Promoting Women in Tech Positions – A National Priority

The sociology of gender, stereotypes, and a male-dominated environment have all led to a scarcity of women employed in high-tech positions in Israel. This situation compels a change, considering the important role that women can play in promoting technological innovation and high-tech in Israel. Indeed, we have recently been witnessing a process stemming from government activity ‘from above’ and from public, social activity ‘from below’ designed to increase the presence of women in tech organizations.

General background

Over the course of the past two decades, Israel has become a high-tech ‘Mecca.’ Many people make the pilgrimage to Israel for an up-close examination of the entrepreneurial spirit, which generates hundreds of new start-ups a year, and of the military, industrial, academic ecosystem that offers a decisive contribution to Israel’s status as a global hub for technological innovation.

Nonetheless, Israeli high-tech suffers from a gender problem; by any scale, women make up only a small proportion of those employed in the Israeli tech industry. Some even go so far as to say that Israeli high-tech is a ‘distinctly male-dominated domain.’

There is a myriad of reasons for this. Few women study engineering in academic institutions. Work in high-tech requires long hours, conditions which are unsustainable for working mothers. Few female high school students study sciences, and the familiar, male-dominated support system (friends/reserve military duty/studies) excludes women.

This is unfortunate, because women could play a key role in promoting Israeli high-tech. The world has already come to this realization, and prominent tech corporations are now headed by women. Studies also indicate that women employed in tech management positions increase companies’ success rates and their fund-raising capabilities.

A loss of innovation and creativity

According to the Ministry of Finance, which has addressed this issue in a series of publications, “The scarcity of women in high-tech results in a loss of innovation and creativity that talented women, who are not integrated in the industry, could offer. The ramification of this loss is amplified by the limited supply of a skilled workforce required in the Israeli high-tech industry.”

Moreover, the scarcity of women in the high-tech industry has a considerable impact on the gender pay gap, on work productivity, and on market growth. If women have applicable skills, and due to gender norms and perceptions, they choose not to pursue studies relevant to industries that offer particularly high wages and productivity, this hinders potential economic growth, especially in light of the shortage of a skilled workforce in the industry.

In light of all of this, it is incumbent upon the government to make the promotion of women in tech a national priority, to encourage women to study engineering and computer science, and to enact affirmative action in the hiring of women in tech companies. We could all benefit from this.

Government and employment organizations should encourage companies to enact policies that support the integration and promotion of women. These policies could include paid maternity leave with better-than-average conditions, women’s representation in senior management roles, flexibility in employment conditions, which is of utmost importance to women, offering female employees to work at 60-80% work schedules, assimilating women’s mentoring programs, equal pay, so that the recruitment of women in the workforce is prioritized.

Integrating women in the high-tech industry – key statistics

According to Israel’s Central Bureau of Statistics, while women comprise over half of Israel’s workforce, they make up only a third of those employed in the high-tech industry and about 8% of high-tech entrepreneurs. Moreover, there is a more notable prominence of men in key roles in tech organizations, with only 22% of R&D positions filled by women. The situation is even more dire in start-ups, with very few women employed in the field. In contrast, in peripheral positions (administration, human resources, marketing), there is a more discernible presence of women in start-ups and in high-tech organizations.

Despite an increase in the total number of salaried female employees in high-tech, according to a 2014 study on human resources, only about 35% of salaried workers in the high-tech industry were women. This situation is not static. In 2016, there was a 10% drop in the number of women employed in high-tech positions. In the same year, the salaries of women in high-tech roles dropped by 3%, while men’s salaries increased by 14%.

A study published in June 2015 by the Ministry of Economy and Industry’s Equal Employment Opportunity Commission indicated a 45% gender gap in average wages in high-tech – a gap that manifests in thousands to tens of thousands of shekels a month. In contrast, a study by Israel’s Central Bureau of Statistics demonstrated a lower industry gap of only 30%. Either way, many women are employed in high-tech positions in Israel, both in established organizations and in start-ups, indicating that women’s entry level salaries were significantly lower than their male counterparts. Nonetheless, some industry players claim that there is no pay gap, and that findings reflect a situation in which women in high-tech work less than men, and are consequently paid less.

Beyond the pay gap, there is also a glass ceiling in high-tech organizations. For example, there are no female senior managers in 55% of software companies or in 45% of electronics companies.

It is important to keep in mind that while recent findings demonstrate a rapid increase in the number of women in the workforce, despite this narrowing gap, women still make far less money than men. In 2014, the total gender pay gap was 3,650 shekels a month. The reason for a third of the gender pay gap is that women tend to work in professions and industries with relatively low pay. According to the Ministry of Finance, considering the background of the gender pay gap, there is a predominantly low percentage of women employed in the high-tech industry, where the average wage is double the national average wage.

