The Tech sector has long held a reputation as a male dominated industry yet in a poll conducted in March 2024 by Maara, a total of 93% of respondents felt that female representation within the technology sector has increased in the past 5 years.
The landscape of the technology industry is shifting, and a crucial part of this transformation is the increasing presence and leadership of women. The big 5 in tech (Microsoft, Apple, Amazon, Google and Meta) have on average a 30% female employee base with women in senior positions ranging from 14% at Amazon to 34% at Meta (Microsoft UK has 40%). The Credit Suisse Gender 3000* report found that female representation at senior levels has increased with a global average of 24% women sitting on corporate boards and 20% in C- suite roles.
Whilst it is expected that female representation at senior levels will take time to balance as more women filter up the organisation, the increased gender diversity at more junior levels is encouraging with mid-sized tech firms showing as being 53% of the most balanced employers globally.
So why is it important to increase female diversity within technology?
Whilst it doesn’t suggest at causality, the Credit Suisse Gender 3000* report showed a clear correlation between greater gender diversity within companies and share price performance. Whilst research from McKinsey* found that companies in the top quartile for gender diversity on executive teams were 25% more likely to have above average profitability, and that there was a 48% separation in terms of outperformance between the most and least gender-diverse companies. The Credit Suisse Gender 3000* report also
suggests that companies with a higher gender diversity have 25% higher innovation revenue on average. Whilst this indicates that these companies are more able to be creative, problem solving and productive it can also be assumed that this increase in innovation revenue will lead to a competitive edge.
It seems from research that there is a clear financial benefit to increasing gender diversity not withstanding other benefits in terms of innovation, productivity, and product quality that this brings to companies.
Working with clients across diverse technology sectors, at Maara we are interested in the impact that this shift is having both on the role specific opportunities being creating and the wider way in which the technology landscape is changing. Speaking with female leaders across some of the sectors in which Maara operates, we explored the experiences of these women who have forged their own paths in tech, looking at the challenges they've faced, the strides they've made, and their vision for the future.
For this piece we have interviewed Dr. Fiona Withey, CEO and Founder of TrakCel, Anya Doherty, CEO and Founder of Foodsteps, Katarzyna Szostak, EU Head of HR at Kellton Tech & Claire Bedington, Head of Projects at Valto.
Whilst this piece is written based on the experiences of these female leaders, it is important to note that we are not advocating for gender diversity as an increased quota or required business metric or as selective exclusion of others but are advocating for a wider acceptance of diversity throughout businesses enabling a variety of background, life experiences and opinions. It is our belief at Maara and was echoed by the women interviewed, that hiring the best person for the role irrespective of factors outside of their skills and ability creates the most powerful teams and businesses.
Finding their Spark:
The journeys of these women into tech stemmed from diverse motivations. Anya, drawn to the power of data, saw technology’s potential for positive impact. Fiona, witnessing the inefficiency of outdated systems, embraced technology to revolutionise supply chains and enable medical advancements. For Katarzyna and Clare, they discovered a new passion in the fast-paced world of tech start-ups.
What became clear during our conversations was that technology, data and science careers are becoming more available, achievable and interesting to women from a younger age. Through improvements in the focus of STEM through schools and as technology becomes an everyday part of our lives and experience, none of the women we spoke with considered gender as a barrier to them embarking on careers within the technology industry.
Navigating Challenges:
Whilst all leaders will face challenges and hurdles in their personal and business development, during our conversations all of the women acknowledged challenges they encountered, particular to being female in a still largely male dominated space. Three key aspects really stood out, working environment, funding availability and visibility.
One interviewee recounted the initial culture shock of transitioning from a mixed corporate environment to a male-dominated tech start-up, highlighting the feeling of isolation that working within a non-diverse team can bring. This can also be felt as a barrier to some areas of technology for women such as in engineering and development teams which remain majoritively male dominated rather than other areas of focus such as product design and research which have a more balanced gender profile.
