WOMEN IN TECH THE FACTS

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ISOLATION: Lack of Sponsors & Informal Networks Reduces Sense of Belonging Technical women identify isolation and a lack of mentorship or sponsorship as one of the key barriers to their retention and advancement. In one large-scale study, 30 percent of women in private-sector SET jobs said they felt extremely isolated at work (Hewlett et al., 2014). In a prior study, 40 percent of U.S. women in SET jobs reported lacking role models, while nearly half reported lacking mentors, and 84 percent reported lacking sponsors—that is, someone who would help make them and their accomplishments visible with the right people at the right time within the organization (Hewlett et al., 2008). FIG. 4.1 // Women Lack Role Models, Mentors, and Sponsors Across SET Lack Role Models 25% 43% 40% Science Engineering Technology Lack Mentors 38% 51% 47% Lack Sponsors 88% 87% 84% 0 20 40 60 80 100 Rerendered from Hewlett et al., 2008 Similarly, in another study, more than one-third of women perceived that the following affected their advancement to either a “great” or “very great” extent (Simard et al., 2008): • Lack of role models • Lack of mentors, sponsors, or champions who make their accomplishments visible • Being excluded from the networks of key decision-makers 36 WOMEN IN TECH: THE FACTS NCWIT // ncwit.org
This experience of isolation reduces a sense of belonging for many females (and other underrepresented employees), AND it negatively affects their ability to fully develop their talents. In one study, more than 1 in 5 technical women felt that the following factors—closely related to having few mentors, sponsors, or informal networks—hindered their advancement to a “great” or “very great” extent” (Hewlett et al., 2014): • Having a limited number of important or special job assignments that are highly valued by higher-level managers. • Not understanding the “unwritten rules” or norms of my company or department. Women in Technical Fields Find Themselves “Stalled” Similarly, the Center for Talent Innovation reports that 80 percent of Science, Engineering, and Technology (SET) women “say they love their work,” but 32 percent “say they feel stalled and are likely to quit their jobs within a year.” (Hewlett et al., 2014). Feeling stalled also varies by race/ethnicity. As Figure 4.2 details, African American women experience the highest perceived stall rates at 48 percent. Thirty-four percent of White women feel stalled, and 32 percent Asian and Hispanic women feel stalled (Hewlett et al., 2014). FIG. 4.2 // Women’s Perceived SET Stall Rates 50 40 48% 30 20 10 32% 32% 34% 0 Hispanic Women Asian Women White Women African American Women Hewlett et al., 2014 WOMEN IN TECH: THE FACTS 37
Page 1 and 2: WOMEN IN TECH: THE FACTS 2016 UPDAT
Page 3 and 4: Find Out How Your Company Might Be
Page 5 and 6: WAYS TO USE THIS REPORT • Make th
Page 7 and 8: Performance Evaluation & Promotion
Page 9 and 10: What are the trends over time? For
Page 11 and 12: FEMALE RETENTION: What are the rate
Page 13 and 14: Only 20 percent of the women who le
Page 15 and 16: FIG. 1.9 // Percent of U.S. Female-
Page 17 and 18: Although it may be tempting to conc
Page 19 and 20: Importantly, despite these and othe
Page 21 and 22: When job satisfaction is low, WOMEN
Page 23 and 24: However, these schemas also lead us
Page 25 and 26: Stereotype Threat Stereotype threat
Page 27 and 28: Gender or Color-Invisibility Indivi
Page 29 and 30: THE PARADOX OF MERITOCRACY: Thinkin
Page 31 and 32: JOB ADS: Biased and Exclusionary La
Page 33 and 34: Relying on the same short-list of u
Page 35 and 36: Women referred for entry-level tech
Page 37: MANAGERIAL RELATIONSHIPS: Employees
Page 41 and 42: Mentor vs Sponsors: Do You Know the
Page 43 and 44: In general, across industries and o
Page 45 and 46: For example, many women report that
Page 47 and 48: In fact, as Figure 4.9 illustrates,
Page 49 and 50: FIG. 4.11 // Family Highly Valued f
Page 51 and 52: And the Plot Thickens: Dual Tech Ca
Page 53 and 54: SETTING THE STAGE FOR SUCCESS: A Wo
Page 55 and 56: eaching their goals. For example, i
Page 57 and 58: MINORITY-GROUPS ARE NOT BROKEN or i
Page 59 and 60: Examining potential biases in perfo
Page 61 and 62: Stories Inspire Action Consider the
Page 63 and 64: Ensure diverse interview teams. Jus
Page 65 and 66: Create company-wide development opp
Page 67 and 68: CHANGE MODEL FOCUS AREA #4 PERFORMA
Page 69 and 70: Model flexible practices at the exe
Page 71 and 72: Emerson, K. T., & Murphy, M. C. (20
Page 73: Simard as cited in Lebowitz, S. (20

WOMEN IN TECH THE FACTS

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