Gender equality in the workplace - for greater profitability
The IT industry is anything but gender equal. It is still a male-dominated industry. The imbalance starts in the education system, where few women are attracted to technical courses. At the same time, there is an acute shortage of IT experts and the skills gap is real. What is the real cost of gender inequality in the workplace?
The pervasive digitalization taking place both in Sweden and globally has made the digital sector a strong growth force in the business community. However, this continued growth is threatened by the lack of cutting-edge skills. Figures from IT&Telecomföretagen show that around 70,000 people with IT or digitally related skills will be missing by 2022 unless special efforts are made.
- It is clear that inequality in the IT industry can be linked to the skills shortage. It costs companies a lot of money to have to turn down business because they lack the staff to do the work involved. The IT and telecom industry cannot afford to only one-dimensionally attract men. Instead, the industry should take the lead in promoting gender equality in the workplace to attract more people,' says Anna Wahl, vice-rector of the Royal Institute of Technology (KTH) in Stockholm with special responsibility for values and gender equality issues.
A company's gender equality work must be linked to its core business
One basis for a more equal working life is to link the issue of gender equality to the activities and core values of each company, organization or industry. For the IT and telecom industry, in addition to skills supply, it is very much about the profitability aspect.
- 'If you're in business, for example, you talk a lot about profitability and the importance of economic thinking. So you have to show how you can link the gender equality issue to the profitability of the company,' says Anna Wahl. 'You should ask yourself questions like, what is it that says that gender inequality is profitable? And, why should you argue for gender equality instead of examining the unprofitable aspects of gender inequality?
But how can you prove that gender equality is profitable?
- You have to think in a more fundamental way. Research on unequal organizations shows that it's really about costs. What are the costs of discrimination and inequality in the workplace, and what are the associated ill-health rates? What markets are companies missing out on because of gender inequality? Basically, it is about producing figures, to report in dollars and cents what an unequal working life costs companies, the business community and the IT and telecom industry annually.
Gender equality at work is the key to success
Why do we need a gender-equal working life?
- We can turn it around. A large part of the success of Swedish business is due to the fact that we have been working on these issues for a long time. Paternity leave and increasingly equal pay - much of what we claim today would not exist without years of active gender equality work.
What role does the Academy play? There is already an imbalance in technical education.
- "It's a real problem that it's still very male-dominated at KTH, for example. And it has nothing to do with women's technical skills. A very male-dominated environment is created right from the studies and onwards," says Anna Wahl.
She continues:
- It is about changing the image of the technical professions at an early stage and providing good information to younger girls, schoolchildren. Showing that technical education is a relevant arena for them too. Studies show that if you want to attract more groups than those with a purely technical interest, usually boys, you need to highlight the education from a different perspective than that it is difficult and technical. Phrases like "this education is important because then you can solve these social problems" are the way forward.
