held by women.
The 2015 ITWeb/CareerWeb Salary Survey found women in IT are underpaid compared to men in the same positions, with an average difference of just over R50 000 in annual salaries. The wage gap widens to almost R150 000 at executive management level.
Where innovation is concerned, the 2014 Global Entrepreneurship Monitor report found entrepreneurial activity for men in SA at 7.72%, compared to 6.29% for women. According to the 2015 Global Women Entrepreneurship Leaders Scorecard, women account for just 27% of senior managerial positions in SA.
Organisations working to address the gender imbalance in SA's tech industry include Women in IT, Women in Tech ZA, and WomEng (Women in Engineering). QualityLife will host its second annual Wired Women conference in October.
Click here to view the full infographic*.
*The infographic's listing of Ellen Pao as the CEO of Reddit is outdated. Pao resigned from this position on 10 July, following and massive backlash from Reddit users that contained several death threats and is heralded as an example of the violent sexism high-ranking women in tech often face.
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