In the UK, the proportion of female CEOs is 26%, up +9pp compared with 2020. The senior management roles where women are best represented are HR Director (49%), CFO (35%) and Chief Marketing Officer (30%). Globally, there are more women across operational C-suite roles compared to last year, with the proportion of female CEOs up to 26%. This is good news, but in the tech industry, women hold just 10%* of leadership roles. There is still a lot of work to do!
At SC 66% of our senior leadership team are women. This is not by design, but SC deliberately strives to build a company where every person is valued and celebrated for their unique contributions and create an environment where people are encouraged to flourish – and the women right now are doing just that!
How does Simply Commerce support women in tech?
1. We recently interviewed Shimona Mehta MD of Shopify. Shimona’s expertise spans retail, technology, food and beverage sectors. She is focused on shaping the future of commerce by overseeing Shopify’s innovative commerce platform that enables high-growth and high-volume brands, such as Gymshark, Emma Bridgewater, AllBirds and Heinz.
As a women in tech, we asked Shimona to tell us about any difficulties she has overcome being a woman in a male-dominated industry. Shimona explained that she’s often found herself in professional circumstances where she is the only female. Listen to her best advice on finding advocates in the workplace and being your authentic self on episode 4 of our podcast The FOD – Future Of Digital Commerce here.
2. Plus our very own Holly Langley has started RAW (Recruitments Awesome Women) group in LinkedIn to
- celebrate women’s achievements.
- raise awareness against bias.
- take action for equality.
Holly says ‘Right now, only 28% of recruitment agencies have a female representative at leadership or board level. We’re determined to change that statistic, and together we’ll delve a little deeper into what women can contribute to these roles and what companies and leaders can do to move more women into senior roles.’ Read Holly’s Newsletter on LinkedIn here.
3. We are also trialing an AI-based app that reveals hidden gender bias in writing out job descriptions. We know that unconscious bias in language isn’t always obvious or intuitive, so we are using an app to ensure our job descriptions are inclusive, and we attract people from the widest possible pool of qualified candidates. The app is also designed to encourage healthy communication across the company using language that is considered positive and inclusive.
So what does the future look like for women in tech? Meaningful changes are at play and the industry is becoming increasingly inclusive and representative. These shifts are only possible because of strong men and women leading the charge and demanding a better environment.
#IWD2022 #BreakTheBias
References: *Computerworld.com (2021)
