Bias persists against women in tech

It’s frustrating to be a woman working in the field of technology, according to a recent survey.

For one, almost all (94 per cent of) women feel that more is expected from them at work compared to their male co-workers, finds Navisite, a digital transformation company.

Nearly half (45 per cent) feel they are underpaid compared with their male colleagues.

And 75 per cent say they (or other women they work with) are consistently asked to handle more administrative tasks compared to their male colleagues. Specifically, women have been asked to do the following:

• send meeting invites (44 per cent)
• reserve meeting rooms (43 per cent)
• prepare meeting materials and equipment (40 per cent)
• take meeting notes (38 per cent)
• prepare refreshments (38 per cent)
• order meals (35 per cent)
• set up the meeting room (29 per cent)
• get coffee (23 per cent)

"There is still much to be done to support women in the workplace," says Gina Murphy, president and chief transformation officer at Navisite. "While equal pay continues to be an issue, the survey reveals the problem goes much deeper to show how women in tech are being undervalued and experiencing gender inequality on a daily basis. It's important to shed light on these situations so organizations can take steps to address them."

Read more: Many companies talk about increasing their diversity in terms of gender but one technology company can boast that 54 per cent of its staff are women.

Nearly three-quarters (74 per cent) of women believe their opinions were dismissed during meetings due to their gender, and 61 per cent believe they were passed over for a promotion or lost a job opportunity due to their gender.

And 86 per cent say they've been accused of being too emotional (or other gender-charged words) in the workplace, found the survey of more than 100 women.

Just 19 per cent of employed women say a lot of progress has been made over the past 10 years in terms of gender equality in the workplace, according to Randstad Canada.

Three in 10 (30 per cent) women say that there’s barely a crack in the glass ceiling while 34 per cent say that it’s only starting to splinter, finds Navisite.