Getting more women into IT: how your firm can rise to

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Getting more women into IT: how your firm can rise to the challenge

Name a famous engineer or technologist and most people would undoubtedly mention Steve Jobs, Bill Gates, Isambard Kingdom Brunel or George Stephenson. Being optimistic, perhaps Ada Lovelace or Martha Lane Fox might spring to mind.

But most people would, I think, struggle to name many women who have influenced the history of engineering or technology – which makes it unsurprising that young girls are not drawn to engineering and technology career.

Naomi Climer, the first female president of the Institution of Engineering and Technology (IET), writes exclusively for Hydrogen’s clients.

Diversity = Innovation

Why does this matter? It matters because the world needs more engineers and technologists if our economies are to continue to grow, and also because diverse teams are more innovative. The truth is that a more representative workforce would be a good outcome for everyone – not just for women. A lack of diversity means we are missing out on ideas and innovation that come from the different perspectives.

To achieve a more diverse workforce, we need more role models at every level to inspire young women by showing them what engineering and technology could look like for them. The world has changed a lot for women over the past 100 years. We earned the right to vote and have broken down boundaries in many professions – for example 50 per cent of GPs are now women, so why are we not seeing more modern-day female champions emerging in engineering and technology?

Female-friendly?

Less than one in 10 engineers in the UK today are women. This is a result of a number of factors – from the careers advice girls are given in schools, to schools not instilling girls with the confidence to opt for Science and Maths at A-level. But, it is also due to some employers needing to make their approach to recruitment and retention more female-friendly.

More female-friendly retention and recruitment practices are a vital part of solving the challenge. There are skilled women qualified to take up existing roles, but many are leaving the profession as soon as they graduate and I believe there are things that companies can do to attract and retain these qualified women.

The whole of the engineering profession – including men – need to pull together to help win this battle. There is no quick or simple fix. Instead, we need many small and subtle changes over time.

What your firm can do: words, pictures and publishing

Our recent Skills Survey found that 57 per cent of engineering businesses don’t have gender diversity initiatives in place. This could be as simple as things like routinely reviewing recruitment language or marketing images for engineering jobs. There are great examples of companies who have consistently worked on their diversity and it does make a difference. I would like to see companies over a certain size measure and publish their diversity figures including recruitment, retention, promotion and pay. This would help them to focus on the issue and also benchmark themselves against what other companies are achieving.

The Famous Five?

I would like to think that in 10 years’ time, many more people would be able to name a minimum of five women in engineering and technology. But this can only be achieved if we do more to create and promote these female role models and ambassadors. Is your organisation or company playing its part?

We need consistent efforts from parents, schools, and universities to encourage more girls to study Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) subjects and aspire to a career in engineering.

And from industry, a concerted effort to attract and retain female engineers and technologists who can help address the UK’s shortage of engineers – and bring a new perspective and skillset to the world’s big engineering and technology challenges.

Naomi Climer is President and Fellow of the IET. Until March 2015, Naomi was President of Sony’s new global division – Media Cloud Services, based in Los Angeles, USA, with a mission to develop cloud based services for all parts of the media industry worldwide. Previously, Naomi headed Sony’s B2B organisation in Europe (Sony Professional) providing R&D, Sales and Marketing, Systems Integration and Service covering diverse markets including media, broadcast, cinema, sports, security and healthcare.

After studying at Imperial College, London, Naomi trained as an Engineer at the BBC and has worked in technical roles in BBC Radio, BBC World Service and BBC News as well as at ITV and in local radio. In 2014, Naomi was awarded the International Association of Broadcast Manufacturers (IABM) Industry Woman of the Year.

Naomi has a strong interest in diversity issues and has been an active campaigner for gender diversity within Sony and within the engineering profession in the UK. As a result of this, Naomi was short-listed for a WISE Women of Outstanding Achievement Award For Leadership and Inspiration in 2012.

Naomi has been an active contributor to the IET through the Communications Policy Panel and as a member of the Board of Trustees since 2010. Naomi has also actively engaged with the Southern California Local Network since 2012 and brings this international IET perspective as well as global industry experience to IET HQ in the UK.

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"2025 and Beyond" Question and Answer session

