March is Women’s History Month and is a time for us to remember the adversities women have faced and overcome to reach this present. However, we must not forget that we are still falling behind in some matters regarding equity. Today, women remain underrepresented in many fields, such as science, technology, engineering, and mathematics.

To this day, the technology industry continues to be predominantly dominated by men. According to Deloitte Global’s projections, global tech enterprises were expected to have a female representation of approximately 33% by 2022. In Uruguay, the percentage of women employed within the tech industry in 2019 was 32%, according to data provided by CUTI. That percentage decreases to only 22% for women in Manager or Specialist positions.

What are the advantages of having more women in tech?

• Increase business revenue. In research conducted by McKinsey, the more gender diversity a company has, the higher its likelihood of outperforming competitors. Companies with over 30% women in executive positions are more likely to outperform those with 10–30% or fewer women executives. The difference in outperformance likelihood between the most and least gender-diverse companies is 48%.
• Development of better products. Diversity leads to innovation and the construction of more inclusive technologies by designing more balanced products.
• Build fairer societies. UNESCO points out that in the future, about 75% of the jobs will be related to the STEM field. If we do not guarantee women’s access to this field, this will result in great inequity of opportunities for women and, consequently, a vastly unequal society.

We are taking action to address this issue by creating a gender committee, organizing gender talks, and encouraging spaces for reflection and discussion.

This year, we plan to build networks with other important community actors to share and exchange ideas.

So, what can companies do to build more gender-equitable spaces? Here are some recommendations based on my experience:

• Create spaces for discussing and addressing gender inequality, such as gender committees or other platforms.
• Identify and address any internalized biases or prejudices.
• Recognize that gender-neutral spaces don’t exist and take steps to address this within the company.
• Work on this issue in a sustained, committed, and consistent manner.

Gender equity is a problem that affects us all, and it requires a multi-faceted approach. At GoGrow, we are committed to increasing the representation of women in tech and creating more equitable workplaces.