At the tail end of this year’s Women’s Month, female executives have lauded the inclusion of women in the tech space, but cautioned against the stereotypes women still face today.
This was one of the takeaways from the Amazon Web Services (AWS) executive Women in Tech panel, which took place on the sidelines of the AWS Summit, in Johannesburg yesterday, where both local and international tech leaders detailed what got them across the line.
The six-women panel served as an opportunity for the industry’s female stars to share their journeys, discuss the challenges women face in tech and explore how to collectively overcome those.
The panellists included Old Mutual head of cloud enablement Devi Moodley, JSE COO Itumeleng Monale, AWS EMEA director of technology Melanie McGrory, One Linkage CEO and co-founder Hepsy Mkhungo, as well as incoming GM for AWS Sub-Saharan Africa Jyoti Ball.
Recounting a story about her start in the industry, McGrory said during her first interview, which was for sponsorship, she was confronted with the typical stereotype that women tend to leave their roles when they fall pregnant.
“There were those stereotypes and stereotypes still exist today, but there are fewer of them. I think that’s because of people taking a stand…we keep pushing and challenging, and I’ve seen a shift, with people being called out for language that’s inappropriate.
“I’ve witnessed this shift and people being more respectful of individuals. I do think that people are valued for what they bring – their authentic selves. There are still some challenges, because we still hear conversations like: Should we give this job to a woman?
“We’ve just got to remember to keep challenging, because the only way we will get that equality, diversity and inclusion in the workplace is down to us. Nobody is going to come with a magic wand and say what needs to be done. We are the ones that have to call out where we see something is wrong.”
As a woman in leadership in tech, McGrory noted she sets targets for recruitment. “I want 50% of my workforce to be women. I’m an inclusion sponsor and I get actively involved in those events. You can’t just stand on the sidelines and say ‘this is how we need to change’; you have to get involved. With all of that, I’ve seen an environment where people can turn up to work and be their true selves and be valued for that difference of opinion.
“We’ve also got to do more to encourage women back into the workforce and give them the flexible working environment they need in order to continue their careers.”
The JSE’s Monale added that women have faced challenges around the traditional dress code that some of the work environments require, for example.
As a result, women don’t show up as their authentic self to the office, she stated. “When you get to a leadership position, you can start challenging what’s normal and what should be normalised over time. However, at a junior level, most of us feel like we must conform, fit in, learn the game and then outplay all the other people – we arrive trying to out-men men.
“Ladies, we must understand that these systems were not designed for us. They were not designed with us in mind, and were designed when women were not in the world of work, never mind the world of technology.
“Therefore, women need to go in with a consciousness that says: ‘If I had to start from zero today for the population in the organisation, are its norms, principles and practices conducive to supporting that population?’
“The answer is generally no, so it’s most important to remember who you are before you arrive in an environment, to positively influence it towards something that is more conducive for the population today.
“There is enough critical mass of female leaders and females in general organisations where we need to start showing up and speaking up.”
According to statistics, only 23% of tech roles globally are filled by women, with even fewer in areas like cloud and DevOps.
The panellists agreed that getting more women to pursue science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) needs to start at a young age, engaging little girls as early as nursery school.
Moodley noted that getting young people interested in STEM for a career in tech starts too late in SA. “How do we get females into AI and hardcore technology if we don’t have a pipeline from which to choose from?
“In Eastern Europe and the Middle East, the gender parity in their education systems is really high. This is because they have programmes that focus on girls at a very young age and encourage girls to go into STEM.
“I believe the problem that exists, specifically within the South African education system, is the fear of maths and science in schools – they are positioned as hard. My dream is for a girl to choose a creative stream not because maths and science are hard, but because that’s her passion.
“There is this mental block towards maths and science, and therefore the pipeline going to high school and university is actually very small.”
The panellists also agreed a tech degree is not required in order to begin a tech career.
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