HD6060-.A84-2008-PDF-Athena-factor-Reversing-the-brain-drain-in-science,-engineering,-and-technology

The Athena Factor: Reversing the Brain Drain in Science, Engineering, and Technology
HBR Research Report
Part I: Antigens and Other Barriers
Chapter 1: The DNA of Opportunity
Shortages and Shortfalls
Companies are facing serious shortfalls in the supply of high-caliber talent across science,
engineering, and technology (SET). The headlines say it all: “Gates Sees Engineer Shortage
Looming” warns the Seattle Times. “Scramble for Scientists: Shortage Threatens to Slow Growth
of Booming Biotech Industry” laments the National Post. “As Jobs Sit Empty, Europe Debates
Its Future” bemoans the International Herald Tribune in a piece detailing how labor shortages
in engineering and computer science are limiting growth in Europe. And in “China’s Looming
Talent Shortage,” the McKinsey Quarterly warns of the dangers posed by China’s burgeoning talent
shortfall, particularly in scientific and engineering fields. According to the Economist, “The Battle
for Brain Power” is at its most intense in SET.4
The Bureau of Labor Statistics predicts that over the 2006–2016 period, job opportunities in SET
will grow five times faster than other sectors (jobs in network systems, for example, are expected
to grow by 53%).5 The supply of talent is not expected to keep up with the need. Demand for IT
professionals aged 35–45 is projected to grow by 25% over the next three decades, while the supply
is projected to actually shrink.6 Shortages are worldwide: NASSCOM forecasts a shortage of
500,000 professional employees in the technology sector in India by 2010.7 The EU is projecting
a shortfall of some 20 million skilled workers by 2030—most of them in technical fields.8 In
Germany alone, 22,000 engineering positions will not be filled owing to a shortage of qualified
applicants, which equates to a loss of $4.8 billion to the German economy.9
In the United States, private sector leaders are swinging into action, attempting to hire more
foreign-born or foreign-trained talent. To this end they are lobbying to relax immigration rules,
which since the attacks of 9/11 have become more restrictive. (The number of H-1B visas granted
by Congress has shrunk from 195,000 to 65,000 over the last six years.) In June 2007 Bill Gates of
Microsoft, Craig Barrett of Intel, and Edward Sweeney of National Semiconductor led a parade
of high-tech executives to Capitol Hill. They urged lawmakers to provide more visas for highly
qualified foreign workers needed to fill critical jobs in software engineering, computer science,
and basic research.
These “high-tech titans” failed to change Congress’s mind on the Immigration Bill.10 Antiimmigration
groups are well-organized and politically connected. U.S. computer programmers, for
example, have come together in a powerful lobbying group to make the case that H-1B workers
undercut the wages of American workers.
So what can companies do?
Gates, Barrett, and Sweeney would be well advised to focus on the female talent in their own
backyard—highly credentialed women with degrees in SET who make it through the educational
system and onto the lower rungs of the corporate career ladder only to quit in their mid- to late
30s, overwhelmed by hostile workplace cultures and extreme work pressures. There’s a great deal of
upside here. The female talent pipeline in SET is surprisingly rich and deep and can be leveraged
to fill the labor gaps noted above. A small number of targeted interventions by employers could
make a great deal of difference in allowing this important stream of talent to stay on track in
private sector SET careers.
A Rich Pool of Female Talent
Athena Factor survey data developed for this study show that 41% of highly qualified scientists,
engineers, and technologists on the lower rungs of corporate career ladders are women. Despite
the challenges and barriers girls face in the educational system and in our culture, a significant