This is your Women in Business podcast.
Imagine stepping into the buzzing heart of Silicon Valley, where code lines flicker like city lights, and you're a woman carving your path through the tech industry's towering challenges. That's the reality for the 3.7 million women powering America's tech workforce, making up about 27 percent of it, according to CompTIA's State of the Tech Workforce Report. Listeners, in this episode of Women in Business, we're diving into how you're navigating today's economic storm—layoffs, AI disruptions, and stubborn pay gaps—with unbreakable resilience.
First, consider the raw numbers staring us down. Globally, women hold just 23 percent of tech roles, per Nash Squared's Digital Leadership Report, yet in the US, you've claimed 27 percent, a hard-won rise from nine percent in the early 2000s, as Womentech Network highlights. At giants like Amazon with 45 percent women overall, Google at 33 percent, and Microsoft at 33.1 percent, you're there, but leadership lags—only 14 percent of global tech leaders are women, unchanged from last year. The economic crunch hit hard: 2022 layoffs saw 69 percent of cuts targeting women due to less seniority, per WomenTech Network studies. Yet, you're rebounding, with 95 percent in permanent roles and 92 percent reporting better equity, says Digital Silk.
Transitioning up the ladder, retention is your battleground. Half of you leave tech by 35, twice the rate of other fields, AIPRM data shows, often because 70 percent feel pressured to prove yourselves harder, as McKinsey notes. Economic pressures amplify this—57 percent in tech, media, and telecom plan to exit within two years over work-life imbalance. But empowerment shines in niches: 46 percent of US data scientists are women, topping CompTIA's list, and you're leading GenAI adoption, with 68 percent using tools weekly versus 66 percent of men, per Boston Consulting Group.
Pay and promotions? The median weekly earnings gap sits at 16 percent—$1,005 for women versus men's higher take, BLS reports. Applicant pools shrink dramatically: software engineering drops 25 percent from junior to mid-level, worse in UI/UX and ERP, McKinsey finds. Big Tech C-suites? Zero female CEOs at Apple, Meta, Amazon, or Microsoft, and just eight to nine percent in CIO or CTO spots. Amid inflation and uncertainty, you're 1.6 times more layoff-prone, yet re-skilling in AI could add a million European roles by tackling isolation, McKinsey projects.
Sisters, the economic landscape demands innovation—build networks, demand unbiased hiring where 83.6 percent of firms now prioritize it, and seize AI's edge. You've grown STEM shares from eight percent in 1970 to 28 percent by 2019, US Census shows. Your grit turns gaps into gateways.
Thank you, listeners, for tuning in to Women in Business. Subscribe now for more empowering stories. This has been a Quiet Please production, for more check out quietplease.ai.
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