Dive Brief:
- Women in tech plan to leave their jobs this year at a similar rate to 2022’s great resignation, according to Ensono’s fourth Speak Up survey, which consulted 1,500 full-time tech employees in the U.S., U.K. and India who identify as female.
- One-quarter of respondents said they felt uncomfortable or unsafe because of microaggressions and discrimination at work this past year, and more than half said they struggle to balance caregiving responsibilities with in-person work.
- Even with clear room for improvement, nearly all — 9 in 10 — respondents say women's experiences in tech have improved in the past year as it relates to gender equity and inclusion.
Dive Insight:
The flexibility accompanying remote work had an outsized positive impact on women in tech, leading to better work/life balance and facilitating promotions, according to reports. But the majority of women Ensono surveyed found advantages to in-person work, too.
Nearly all — 97% — remote and hybrid respondents cited at least one benefit of working in-person in the past year. Nearly half said they had stronger relationships with colleagues and a similar proportion found it easier to put boundaries between work and personal life.
Women working remotely aren’t necessarily willing to relinquish all their at-home work days, but nearly three-quarters of remote and hybrid respondents said they miss the social interaction and camaraderie of in-person work, according to the report.
Tech leaders can bridge the gap by providing and connecting workers with more opportunities for mentorship and team-building. Across industries in IT, skilled job seekers have the upper hand and enterprises are willing to pay a premium to fill talent gaps.
Those on the job hunt with generative AI skills, for example, can expect an average salary boost of 47% compared to candidates without them, according to an Indeed report in February.
As enterprises execute talent strategies moving forward, leaders have to meet workers where they are, Meredith Graham, chief people officer at Ensono, said in the report.
Another wave of resignations in the sector would put enterprise aspirations in a precarious position. Women held 35% of computer systems design and related services in the U.S. at the end of 2023, up from 32% in 2019, according to U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data.
It’s up to business leaders to align employee experiences with their expectations to prevent attrition.