As diversity improves so will these informal support structures with access to female networks and mentors cited as one of the aspects most beneficial to women in developing their careers within technology spaces. The recent removal of longstanding barriers such as working location and flexibility have benefitted all employees and have played a part in enabling more women to have develop to senior positions making businesses more able to attract, retain and develop diverse teams. This “snowball” effect was highlighted in a 2023 Glassdoor survey* which found that 67% of people consider a company’s diversity factor when choosing whether to accept an offer.
Whilst figures show that female entrepreneurship has increased over the past 5 years with the ratio of Female:Male startups at 0.72, one interviewee highlighted the difficulty in securing funding as a female founder. With only 1.9% of female founded businesses receiving VC funding in 2023* and currently no female founded businesses in the top 100 unicorns globally, this is clearly an aspect that deserves further investigation especially given the financial benefits of gender diverse companies highlighted by the research mentioned above. With dedicated assets under management devoted to “gender less investing” increasing ($US 10 billion in 2021) as well as wider VC funding which it can be assumed is awarded without unconscious bias, questions need to be asked about why this imbalance exists.
What are the application levels of female vs male founded businesses and the reasons for declined funding? Are women less prone to take risks in starting businesses? Are there process related barriers which are affecting the number of female founded businesses getting access to funding discussions? Do women favour growing businesses organically without the need for external fundraising? Whatever the reason for this imbalance, it is clear that there is an enormous gap in the funding generated between female and male founded businesses and this needs to be addressed for the wider benefit. If young woman feel that they are unable to get their ideas to market there is no doubt that there will be discoveries, ideas and potential technology breakthroughs which will be lost.
All interviewees mentioned the importance and lack of female role models within the tech sector although acknowledged that this is improving. This was supported by our poll with 33% of respondents reporting that they felt female representation was not increasing at a senior level. It is widely acknowledged that role models increase the belief in young people to pursue a chosen path. During our conversations, all of the women identified the importance in senior mentors and role models in their own journeys. A 2023 Leanin & McKinsey report* found that women who have a senior level mentor are 15% more likely to be promoted to manager within the year.
Leading the Way:
These women, now in leadership positions, are actively shaping the future of tech and in doing so shaping the way in which businesses operate. All are leading with a focus and emphasis on open communication and inclusivity, transforming their company cultures into ones that value and encourage different perspectives and their businesses are thriving as a result of this.
Aware of the need for strong role models, and a desire to make genuine change in the sector, all of the women are actively championing women in tech, establishing mentorship programs to share and inspire other women within their businesses and the wider tech world. They all commented on how much personal satisfaction this aspect of their professional work brings them, enabling them to share their experiences and learnings and to inspire and develop the next generation of women into technology.
When asked what advice they would give to young women looking to start a career in the technology sector the responses were consistent. Build a network, find a mentor or role model who can share their experience and lessons. Confidence and belief are everything. A career is a life learning, never be afraid to ask and never believe you know everything.
A Brighter Future:
The collective vision of these women paints a promising picture for the future. Their experience, vision and enthusiasm is evolving the landscape of tech where leading by example, advocating for inclusivity and creatively aligning world challenges with technology based solutions they are paving the way for a more equitable and impactful industry. They see that a more balanced industry, with greater female representation and wider diversity, will foster innovation, collaboration, and a broader range of perspectives. They emphasise the importance of encouraging young women, providing role models, and reducing existing barriers to entry. They see the need for continued grass routes programmes that address gender imbalance in education and believe that as the use of technology in our daily lives continues to increase, so will the interest amongst young women to become a part of this space. The Nominet Digital Youth study* showed that 64% of female respondents want to develop a career focused on technology, compared to 78% of males.
With this future interest and focus amongst young girls, and the experience and representation of a growing number of female leaders, the future balance of the sector looks very different to today.
