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By 2029, there will be 3.6 million computing jobs in the U.S., but there will only be enough college graduates with computing degrees to fill\u00a024% of these jobs<\/a>. For decades, the U.S. has\u00a0poured resources into improving gender representation<\/a>\u00a0in the tech industry. However, the numbers are not improving proportionately. Instead, they\u00a0have remained stagnant<\/a>, and initiatives are failing.<\/p>\n Women make up 57% of the overall workforce. Comparatively, women make up only\u00a027% of the workforce in the technology industry<\/a>. Of the 27% that join the technology industry, more than\u00a050% are likely to quit<\/a>\u00a0before the age of 35, and\u00a056% are likely to quit by midcareer<\/a>.<\/p>\n So, questions arise: Why does the technology industry have a retention problem? Why are women who are employed by the technology industry quitting in such high volumes? What factors contribute to this low retention of women in the technology industry, and what kind of support do women need to stay and succeed in it?<\/p>\n I\u2019m an\u00a0information science researcher<\/a>\u00a0who studies gender and information technology, women in STEM \u2013 science, technology, engineering and math \u2013 online communities and open source software. My team at the University of Tennessee conducted research to address these questions. We found that retention plays a large role in the gender disparity in the tech field and that online and physical spaces that support women can boost retention.<\/p>\n Research shows that women face many challenges in the tech industry. The\u00a0gender pay gap<\/a>\u00a0is severe. Women do not get the\u00a0same opportunities as men<\/a>; for example, only 18% of the chief information officers\/chief technology officers are women. And women receive unfair treatment.<\/p>\n My research team focused on the experiences of women in the tech industry with a particular focus on the treatment they receive in the workplace and the nature of support systems for women who succeed. We studied open-source software communities because open-source software communities are an extreme example of gender inequity. Seventy percent of all the software that supports technology infrastructure is open source, which makes open-source software integral to the future of the tech workforce. Yet women\u00a0make up only 9.8%<\/a>\u00a0of the people who contribute to open-source software projects.<\/p>\n In seeking answers to this retention problem of the tech industry, our research found that women\u2019s negative experiences range from\u00a0minor to severe harassment, sexism, discrimination and misogyny to explicit death threats<\/a>. Their expertise is challenged,\u00a0their contributions are not well-received<\/a>\u00a0and their roles are diminished. They face\u00a0constant harassment and deal with normalized abuse<\/a>, often hearing that \u201cguys will be guys,\u201d and they deal with isolation because they are often severely outnumbered by men.<\/p>\n The impact of these negative experiences shows evidence of multiple levels of harm. For example, the individual harm that a woman faces leads to incidental harm of other women being discouraged from participation, resulting in further collective harm for the open-source software community in the form of fewer women participating. Overall, these negative experiences are detrimental to the retention of women in open-source software and the tech industry in general.<\/p>\n Mainstream media often reports on open-source software\u2019s\u00a0toxic \u201ctech bro\u201d culture<\/a>. In recent years, high-profile leaders in open-source software have been exposed for their abusive behavior.<\/p>\n Open-source software icon Linus Torvalds stepped aside from the Linux kernel after his toxic, abusive emails to other developers were highlighted in the media. His decision to step down came as a result of questions about his\u00a0abusive behavior in discouraging women<\/a>\u00a0from working as Linux kernel programmers.<\/p>\n Another towering figure in this field,\u00a0Richard Stallman<\/a>, was pushed into resigning from the Free Software Foundation and MIT after a very successful career in open-source software because of his views on pedophilia, as well as a multitude of\u00a0sexual harassment cases from students and faculty at MIT over the course of 30 years<\/a>. These types of public incidents of unprofessional behavior from tech industry leaders have a chilling effect on the participation of women and perpetuate toxic behavior.<\/p>\nWomen quitting the tech industry<\/strong><\/h4>\n
The culture problem<\/strong><\/h4>\n
![56% are likely to quit by midcareer<\/a>.<\/p>\nSo, questions arise: Why does the technology industry have a retention problem? Why are women who are employed by the technology industry quitting in such high volumes? What factors contribute to this low retention of women in the technology industry, and what kind of support do women need to stay and succeed in it?<\/p>\nI\u2019m an\u00a0information science researcher<\/a>\u00a0who studies gender and information technology, women in STEM \u2013 science, technology, engineering and math \u2013 online communities and open source software. My team at the University of Tennessee conducted research to address these questions. We found that retention plays a large role in the gender disparity in the tech field and that online and physical spaces that support women can boost retention.<\/p>\nWomen quitting the tech industry<\/strong><\/h4>\nResearch shows that women face many challenges in the tech industry. The\u00a0gender pay gap<\/a>\u00a0is severe. Women do not get the\u00a0same opportunities as men<\/a>; for example, only 18% of the chief information officers\/chief technology officers are women. And women receive unfair treatment.<\/p>\nMy research team focused on the experiences of women in the tech industry with a particular focus on the treatment they receive in the workplace and the nature of support systems for women who succeed. We studied open-source software communities because open-source software communities are an extreme example of gender inequity. Seventy percent of all the software that supports technology infrastructure is open source, which makes open-source software integral to the future of the tech workforce. Yet women\u00a0make up only 9.8%<\/a>\u00a0of the people who contribute to open-source software projects.<\/p>\nIn seeking answers to this retention problem of the tech industry, our research found that women\u2019s negative experiences range from\u00a0minor to severe harassment, sexism, discrimination and misogyny to explicit death threats<\/a>. Their expertise is challenged,\u00a0their contributions are not well-received<\/a>\u00a0and their roles are diminished. They face\u00a0constant harassment and deal with normalized abuse<\/a>, often hearing that \u201cguys will be guys,\u201d and they deal with isolation because they are often severely outnumbered by men.<\/p>\nThe impact of these negative experiences shows evidence of multiple levels of harm. For example, the individual harm that a woman faces leads to incidental harm of other women being discouraged from participation, resulting in further collective harm for the open-source software community in the form of fewer women participating. Overall, these negative experiences are detrimental to the retention of women in open-source software and the tech industry in general.<\/p>\nThe culture problem<\/strong><\/h4>\nMainstream media often reports on open-source software\u2019s\u00a0toxic \u201ctech bro\u201d culture<\/a>. In recent years, high-profile leaders in open-source software have been exposed for their abusive behavior.<\/p>\nOpen-source software icon Linus Torvalds stepped aside from the Linux kernel after his toxic, abusive emails to other developers were highlighted in the media. His decision to step down came as a result of questions about his\u00a0abusive behavior in discouraging women<\/a>\u00a0from working as Linux kernel programmers.<\/p>\nAnother towering figure in this field,\u00a0Richard Stallman<\/a>, was pushed into resigning from the Free Software Foundation and MIT after a very successful career in open-source software because of his views on pedophilia, as well as a multitude of\u00a0sexual harassment cases from students and faculty at MIT over the course of 30 years<\/a>. These types of public incidents of unprofessional behavior from tech industry leaders have a chilling effect on the participation of women and perpetuate toxic behavior.<\/p>\n](\"https:\/\/www.spencerstuart.com\/-\/media\/images\/inline-images\/womenintech-062116-graphic-large.jpg\"){kind=link}