Creating Seats at the Tech Table: How to Challenge Female Bias

The tech industry globally is still dominated by men – so much so that when PWC asked 2,000 students to name a woman in tech, 80% of them were at a loss for words. Perhaps this lack of visibility and recognition is one of the reasons why only 27% of women said they would consider a career in technology. Either way, it certainly highlights that the industry has work to do to foster a welcoming environment for women to work and thrive in.

But while these statistics are alarming, there are also signs of change worth nurturing. Despite the burden of the pandemic on women juggling their careers and home life, large tech firms have maintained a small but upward trajectory in female representation. This provides a glimmer of hope that we as organizations can build on by supporting women’s careers in tech with home-grown initiatives.

Change From Within

As the proverb says, be the change you want to see. Organizations need to take responsibility and start leading the way for the tech industry to make the necessary leap toward diversity. This change must come from within to eradicate a bias against women in tech. In fact, it’s high time there is more diversity in general, be it gender, race, age or other social factors. Rather than waiting for the systemic cultural change within tech to happen, there needs to be a greater focus on how organizations can make a difference.

On the topic of gender diversity, there are some key areas to get right. It should go without saying that the typical discrepancy between male and female salaries must be removed. According to a 2021 survey, 59% of the time, men in tech were offered higher salaries than women for the same job title. On average, these female salaries were 2.5% less than those offered to the men. Pay parity shouldn’t even be a topic of conversation, but sadly it still is and clearly needs to be addressed.

To encourage women to apply and increase female representation within the tech workforce, we need to offer equal and competitive salaries that reflect the level of work and skill required. Hiring and interviewing processes should be inclusive and ensure accurate criteria are listed on

job specifications. And organizations need to provide appropriate training and mentoring opportunities for female hires.

How We’re Breaking the Bias

It’s important to us at Juniper to practice what we preach. And as a company in the tech industry, it’s our mission to ensure that our organization is as diverse as possible. To tackle the issue of gender bias, we’re focused on triggering change within key areas and through specific initiatives.

Our partnership with TechWomen sponsors under-represented female leaders so that more women with different backgrounds and life experiences have a chance to excel and inspire others. And in terms of training and mentorships, our company-wide Women’s Leadership Programs support female employees with a year-long development program focused on coaching, collaboration, visibility and growth. Now in its -fifth year, over 180 of participants have graduated from the programs. We created The Juniper Foundation over a decade ago, which continues to support organizations committed to empowering girls coming up in the next generation and helping fund education projects for women in underprivileged societies.

Juniper has pledged our commitment to establish salary equality as the corporate norm by signing the Paradigm for Parity. We also prioritize our female workforce’s involvement in projects fully based on merit, built around their experienced capabilities at depth across all and every function within the company. And we leverage global events such as International Women’s Day and our many women’s groups to invite guest speakers to share perspectives and discuss the benefits of cultivating diversity with other Juniper colleagues.

Looking Ahead

According to research from Deloitte Global, women make up 33% of the workforce in large tech firms in 2022. And although below half, it’s still encouraging to note that this is up 2% since 2019. Though progress is gradual, complete change won’t happen overnight, so we should celebrate any step in the right direction and continue working hard at it.

At Juniper, we believe that a collection of small changes can amount to a significant shift toward a more diverse workforce and remove gender bias within organizations. There’s still a long way to go, but to look at it optimistically, the actions taken by many companies so far are signs of progress, nonetheless. And if we all try to improve from within – we have the power to change the culture of an entire industry.