There are very few Women in Tech (too few?). Of the 120 companies in the Next 40-FT120, the index of the most promising nuggets of French Tech, only 7 were co-founded or are led by women. Worse: 56 % of women working in tech would leave their position mid-career. In France, the share of women in Tech is even declining. Depressing. Especially when we think about the place that digital technology is taking in our lives. But how to change?
It's not a skills problem
The lack of women in Tech is not due to a difference between men and women in terms of scientific skills. Little girls are often even more brilliant than boys during their schooling. A majority of “Good” and “Very Good” honors in Bac S are obtained by girls. Yet very few continue their higher studies in scientific subjects.
We can even recall that, in the past, women were almost equal to men in “tech” professions. In 1984, the peak year, 40 % of degrees in the United States in computer science are awarded to women, compared to 22 % today.
The myth of the geek
What changed in the 80s? The democratization of computing with the arrival of microcomputers in homes. Before, when IT professions were still matters for specialists in a small, closed world, men and women each found their place. With the arrival of the microcomputer, advertising transforms and orients representations. The computer becomes an instrument of power. It is sold to men to enable them to manage the family budget and IT as the profession of the future for boys.
Isabelle Collet, author on the subjects of women and Tech, explains “Around these microcomputers, small groups of technophile adolescents have formed, hostile to girls, at an age where identity issues push them to position themselves as masculine boys facing the “other” group, that of girls (Vouillot, 1999). » (Source)
It was also at this time, under the influence of science fiction, that the image of the “geek”, or the “nerd”, was constructed, of young men, uncomfortable in society, caught in a exclusive relationship with the computer. Some psychologists have even written that the more antisocial and code-obsessed the candidate, the better he or she will be. Ultimately, it is computing for computing’s sake that takes precedence. The meaning doesn't matter.
The lack of meaning
This is perhaps precisely where the problem lies: the lack of meaning. Because, to return to studies, why don't girls continue on the scientific path? Often to find meaning, they prefer to turn to more “humanist” paths.
I am taking the risk here of shocking you with stereotypes. Let's go back to kindergarten if you wish. All children play in playgrounds in kindergarten or at the beginning of primary school. But, very quickly, the girls turn away from marbles or other games to socialize and walk around talking. And if girls generally play less video games than boys (53.2 % compared to 82.3 %), they even stop playing earlier than them.
And it doesn't stop at school: boys continue to play right through to their professional lives, which they approach as a game. This is, moreover, from my point of view, the reason why a man will be able to ask for a raise or run for a position more easily than a girl, because, for him, it's just a game. If he succeeds, that's great. If that doesn't work, he'll try again later. This is a game worth replaying. The woman, for her part, will take this change much more to heart and will not dare to ask; or, if she asks and is refused, she will more quickly feel that it is a questioning of her person. Although it is clear that not all women or men fit into this stereotype, it is difficult to deny that it concerns the vast majority.
Tech, dominated by men, has therefore been built on an exclusionary model, and has even become downright sexist.
However, change is essential
Integrating more women into Tech is obviously first and foremost a question of social justice: we cannot exclude half of humanity from certain jobs.
It is then a question of taking into account the needs. Digital technology has taken on such importance in our world that it is shaping it. Like architects, those who design algorithms create the world in which we will live. If you have already had the opportunity to walk on the slab of La Défense with heeled shoes, you have surely realized that the architect must have been a man: the slabs are far enough apart for the heels to get stuck, but not enough to pay attention to it...
There is no shortage of examples of the consequences of the lack of women: GPS recognizes the voices of men sitting in a passenger seat better than the voices of women, even though they are behind the wheel! In the health field, we had to wait years to have apps to monitor periods...
Finally, it is a question of building a more peaceful world. In his book “The Human Bug”, Sébastien Bohler highlights an area of our brain, the striatum, which is at the origin of the production of pleasure hormones. According to him, the striatum has strengthened over the centuries in order to improve the perpetuation of our species. It triggers pleasure hormones when we engage in behaviors that ensure we have offspring. This is why our brain pushes us to always seek more food, power, sex or even information. This is what is at work in our modern societies and which pushes us a little more every day towards the destruction of our planet.
He explains that this is particularly true among men. In women, it seems that there is an additional factor that triggers the production of this pleasure hormone: acts of generosity.
This could explain the differences we observe in management, with women being less subject to the logic of efficiency and more attentive to well-being and meaning. On the power side, a study demonstrated, for example, that countries led by women have managed COVID-19 better. If women were more present in Tech, there would perhaps be less development of useless applications, perhaps a little less race for growth and perhaps a little more well-being?
How to change ?
I think there are several avenues for changing the system. The first is to develop as many role models as possible. The more visible women in Tech are, whatever their role – because you can work in Tech without necessarily coding – the more others will have confidence and want to follow them. We often mention Eva Sadoun (Lita.co), Celine Lazorthes (Leetchi), Agnès Bazin (Doctolib), but we should regularly highlight new ones like Shirley Jaggle, multi-entrepreneur, at the head of a company in the Tech that builds sustainable digital.
I then think that we must, fairly early in school, allow all children to develop meaningful digital projects. Coding is becoming easier and easier with today's tools. And children – boys and girls – enjoy coding, because it allows them to quickly see a result. Having children carry out useful projects, projects of which they will be proud, would allow them to develop, at a very young age, the sense of a useful project.
I find it really great that schools are being created to help women break the nerd codes such as Ada Tech School or even the Women coding academy.
Finally, I think that we need to encourage the development of real male/female duos at the head of Tech companies, because, in reality, it is the diversity that is really interesting. A Men/Women duo combines an ambitious business vision with an emphatic and caring vision. Women, supported by men, have all the levers to embody more inclusive and collaborative leadership!
This is also how we can build a more sustainable world.
