Diversity in STEM: 3 insider tips from women in tech
A lot of progress has been made to diversify the tech industry; however, it is still very much dominated by men, with women making up only a third of the tech workforce in 2023, and only 25% of technical roles1. While this is presented to us as “women cracking the industry’s glass ceiling”, a staggering 76%2 of women in tech still report having been the target of discrimination in the workplace.
We asked members of our Women In Tech committee – which was set up to promote diversity and women in the tech industry and at Owkin – to share their experiences and advice for women in tech.
Think about your support system
“Mentorship is very important and it's becoming more and more important.”
—Nadia Jeremiah, Principal Scientist at Owkin
It’s vital to have a good relationship with your advisors, to understand your field and how to navigate it. Nadia points to the Owkin Mentorship program, which will boost and promote support within Owkin among women.
Liz Allen, Owkin’s Senior Marketing Marketing Manager for Data, has built relationships across multiple functions at Owkin and amongst Owkin’s partners, and found that the diversity of ideas across fields encouraged support and motivation.
“Over the past year and a half, I’ve worked with the product and engineering teams, data science teams, biomedical teams, academic partnerships teams and more. This has introduced me to some incredible women and opened my eyes to the unique work being done.”
That said, it’s important to not compare yourself to others, especially those who are more advanced in their careers. “Imposter syndrome is real and it’s not helped by trying to measure up to someone who is in a different chapter of their life.”
Work on your confidence
“Be self-confident!” beams Claire Baudier, Senior Research Scientist. Many of the people at Owkin have stellar track records and are extremely confident, she says, but there are times when even the most outwardly confident person can have self-doubts.
One way to combat this is to own compliments when you receive them. “It's not easy of course,” muses Claire, “so often we focus on critical feedback, but we have to keep track of the good things too.” Veteran tech employees can help newbies in this way by reassuring them about the quality of their work, and encouraging them. This kind of self-confidence is also vital when first applying to work in the industry.
”Do not put up any type of mental barrier,” says Ginevra Ferrarini, Senior Manager of Growth Projects. “I think there's a tendency to underestimate our capabilities… a woman reading a job description will always see what she doesn't have.” When Ginevra applied to work at Owkin – her first job in Tech – she knew that her CV didn’t totally match-up, but she decided to apply anyway, motivated by learning new things and applying her existing skills to new challenges.
Greater self-confidence, chimes in Nadia, also makes it easier to embrace your failures when they do come - and to learn from them. “This is the key to success in STEM.”
Be careful with advice
Particularly important is to be mindful of the advice you receive. “There's a lot of criticism, or maybe even attempts at creating barriers or lowering expectations for you,” says Adi Ravia, Director of Product in the Research & Technology department.
“ I think the biggest thing for me was to be able to sort through what looks like advice and set your own path.”
—Adi Ravia, Director of Product, Owkin.
Ginevra experienced this kind of biased advice at her previous job (outside the world of Tech). “I felt it was disrespectful, being mansplained how I should manage my career and my work choices. I really felt that it was simply wrong. Those people didn't care about me, they cared more about themselves.” Thankfully, she adds, Owkin is different:
“What I really like about the Owkin environment… in general is that there is a lot of diversity, so you have really a lot of role models.”
—Ginevra Ferrarini, Senior Manager of Growth Projects, Owkin.
In general, sometimes it’s hard to see if you are being treated differently, thinks Adi. The different gender dynamics weren’t clear to her until she had to manage a woman starting out in tech: “I was able to see the nuances of how her interactions in the workspace were very different to another man who started at the same time.”
So what can we do to make things better? “I think first and foremost is giving these women a seat at the table, right?” says Adi.
“Make sure that they're represented in a certain project or asking for their opinion in a crowded meeting, when they’ve not had the chance to speak.”
— Adi Ravia, Director of Product, Owkin.
Both Nadia and Ginvera also think that school outreach is vital to show female role-models in the tech space, something the Women in Tech committee is focussed on. “[We want] to reach out to high school students and to support education and representation of women in stem, ”says Nadia. “I think this is the major outlet in which we can have the biggest impact.”
All companies benefit from diversity. Statistically, teams solve problems more creatively and perform better when they have the benefit of broader lived experience. That’s why tech companies like Owkin aim to bring representation to all levels of their business. At Owkin, females represent 40% of the workforce, but there is more to be done. Companies have a responsibility to create spaces that allow everyone to express themselves to the fullest. In doing this, we can build workplaces that function to the highest possible level.
1 https://www2.deloitte.com/uk/en/insights/industry/technology/women-tech-leadership.html.
2 https://www.womenintech.co.uk/women-in-tech-survey-2023/
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