26 Feb, 2024

Our webinar 2025 and Beyond: Why Your Hiring, Learning, and Culture Need to Evolve brought together thought leaders Enrique Rubio (Hacking HR), Lisa Skinner Källström (Teamtailor), and Hydrogen Group’s Dean Jennings and Michelle Miller. The conversation explored strategies used to tackle the challenges of the future workforce, shift organisational cultures towards lasting partnerships, and ensure teams are equipped for the age of artificial intelligence. _ The Q&A box was brimming! Our webinar offered participants the chance to consult our HR experts on addressing shifts in the people and culture realm as we approach 2024 and beyond. Interesting questions were raised, and we compiled them all to seek and reached out to our experts to get some definitive answers. For a recap on the webinar, check out our blog Navigating the Future: Insights from our Webinar "2025 and Beyond" So, here we are. Your questions - answered! - How can companies make people feel more secure in their jobs? Is it just a matter of increasing communication? Lisa suggested a shift towards a more sustainable approach. 'In recent years, we have seen many companies experience massive growth, and the need to get great talent onboard - hence offering extremely generous compensation packages. Unfortunately, many have now faced layoffs, and while the compensation and benefit strategies are not the sole reasons, I would like to propose a more sustainable approach for the future. [Increase benefits as the company grows, and as business results allow, we can increase pension levels or similar benefits – and discuss it internally! Open dialogue about results, investment choices, and their rationale fosters a sense of involvement among team members and signals the company's commitment to a sustainable direction.]' Dean echoed concerns about job security in today's volatile economy and advises, 'In today's uncertain economic climate, job security is a concern. However, by becoming indispensable and embracing tools like AI, individuals can enhance their value to employers, securing their positions for the future. Apart from using Chat GPT, what other tasks can be automated with AI? Lisa commented, ‘We’ve mentioned a few examples already, but I would look at all the systems your company allows you to use and question your suppliers on what features are or will be based on AI. For example, many applicant tracking systems allow the opportunity for AI to summarise CVs for an easy overview, generate interview questions and suggest more personalised replies to rejected candidates based on their CVs. Also, the opportunity for AI to transcribe an interview is an amazing tool which allows the interviewer to solely focus on listening and talking to a candidate as opposed to taking notes. As always, AI in these types of systems is not designed to make the decisions for a recruiter or business - but serve as an assistant to save time and work more efficiently.’ Dean added, ‘There are far too many to list. The AI directory https://aitoolsdirectory.com/ does a really good job of showcasing what does what and where you can find it.’ What is the impact of AI on employee engagement and how can HR teams use AI to promote engagement? Also, what precautions should professionals take when using AI? Dean offered his perspective by stating that ‘engagement and AI may seem contradictory, but there's a clear benefit when HR uses AI to streamline admin tasks, freeing up time for vital human interaction. Tools like Koios, for instance, offer Acoustic AI, helping HR understand team and individual personalities better, for more tailored approaches. Professionals must approach AI implementation carefully, ensuring ethical use to maintain trust and transparency in the workplace.’ How can we make sure our services stay personalised while using AI? Dean responded, ‘By leveraging AI to handle time-consuming tasks. The best thing about AI is that you get to choose what it does and what it doesn’t. If you feel strongly about human interaction to enable personalisation, you don’t have to let go of that – just embrace AI to make those interactions better. Get it to strip data in the background for you, or to type up your notes and actions as you have the conversations. The possibilities are endless, and they can be tailored to your needs.’ Within your businesses, have you experienced any resistance to the adoption of AI? How have you handled these objections? Dean responded, ‘A lot of the resistance I have seen has either been a fear of trying or a fear of being caught. There seems to be a negative connotation with AI, that if you get it to do something for you, are you cheating? The answer is a resounding no, you are working with the tools available to make yourself more productive for your organisation. Robot proof recruiter, if you haven’t read it, you should. Especially if you are a recruiter or if recruitment is part of your job role. I’ll spare you the details, but it is an amazing read that showcases the fact you can never take the people part out of recruitment - you’ll always be able to provide a better level of service than a robot (at least for now) and you need to focus on the parts of the process where human interaction is at its most vital and automate/utilise AI to get back time in your day to improve that social element of the process.’ Do you feel Employee Resource Groups will be on the rise with the future generation of workers? Dean replied, ‘A truly hybrid workplace cannot function effectively without the right technology in place. That doesn’t even need to be AI. For employees to feel a sense of belonging in a workplace, there should be a seamless experience that goes beyond just having teams up on 1 laptop in a room full of 30 people. Again, this will only advance with time ... my eutopia is to have my whole team (who are based in the UK + Thailand) sat around a virtual desk, on a beach with an interactive whiteboard we can utilise in real time via virtual and augmented reality. You may laugh now, but in the next couple of years, VR and AR tech will be the staple of hybrid working and teams coming together around the globe. This doesn’t take away from the in-person experience and nor do I think it should. It should be a tool that compliments real-time working solutions.’ How can we support older generation employees in the changing landscape? Dean offered his perspective, ‘AI is truly remarkable. It embodies the futuristic vision many of us had as children—computers and programs taking on tasks for us. For those uneasy about it, I believe it's a matter of not fully comprehending it or lacking the skills to use it effectively. AI has quietly become a part of the workplace, and many are still navigating its intricacies. The focus should be on empowering employees to leverage AI to enhance productivity and value to the organisation. Those who resist or fail to adapt won't be replaced by AI but by individuals who embrace change and view AI as a tool for greater contribution.’ How can we safeguard against the risk of AI stifling creativity in the workplace? Lisa said, ‘I would say the opposite, if we use AI for the more regular and routine tasks then we will have more time to use to be creative! For example, instead of spending hours on creating a presentation for an important project - let AI do this creating for you and spend the time on how you want to engage with your audience instead. Using ChatGPT to find easy tasks that I would previously have spent a lot of time on has been a big change in how I work and allows me find space in the day.’ Is there a regional divide across different parts of the world? Are Europeans more prone to appreciate safety/job security than Americans? Lisa commented, ‘My thoughts are that globally we have been through a lot in recent years, covid affected everyone regardless of location. After that, we had war in Europe for the first time in many years which had major effects on the economy, which I believe has made people appreciate job safety even more and value this in choosing their next employer. However, in some parts of Europe employees are still very protected by labour laws etc so I believe it is different from America where it is more common to have short notice period and less resistance from employers to terminate an employment.’ Expanding on the key themes discussed in our webinar, we're thrilled to introduce our Thrive Guide – a practical roadmap for building a thriving workplace. Within the Thrive Guide, discover actionable strategies to enhance employee engagement, foster diversity and inclusion, and implement flexible working models. Discover practical solutions to enhance workplace productivity and satisfaction. As our expert Dean Jennings emphasises, 'adapting to evolving workplace dynamics requires strategic initiatives.' This sentiment is echoed by other industry leaders in our webinar. In the Thrive Guide, these insights converge to offer practical solutions, providing a roadmap for organisations navigating change. Revolutionise your workplace. Download the Thrive Guide now!