The new she-conomy: What it means for women in tech

From Barbie to Beyoncé to Taylor Swift, the women of summer have busted through glass ceilings and sparked a loud, pink, dazzling she-conomy revolution. Now, it’s time for women in technology to shake off the gender bias and join in on the unprecedented surge of female success.

This summer will officially be remembered as the time when women’s voices were heard loud and strong, both literally and figuratively. From Taylor Swift’s Eras tour to Beyoncé's Renaissance to the Barbie movie, women are rising high, shaping and reshaping culture, conversations, and even the economy. In fact, Swift’s performances have been so popular that the US Federal Reserve credited the singer with improving the economic fortunes of major cities across the country, as her tour swiftly generated five billion dollars in global revenue and is still going strong.

Dubbed everything from the she-conomy to the #billiongirlsummer to the Barbie Bump, the surge of female success may also prove to be an inflexion point for women in technology. How do we keep the momentum going? And how can IT girls catch this wave of exuberance? The first step—or maybe giant leap—is to know how to advocate for women, 24x7.

You’re (not) on your own, kid

One of Swift’s most popular tunes offers some insights on advocacy: “make the friendship bracelets, take the moment, and taste it.” Advocating for women in technology starts by having a deliberate strategy to combat gender bias in a field dominated by men. According to the MIT Sloan School of Management, advocacy includes being comfortable talking about uncomfortable topics as well as helping the women who come behind you.

Companies that have a strategy to fight gender bias have everything to gain, as MIT also notes that women, people from different perspectives, and people of color all challenge cognitive biases, which prompts higher quality ideas and innovation.

Also, contrary to the tech workplace status quo, women have the right stuff to be competent, amazing leaders. A recent Harvard study confirms that women score higher than men on 17 of the 19 most important leadership skills, including taking initiative, motivating others, solving problems, and driving results.

Accelerating equity start to finish

Looking beyond the frenzy of trading bracelets to promote girl power, how can we help women rise? Becoming a mentor for women in technology includes fighting both educational and occupational segregation, at every stage in the career path. A vital launching pad is to support and fund STEM programs that are designed to promote digital inclusion and create an engaged community of support, learning, and advocacy.

The next stage involves supporting women who are just beginning their tech careers. We need to champion female role models and encourage them to share their success stories, internally and externally. Having conversations about the obstacles women face in tech—gender discrimination, impostor syndrome, underrepresentation in STEM degrees —is important for those beginning their careers.

During the mid-career marathon years and the road to retirement, women in tech need to both find allies become them. MIT notes that leaders who have reached the top should take the time to help others behind them, by inspiring, mentoring, and giving them challenging projects, without worrying about whether they will succeed or fail.

Challenging gender bias

A strong advocate for women in technology knows how to address unconscious gender bias, both their own and the bias exuded by others. Bias can take many forms, including the massive imbalance of men in management roles. Harvard Business Review reports that only 4.9 percent of Fortune 500 CEOs and 2 percent of S&P 500 CEOs are women, and those numbers are (sadly) declining globally. Only 20 percent of leadership positions in technology are held by women, according to Advantis Global.

In the day-to-day, gender bias is often commonplace in meeting spaces. Women typically get less airtime in meetings, and the recent trend of remote meetings has crystallized how hard it is for women to be heard in group settings. Countless studies have shown that workplace meetings are riddled with inequities. One study from Yale found that when male executives spoke more often, they were perceived to be competent. But when female executives spoke more often, they were given lower competence ratings.

Creating positive momentum

Becoming an advocate for women in tech begins with small steps. Start with these four ideas:

Address gender inequity head-on by becoming more aware of your own innate biases, which you can unearth through workplace training or education.
Speak up when you witness bias—even if it makes you feel uncomfortable.
If you are a manager, provide equal access to advancement opportunities. Take a close look at your team’s salary data and ensure pay is equitable across gender lines. Ask yourself, what is behind my gut instinct about this woman’s readiness for promotion? Would I react differently if this were a man?
Know how to identify sexual harassment and report it to HR or management, as soon as possible.

Advocacy beyond the workplace

Lastly, we can again learn from the bona fide superstars of summer—take your show on the road to have a greater impact. To effect equity for women outside our own companies, we need local and far-reaching cultural and policy changes that can disrupt the status quo. That path starts by learning more about gender biases and what’s happening globally (spoiler alert: stagnation is the new normal, according to a United Nations report, and progress in the US has also recently stalled, according to a National Academy of Science report).

But maybe the stall will serve as the wake-up call that will help us shake off the bias, believe that girls can run the world, and effect real, sustainable change for women in technology. As the Swifties have shouted so many times, “Are you ready for it?”

Learn more: