By VINITA RATHI

Director Women Who Code London, Co-Founder Systango & CodePunt,

Ex VP Goldman Sachs

Ada Lovelacewrote first computer program in the mid-1800s.

Dina St Johnston and Dame Stephanie “Steve” Shirley founded first two software houses in the UK in late 1950s and early 1960s

FEMALE REPRESENTATION BY INDUSTRY GROUP,OVERALL & IN LEADERSHIP POSITION

Female Representation in Leadership Position*Overall Female Representation

Government, Education & Non-profit

Technology - Hardware

Aeronautical, Automotive & Transportation

Manufacturing / Industrial

Architecture & Engineering

Oil & Energy

Technology - Software

Telecommunications

Financial Services & Insurance

Retail & Consumer Products

Professional Services

Media & Entertainment

Healthcare & Pharmaceutical

*Leadership positions are defined as those with a seniority of director or above

In 2014:

Overall FemaleRepresentation

Female Representation inLeadership Position*

*Leadership positions are defined as those with a seniority of director or above

- All of the members who had software engineering skills that were hired by a tech company in 2013, only 14% were women.

- 28 FTSE 250 companies still have all male boards

- As per 2014 e-skills, women working in the tech sector has fallen

GENDER DIVERSITY Pays off.Organization with better financial performance have more women in leadership roles

BOTTOM 20%Financial performance

TOP 20%Financial performance

37% of all leadersare women

12% of all leaders areHigh-Potential women

19% of all leadersare women

8% of all leaders Are High-Potentialwomen

All Leaders Percent women Percent High-Potential women

Differentiators

The desire to make the difference, desire to build than to winNearly a third of women would take a pay cut for an "impact job" compared to just 19% of men.

Realistic and practicalOn an average women founded companies achieved 35 percent higher ROI, and, when venture-backed, 12 percent higher revenue than venture-backed male-owned tech companies.

Analytical, more flexible & multi taskingWomen are faster in comparing, analyzing the data and using that to the best of the business. They identify problems more quickly and more accurately.

Behavioral aspects (studies in last few years)Nurture people and develop relationships. Open, more accessible and because they are also tolerant to differences, so they're more skilled at managing diversity. Better at defining job expectations and providing feedback. Team work.

Psychological & PerceptionBoys are expected to learn about machines, tools and how things work. Girls are expected to be good at interpersonal relationships and to focus on people and emotion.

Acknowledgement and EncouragementWomen would like to get credit for what they deserve. They don’t want an unfair advantage.

ParticipationMan only panels cannot alone do the discussions on how to get more women! They just won’t get the dimension.

WHY?

SO WHAT DO WE DO?

A 15 year old “Digital girl” of the year, Amy Mather said to a European Panel in her winning speech

"It's more female role models that we need, please don't make it pink".

MotivateNeed to answer this question - “Why should I, a girl, want to code? “

Aspire & InspireGive visibility to the amazing projects female engineers have worked on. We need to show that it's not just men who are behind the technology they use in their everyday lives.

OutlookGirls find failure more difficult to deal with than boys.

PerceptionWomen are just as smart, as capable and as entitled to work as men.

ResourcesDifferent initiatives needs to be taken.

Global non-profit dedicated to inspiring women to excel in technology careers. We provide an avenue into tech, empower women with skills needed for professional advancement,

and provide environments where networking and mentorship are valued.

The organization has executed more than 900 events around the world, garnered a membership exceeding 16,000, and has a presence in 14 countries.

In 1967, Kathrine Switzer was the first woman to run the Boston marathon, After realizing that a woman was running, race organizer Jock Semple went after Switzer shouting, "Get the hell out of my race and give me those numbers“ however, Switzer's boyfriend and other male runners provided a protective shield during the entire marathon. The photographs taken of the incident made world headlines, and

Kathrine later won the NYC marathon with a time of 3:07:29.

SOURCES

Sohan Murthy, Linked In Research Assistant.

https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/article/20140708151101-72012765-revisiting-gender-inequality-in-tech

http://news.stanford.edu/news/2014/september/tech-gender-gap-090914.html

BY CLIFTON B. PARKER

http://www.inc.com/sue-williams/why-we-need-women-in-stem.html

BY SUE WILLIAMS

http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/rachel-swidenbank/why-cant-women-be-coders-too_b_5522883.html