WOMEN IN TECH THE FACTS

The Center for Talent Innovation also found that women reported being channeled
into “execution” roles with less access to more creative or innovative technical roles
(Hewlett et al., 2008).
These patterns likely contribute to the fact that technical women report lower levels of satisfaction
with their careers than men. This, of course, influences the likelihood that these women will leave the
company. A survey of 25 high-profile tech companies revealed only 4 companies with women more
satisfied than men, 15 companies with men more satisfied than women, and 6 companies with equal
satisfaction (Glassdoor, 2014).
Importantly, as Figure 4.3 illustrates, recent data show that younger, early career women are
reporting greater dissatisfaction with their career prospects (Hewlett et al., 2014). This alarming
data indicates that these women are not seeing a future for themselves in the field. Companies are not
only poised to lose their most experienced employees, as illustrated by prior data on the flight of midcareer
women (discussed in Chapter 1), but are now increasingly faced with the threat of relatively new
employees leaving the field due to dissatisfaction with these careers.
FIG. 4.3 // Women Who Reported Feeling "Stuck in Place" by Age Group
35
30
25
20
15
10
5
0
31%
Ages
25–34
25% 26%
Ages
35–44
Ages
45–60
Rerendered from Hewlett et al., 2014
Both this sense of isolation and the feeling of being stalled in one’s career often translate to
attrition. Women who are isolated are not only less committed, but are 13 percent more likely than women
who do not report isolation to also report being unsatisfied with their job. Women who are not satisfied
with their jobs are 22 times more likely to leave than women who are satisfied. Likewise, women without
mentors or sponsors are also more likely to leave their companies (Hewlett et al., 2008).
38 WOMEN IN TECH: THE FACTS NCWIT // ncwit.org