Our Mission as a Group to Bridge the Gender Gap and Raise Awareness about the Topic
Bitrock and Fortitude Group have looked for fresh optimism in 2021, following the global Covid-19 emergency, which has completely changed the game in the ICT market. In the past months, we have demonstrated our resilient and constructive attitude as a Group, and we are now ready to take on any new challenges with vigor, relying on the unrivaled passion and enthusiasm of all Bitrockers.
It is now time to revisit an old issue that has always defined the ICT industry and the STEM landscape in general: gender diversity and the effects of gender decisions in the near future.
Women in STEM
According to Gartner, 75% of organizations with frontline decision-making teams that represent a diverse and inclusive community would outperform their financial goals by 2022. Gender-diverse and inclusive teams also outperform gender-homogeneous, less inclusive teams by around 50%. It is thus without question that women can create enormous value for the entire digital sector.
One of the key problems is that in higher education, only a limited number of women choose STEM-related fields. Girls make up just 3% of students enrolled in information and communication technology (ICT) courses worldwide. Moreover, deep-seated gender roles and bias discourage women pursuing STEM careers.
Now it is our opportunity to turn things around and ensure that girls all over the world not only receive an education, but also see a bright future in STEM. For innovation and long-term, sustainable economic development, young girls with an interest in STEM must be empowered and inspired to pursue careers in technology.
Bridging the gap of gender diversity
As Bitrock, it is critical that we raise our own awareness (as well as the one of our stakeholders, partners, and collaborators) about the topic. As a tech company where men still make up the majority of the workforce, we agree that gender equality is not solely a female issue. We see this as a critical challenge that must be addressed immediately in order to achieve gender parity in the technology industry’s future.
As part of Fortitude Group, we at Bitrock are proud to endorse SheTech, a non-profit organization dedicated to bridging the gender gap in the tech and digital world. The community organizes networking activities as well as training courses to help girls and women learn new skills and job opportunities while also providing positive role models.
Bitrock is promoting new projects in the sector through this Partnership, which aims to increase the representation of women in technological and digital employment. We also hope to raise awareness of technology job roles among young women by participating in SheTech’s Digital Breakfast events and dedicated workshops, as well as debunk some of the myths that exist around technology employment.
Last but not least, all women in our Team have access to an annual membership, allowing them to participate in SheTech’s activities, training courses, bootcamps, and webinars: the ideal opportunity to gain new soft skills, network with peers, and make lifelong learning a priority in their careers.
Conclusions
Gender equality at all levels is a very effective success enabler. For this reason, we are actively participating in mentorships in order to create more opportunities for women. We have prioritized this in our Employer Branding strategy and set goals that will hopefully result in a rise in female employees.
To conclude on an optimistic note, we agree that if we all work together, the gender gap will narrow in the future, and we will continue to fight until we achieve full gender equality in the ICT field.
Stay tuned to discover all the events in partnership with SheTech we have in store for you!
Resources
- https://www.linkedin.com/company/shetech/
- Marinella Mastrosimone (UX/UI Expert @ Radicalbit) interview for SheTech Breakfast > https://lnkd.in/dgFKZPsG
