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Despite the recent push for gender equality in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) careers, women are still the minority in these fields. Change doesn’t happen overnight, but there are tangible actions we can all take to balance the scales.
The last decade has brought a surge in awareness and support for young women who aspire to be scientists, engineers and innovative game-changers in technology-related fields. While organizations like Girls Who Code are making strides in closing the gender gap, additional structural change is needed across the globe so that we can establish a more inclusive culture for future generations. For example, women make up 48% of the US workforce – but only represent 27% of the 10.8 million Americans working in STEM[1]; and the number is even smaller in the UK, where women make up only 24% of the STEM workforce[2].
In my career, I started out coding, and I began to solve complex challenges through technology and product development. Now, I lead globally dispersed product and development teams that are creating solutions to simplify the complex world of travel. Throughout my career, I have seen personally how culture follows structure. In fact, studies have shown that in large established groups, culture (as well as behavior and mindset) is influenced by changes in the organizational system and design. This means, that in order to really change culture, we have to start with changing the organizational system. I believe this approach can apply outside of organizations as well - we just have to think about structural changes in equality so that cultural change can follow. We cannot ‘will’ cultural change into existence. It only comes about through actions.
Gender stereotypes are a catalyst that can lead to negative, uncomfortable environments for women in STEM; and it’s not difficult to imagine that these factors could also contribute to other career paths. Looking back, as I compare my experiences with other women in STEM careers, I realize I am very fortunate that I have received a lot of support from both male and female leaders. It was probably more important to my development than I realized at the time.
In my role leading product teams at Travelport, I am re-locating to Mexico from the UK to lead the creation of our new technology hub in Guadalajara this year. Consider the technology talent in Guadalajara, Mexico for a moment. The city has earned the name “the Silicon Valley of Mexico” as the local government has helped to facilitate the growth of technology research and development across the region. It’s a tech hotspot where companies like IBM, Intel and HP have established thriving R&D facilities. And despite Guadalajara’s dozens of technology-focused universities and available jobs, only 8% of women in Mexico are choosing a STEM-related career[3].
As Travelport is growing our technology team in the region, I’ve made it my mission to ensure we are implementing the proper equity structures to embed an inclusive environment for women in engineering and product development roles from the start. And on a global level, I believe we, as a society, have an opportunity to bring more diversity into the technology sector and grow our abilities to solve problems and innovate – if, and only if, we can stop excluding women and minorities from what we view a successful technology leader to look like.
Looking across the travel and technology industries, I believe there are four things we can all be doing now to encourage future generations of women to pursue fulfilling careers in technology and engineering.
Many of my male colleagues throughout my career are in full support of women in STEM. Many have recognized their own unconscious biases as they thought about their own daughters, nieces, sisters and female friends. Many have seen the ceilings they may have unintentionally installed. We should all be striving to remove gender bias from our home life, as well as our work life.
This International Women’s Day, I hope that as we celebrate all of the women that have broken glass ceilings and charted a new course for future female leaders, that we also reflect on the existing stereotypes that will continue to hold future generations back if we let them.
It’s important that we, as a global society, start making these changes now to help encourage young girls to pursue their interests in science and technology for future generations. Because at the end of the day, a world without diversity would be a very boring place. So let’s #BreakTheBias!
Authored by Sharon Doyle, GVP Global Product Management at Travelport
[1] https://www.census.gov/library/stories/2021/01/women-making-gains-in-stem-occupations-but-still-underrepresented.html
[2] https://www.stemwomen.com/blog/2021/01/women-in-stem-percentages-of-women-in-stem-statistics#:~:text=In%202019%2C%20the%20government%20data,working%20in%20core%20STEM%20occupations!&text=Since%202016%2C%20the%20number%20of,for%20the%20first%20time%20ever!
[3] https://www.generationunlimited.org/stories/youth-bridging-science-gender-gaps-mexico#:~:text=In%20Mexico%2C%20the%20path%20of,career%2C%20according%20to%20the%20OECD.
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