WOMEN IN TECH THE FACTS

COMPETING LIFE RESPONSIBILITIES: Failure to Provide Flexible Options Has
Consequences for ALL employees and for the Company
Women in SET report experiencing significantly more pressure to put in “face time” and to be “available
24/7” than do women in other sectors (Hewlett et al., 2008).
FIG. 4.8 // Extreme Job Pressures: Women in SET Compared with All Sectors
Work More Than 100 Hours Per Week
3%
8%
SET
All Sectors
Need to be Available 24/7
26%
36%
Work With or Manage Colleagues in Multiple Timezones
14%
54%
Feel Pressure to Put in Extensive Face-Time
19%
71%
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80
Rerendered from Hewlett et al., 2008
Additional pressures to working extreme hours include:
• “Relocation or relegation”—that is, the idea that one must be willing to relocate or their
work will be relegated to others—a norm which favors men and younger single employees
without family concerns.
• Shorter runway for “career takeoff “ and a more rapidly changing industry as compared to
other non-SET industries.
These pressures often make it difficult for employees to access flexible work schedules and manage
competing life responsibilities such as family care (Hewlett et al., 2014).
Interestingly, both men and women believe that being family-oriented is not associated
with success in technology. Many mid-level women report experiencing a “family penalty” where
supervisors assign them less important or fewer high-visibility tasks. Likewise, many men also
experience family responsibilities as a potential roadblock to advancement.
44 WOMEN IN TECH: THE FACTS NCWIT // ncwit.org