Furthermore, according to the Ministry of Finance, many women working in high-tech hold positions in administration and in human resources, and not in key positions such as software and hardware development, where wages are particularly high. Consequently, Israel’s Central Bureau of Statistics classifies only 36% of women (36,000 positions) working in high-tech as holding high-tech positions, in contrast with 56% (102,000 positions) held by men. Meaning, women comprise only 26% of salaried workers in key high-tech positions.

Causes for the scarcity of women in tech professions

There are a variety of reasons for the low number of women employed in high-tech professions. As a rule, researchers in the field tend to underline social, environmental and psychological causes leading women to choose different career paths than their male counterparts in the education system and in higher education.

According to the Ministry of Finance, the main reason for the shortage of women in high-tech is that fewer women choose to pursue relevant professions in the sciences, especially computer science, mathematics, engineering and physics, at first in their selection of high school majors, and later in higher education institutions. These selections are made despite the fact that graduates of engineering, computer science and mathematics earn significantly more than graduates of other subjects, and despite the fact that women pursuing these subjects have a higher chance of graduating on time than their male counterparts.

The data demonstrates that while girls comprise 47% of high school students majoring in mathematics, they comprise only 37% of high school students majoring in physics, and only 31% of high school students majoring in computer science. Conversely, girls comprise the majority of high school students majoring in biology and chemistry. Meaning, there is no significant difference in the number of female high school students taking a double major in mathematics with another science; the difference lies in the subject selection – biology and chemistry as opposed to physics and computers.

Interestingly, this is not the case in the Arab sector, where girls choose to major in mathematics and science more than their Jewish counterparts, and more than Arab boys.

According to the Ministry of Finance, the gender gap is no less notable, and is even more notable in higher education institutions. Women comprise the majority of undergraduate students and comprise roughly 56% of overall undergraduates. However, while they account for about 80% of students majoring in education, teaching and medical auxiliary fields, they comprise only 25% of engineering students.

The gender gap in undergraduate studies is also evident when surveying high school mathematics majors, who naturally possess relatively high capabilities in mathematics, and are better suited to pursue studies in professions relevant for high-tech.

This being the case, what changes for girls when they continue to pursue higher education? For one, environment and education. Studies describe the selection of fields of study through the prism of sociology. Technology and sciences are viewed as male disciplines. As a result, girls pursuing these disciplines are considered more manly and as having lower chances of pursuing a ‘normative’ lifestyle. Moreover, studies point to ‘manly’ traits being attributed to women in technology, primarily women who reach management and leadership positions. They are perceived as ‘competitive,’ ‘aggressive,’ ‘control freaks,’ while men who possess similar tech capabilities and similar management status are viewed as ‘successful.’

Gender socialization also affects behavior in the workplace. Studies demonstrate that women have a lower tendency to ‘assertively demand what they deserve,’ to negotiate their salary and conditions, or to take even more dramatic steps, such as threatening to resign. Furthermore, women’s experience with rejection over the years in their struggle to advance in the workplace and to reach management positions in high-tech, or in raising capital from investors or from other strategic partners as high-tech entrepreneurs, has caused many women to ‘come to terms with their fate,’ as long as they can remain in their professional field. They will not risk losing their position when negotiating their salary or conditions when it could cost them further rejection (or termination).

And what is being said on the ground?

A position analysis questionnaire collecting data from dozens of female and male human resource managers and CEOs in high-tech companies was conducted in order to examine the reasons for the underemployment of women in high-tech. Findings demonstrated that according to 30% of respondents, women feel repressed by the fact that most high-tech managers and employees are male, and that this is why women do not shatter the glass ceiling in the industry. Roughly 65% of those managing large companies or tech departments of large companies believe that there is gender discrimination in the integration of women in tech professions. The gaps are seen both in the scarcity of women employed in tech organizations, and in the gender pay gap.

Women employed in high-tech organizations and start-ups seem to consistently be in the minority and can even experience gender isolation. Many women attest to feeling like outsiders when male colleagues or managers socialize, even when they do not deliberately intend to exclude women.

According to 40% of respondents, the basis for the scarcity of women in high-tech is not the education system, but rather women themselves. Another 40% believe that the education system bears partial responsibility. Despite efforts to encourage women’s pursuit of scientific professions, there still are not enough women choosing these professions.

Women’s conduct in a male-dominated work environment could also hinder their promotion and could sometimes deter them from entering the field to begin with. According to many respondents, another reason why women are unable to shatter the glass ceiling in tech positions is that women sabotage themselves. 28% of respondents felt that this is the main reason for the gender gap in promotion and pay.

The situation in other countries

To Israel’s ‘defense,’ this problem is not localized; rather, it is global. Across the globe, high-tech suffers from gender employment gaps. In the US, this is called the ‘gap of 30,’ because only 30% of High-tech employees are women. The gap can also be seen in the underemployment of women in knowledge-intensive tech organizations, both in the low rate of women serving in senior and managerial positions in these organizations, and in the low rate of women in tech professions. Reports published in the US about its gender pay gap demonstrate that in Microsoft, Twitter and Google, for example, only 10% of female employees hold tech positions.

