9. Gender Bias in Stem - How do we overcome it?

You don’t have to be a boy or a ‘geek’ (or both) to have a successful career in tech. But until things change in the industry, management level roles will, for varying reasons, continue to be occupied by mostly men.

For me, I got into technology because, after not getting into the course I wanted to, my great-grandfather suggested I do something with computers because, in his words, “I think they’ll be around for a while”. It’s safe to say his prediction was correct! My first year of Uni was pretty tough, as I had no previous knowledge of computer science, whereas a lot of people I was studying with, did – these days, you’d have to have subject prerequisites to get into a computer science or IT-related degree. Things were different back in 1991!

For most of us, our perception of our own strengths and abilities begins early, and those perceptions are heavily influenced by our parents and role models. The toys we’re given at a very young age (think 1-4 years old) really shape our learning in the stages beyond that. Boys are given toys (balls, blocks, train sets, etc.) that teach them to understand things like physics and engineering at a young age, so their innate knowledge is already established by the time they’re learning about velocity and gravity in school. They often pick up the concept easily, whereas the girls often don’t have that same innate knowledge, leaving them feeling like they’re not smart or just not good at ‘science-y’ subjects as their male counterparts.

Girls are also often embarrassed to show their workings or ask questions, whereas boys are more likely to say, “I got to this part then got stuck” and ask for help. For teachers, I think it would be helpful to recognise this behaviour pattern and explain WHY it's important to be able to pinpoint where things start to go awry when it comes to solving problems. Anecdotally, there does seem to be more grace given to men and boys when it comes to making mistakes, whereas girls and women are expected to get things right the first time - often leading them to not enjoy STEM subjects in school, which leads to them not even considering a career in STEM.

I find it problematic that women are such a minority in the workplace when it comes to STEM careers. This lack of gender diversity often means that, as a woman, it can be harder to get your point or perspective across. The lack of shared experience and not having a ‘gender buddy’ there to be able to validate your point often means that women have to work harder and be really careful with how they articulate their ideas and arguments in order to be fully understood.

In addition to the above, there’s also the unconscious bias that women experience. I spoke about this unconscious bias with Louiza Nutt in Episode 9 of the Lady Leadership Podcast, Talking Go Girl – Go for IT and Gender Diversity. Louiza tells the story of a common experience that occurred when she started contracting: she’d walk into a room, sit down and everyone in the meeting would start talking about something technical. The session leader would scan the room, and their gaze would skip over Louiza, as if her seat was vacant. She’d ask a question, and if the question was technical or intelligent enough, it was as if she was suddenly visible and somewhat accepted.

For me, I worked for a food manufacturer so I’d go out to inspect the tech at a manufacturing plant, and I’ve lost count of the amount of times men wouldn’t realise that I was the CIO, and they’d talk to the man next to me until, 30 or 40 minutes in, they cotton on – and only then they’d start to make eye contact, let alone speak to me!

The problem is, we just get used to being treated this way in the workplace, and for some people we learn to not let it bother us, but Louiza is open to the fact that it did bother her. She’s a big supporter of having diversity across all levels of a workplace, from gender diversity to diversity in culture and physical ability. Having multiple viewpoints and life experiences adds to the richness of a team, and I love that she’s such a vocal advocate.

I asked Louiza about what we should be doing about unconscious bias, and I really enjoyed her response, paraphrased here: The only way to solve anything unconscious is to bring it to the foreground and make it conscious. It’s the same when you begin to learn anything. Driving a vehicle, for example. You’re totally unconscious about not only the vehicle mechanics, but the road dynamics, dynamics with other drivers - you can read the manual - and believe me, I read that manual back to front – but there are a lot of things you’re unconscious about that you can really only learn through experience. You can know all about the features of a car, but know nothing about the politics of driving on the road – and I didn’t even notice until my friends pointed out that someone was trying to cut in, or that they were getting annoyed because someone was taking too long to make a turn at an intersection, that these things were even an issue. Once those things were pointed out to me, or I'd experienced them first hand, they became visible to me, and entered into my consciousness. 

We can draw a parallel here to the experience of men in the workplace. They may not even be aware of an issue that affects women (such as men cutting in when they're speaking, or taking credit for an idea that is not their own), but I'm willing to bet that once someone points out that a male co-worker does this, they won't be able to un-see it. Whether they stand up and advocate for their female colleagues is another matter, and one that really speaks to individual character and workplace culture.

Men are a huge part of the solution, so while women talking to other women and sharing their experiences is great to build community, the other thing we need to do is to work harder to bring men on the journey with us. Louiza gets invited to speak on gender diversity panels regularly, but found in the early days of her speaking to corporations or groups, the audience was made up of predominantly women. Now, if someone has invited her to come to speak, she requests that they make sure that the men are also present. A room full of women is great, but that’s not how we’re going to solve the problems that women face in the workforce.

Women already KNOW what the problem is, we’ve been living it for years, and I do feel a little frustrated that it lands on us as women to educate men. I feel as though men should be taking steps to educate themselves, however I do understand that many aren’t conscious of the areas in which they need to do the work.

Louiza made the excellent point that nobody makes a conscious decision to be sexist or to make assumptions based on someone’s gender. Our society is structured to value men more, and that is often reflected in the roles and pay rate of men. It’s important that hiring managers become conscious of any bias that they may have, and to do some research on how to interview effectively in order to be able to make an informed hiring decision based on ability, not on unconscious gender bias.

Research shows women won’t apply for a role unless they have 10 out of 10 requirements, whereas men will apply if they only have 7 competencies from the list of 10. Yes, we need to encourage women to still apply if they have those seven requirements locked down, but there's also a responsibility on the part of employers: if they want their roles to appeal to women, the simple act of changing the language of their job ads from the phrase "you MUST have these skills" to "desirable skills" would encourage more women to apply; in addition to having a woman in the room when interviewing applicants. Women are generally better at identifying the soft skills that will make an applicant successful in a role, as well as providing a different perspective on applicants that may bring diversity to the role.

If employers really are committed to bridging the gender gap, these unconscious biases need to be identified and addressed. At an executive level, women are often more than capable of performing a role (and that ability is undisputed when you look at their resume), but the culture of the organisation is a real 'boy's club', and they find themselves left out of social events, left out of important meetings, and generally aren’t set up for success. If a woman isn’t being included in the same way and being given the same opportunities as a man, why not? 

This is a larger conversation that isn't going to be resolved in one conversation (or podcast), but it's a conversation that we need to keep having. If you want to listen to our complete conversation, which explored the fantastic work Louiza is doing with Go Girl - Go For IT, you can listen to Episode 9 of the Lady Leadership Podcast, here.