Quoted Research links
*Credit Suisse Gender 3000 Report
*McKinsey research
*Glassdoor survey
*Tech Crunch.com arkcle
*Boston Consulkng Group study reported in annual NWBC report
*Nominet Digital Youth Study
Company and Personal Bios
Dr. Fiona Withey, CEO & Founder TrakCel
TrakCel is the first and leading global provider of integrated cellular orchestrakon solukons for the precise management, control and tracking of cell and gene therapy products. We provide cell and gene therapy somware solukons that offer visibility, insight and scalability to streamline the value chain and the delivery of therapies to pakents.
With the largest number of live clinical trial and commercial therapy deployments and supporkng the broadest number of therapy classes in industry, TrakCel has built a deep understanding of the unique challenges faced by advanced therapy developers globally.
Dr Fiona Withey is a co-founder of TrakCel with over 25 years of experience in senior leadership and CEO roles within the pharmaceukcal industry primarily focussed on clinical and commercial supply chain management. She holds a PhD in Biochemical Engineering and a first degree in Biology and Chemistry.
Fiona is passionate about and firmly posikons people, client partnerships and ulkmately the pakents that the therapies are treakng at the forefront of TrakCel’s ethos and culture. She has a wealth of experience and a proven track record in people management, business development, operakons and project management and is focussed on ensuring the teams are conknually developed and highly mokvated to deliver projects on kme, within specificakon, within budget and to the highest levels of client saksfackon.
A member of the Board of Directors of both TrakCel and MediWales, Fiona has also served on the Welsh Government Life Sciences advisory panel, UK Women’s Business Council and the Secretary of State for Wales, UK Government, Wales Economic Advisory Board.
Anya Doherty, CEO & Founder Foodsteps
With food creakng 26% of global greenhouse gas emissions, Foodsteps are a UK food-tech startup dedicated to helping the food industry further measure, understand, report and communicate the carbon impact of their recipes, products and food items - making sustainability targets easier to achieve. From Life Cycle Assessments from farm to fork to carbon rakng labels on your menus - Foodsteps offers an inclusive data suite which is easy to use for any team.
Anya is the founder and CEO of Foodsteps, a technology plaoorm that empowers food businesses to become sustainability leaders. Over the past three years, Foodsteps has become a trusted plaoorm for food businesses in the UK and globally to measure, improve, and communicate their environmental impact. Before founding Foodsteps, Anya conducted research at the University of Cambridge on the environmental impact of food supply chains.
She is a co-author of the largest scienkfic study into carbon labelling of food and also serves as a trustee and advisor to two non-profits in the food and environmental space. As a young leader of a green-tech enterprise, Anya is paving the way for a fundamental shim in the approach to sustainability in both the food and tech worlds.
Katarzyna Szostak, EU Head of HR Kellton Tech
Over the years, Kellton has grown into a full-service IT solukons provider with a global presence. Kellton has grown through a combinakon of organic growth and strategic
acquisikons. We now have offices in the United States, Europe, and Asia, and it serves clients in a wide range of industries, including healthcare, finance, retail, and manufacturing.
As EU Head of HR for Kellton, Katarzyna leads the growth of all teams within the European region. She has been instrumental in creakng and maintaining a strong company culture whilst embracing the fast growth and Global expansion of Kellton. Since joining Kellton, Katarzyna has helped increase the female representakon from 2 to 22 including 4 in leadership roles and 5 area experts.
Claire Bedington, Head of Projects Valto
Valto, the Best Microsom Partner in the World. Valto are specialist Microsom Partners commiqed to revolukonising IT infrastructure through moden workplace technology and digital transformakon. As a Microsom Solukons Partner, we have experkse in Azure, Microsom 365, cyber security and all other Microsom 365 services. Our goal is to help companies leverage the latest Microsom tools and improve interackons with employees, customers and suppliers.
Following a long-standing career in Financial Services, Claire joined Valto to head up the projects team implemenkng and refining processes and policies across the business. As part of the Valto Leadership Team, Claire advocates for the health and well being of all Valto staff, works on inikakves which promote social responsibility and mental health impackng staff, customers and the local community. Claire is a highly regarded leader within the business and has helped Valto diversify the team through strategic hires promokng women in tech. Outside of her role at Valto, Claire mentors women and supports those going through significant medical treatment.