The gender gap is not only seen in these fields. According to data published in a 2015 Catalyst report, women integrated in knowledge-intensive organizations after completing an MBA are employed in positions offering lower pay and status than men with the same level of education and the same extent of work experience. The data also indicates that their initial motivations are similar, and MBA graduates of both genders integrated in tech organizations express a desire to take on senior, influential roles. In other words, the problem is not motivation; rather, it is implementation, which falls short for women. Nonetheless, recent years have seen a notable trend of feminization in senior management positions in giant tech organizations.

In this context, Western countries have a lot they can learn from Asian countries. According to data published by WIPO (World Intellectual Property Organization), the rate of female inventors, as reflected in the number of PCT (Patent Cooperation Treaty) requests, is particularly high in South Korea (where 46.6% of the total number of patent requests were made by women) and in China (43.8%). The US is only in 6th place (32.3% of all requests), while Israel is in 11th place with 25.7% of all PCT requests. Incidentally, the high rate of women inventors is especially apparent in requests made in fields such as biotechnology (58.4%) and pharmaceutics (56.4%).

Opportunities for change

In recent years, the tech field has undergone changes both in the perception and the definition of the term ‘high-tech,’ and in the modification of the perimeters of the sector. These changes offer opportunities to women. The perception and definition of the high-tech field are broader than ever before and include a wide range of specialties such as biotechnology, chemistry and biology, and are not limited to hardware and software. Moreover, the modification of the perimeters of high-tech has allowed the inclusion of a variety of fields such as agriculture, nutrition, water, transportation, apparel and cosmetics. In other words, women can work in high-tech in fields such as apparel, space or plastics, and not only in hardware and software.

The assimilation of innovation in traditional industry also provides new opportunities for women, because roughly two thirds of women work in traditional industries, in contrast with 30% who work in high-tech organizations.

All types of organizations, whether high-tech or low-tech, are now committed – in this era of fierce competition – to enact ‘continual innovation.’ In this respect, women have an unequivocal advantage. Studies on creativity, innovation and gender point to girls possessing a significant advantage in these fields. Furthermore, women have a ‘woman’s touch’ for understanding clients’ needs, identifying situations, and in their overall intuition when dealing with other people. As such, women enter the world of high-tech without the need to reinvent themselves or to adapt the way they conduct themselves in order to be more suited for successful development in the high-tech sector. To the contrary, the surrounding sector changes and accommodates them, to successfully utilize the inherent advantages of integrating tech-oriented women.

Looking to the future

Following a government resolution on the matter, a steering committee operated by the body responsible for employment and the Office of the Chief Scientist (currently known as the Israel Innovation Authority) under the auspices of the Ministry of Economy and Industry has been assigned with bolstering the supply of engineers and programmers in the high-tech industry. As part of its overall focus on the shortage of a knowledge-intensive workforce, the team operates to establish and implement policy tools to increase the integration of women in the industry. This includes the encouragement of women in their pursuit of studies in relevant fields.

Many high-tech organizations, both in Israel and across the globe, have taken on the task of attracting women to exclusive tech professions, roles and projects within leading organizations, start-ups, and organizational innovation centers. Various companies, such as Intel, now highlight equal pay, extended maternity leave, and a gradual return to work as some of their benefits designed to attract women.

This directional shift can also be seen in the increased awareness of gender diversification in organizations. In tech professions, women’s touch has a notable impact on creating exclusivity and on bettering the organization. Gender diversification benefits women, men, the product, the organization, and the company as a whole. It facilitates the expansion of corporate responsibility towards women, it creates a fair environment, it maximizes the tech capability of half of the population for the benefit of the products and of services provided by the organization, while creating exclusivity and innovation.

Reports by female and male entrepreneurs and managers of venture capital funds also point to a shift in the field of start-ups. Forbes Israel published its 2015 global ranking of start-ups, wherein the number of female entrepreneurs was markedly higher than it had been in previous years. Tel Aviv has infiltrated the top ten ranking of women who encourage women’s entrepreneurship and is ranked at seventh place with 20% of women having launched start-ups. One explanation for this is that more women have entered the world of entrepreneurship since they combine their tech capabilities with products from traditional industries, sometimes ‘feminine’ products (for example, combining technology with fashion, apparel, footwear, cosmetics, design, etc.). Hence, environmental changes in the world of technology benefit the infiltration of women into the field.

In summary, it appears that beyond the objective challenges that all working women face, in high-tech, where output is measured as opposed to input, women are far more capable of moving ahead than they are in other sectors. It appears that in high-tech, women are able to shatter the glass ceiling more than they could elsewhere, because the industry is highly focused on promoting women and recognizes their worth and their contribution. Nonetheless, it is important to note that this is a taxing industry with long work hours, sometimes long-time differences when working with other continents, and frequent international travel. These elements can be intimidating for women at certain times in their lives, but apt career planning can greatly facilitate women’s integration and their climb to the top, if this is what they want.