Women in Tech

Booking.com, one of the world’s largest travel e-commerce companies and a digital technology leader, has revealed the first set of findings from its ‘Women in Tech’ research. The research aims to provide perceptions, experiences and ambitions of women in India with respect to career opportunities in tech.

The research was conducted among women who work in tech and female students interested in pursuing a career in the industry. It revealed that 90 per cent of Indian women believe their gender positively impacts their ability to pursue a career in technology, the highest across all markets surveyed. Around 25 per cent citing that job requirements in tech are a fit for women’s natural skillsets.

Another 25 per cent felt that career opportunities in tech are advertised as much to women as to men. The presence of female decision makers in the industry is especially acknowledged by girls in high school, with 29 per cent of those surveyed citing this as a reason they had a positive outlook on careers in the industry. Reasons why women feel their gender would positively impact a career in tech:

• The Tech Appeal: Women in India are drawn to the tech industry for a myriad of reasons. They consider it to be innovative (45 per cent), creative (45 per cent), exciting (32 per cent) and inspiring (32 per cent). The latter two attributes are the top factors that draw high school girls and undergraduates to build a career in tech.

Early exposure to certain skills and subjects have influenced the career choices of 88 per cent of the women surveyed. They believe this early exposure plays a significant role in driving their professional choices. The research highlights that Indian women are much more likely to follow in the career footsteps of their parents (64 per cent versus. 40 per cent global average).

• Factors defining a dream job: Around 93 per cent of women in India believe that a role will qualify as their ‘dream job’ when it offers work that inspires them. This is followed by a job that poses challenges (91 per cent) and a job that provides them with a chance to carve their own path (90 per cent).

Other factors include a high pay scale (90 per cent) and work that aligns with their natural skillset (89 per cent). However, for 95 per cent of high school girls and undergraduates, work that inspires them is the prime motivator & consideration for a role to qualify as their dream job.

Despite the positive outlook, women also have some reservations about the technology industry and at certain-touch points in their pursuit of a career in tech, have seen being female as more detrimental. More than four in five women say they face more challenges to enter (82 per cent), grow and succeed (83 per cent) in certain careers than men.

“To empower women to truly succeed in tech, we, as an industry, have an opportunity to do more. This includes putting forth more female role models, eliminating gender bias that starts right from the recruitment process before a woman is even hired, and investing in initiatives that spotlight the industry as attractive and welcoming at all stages, from new entrants up to the most senior leadership,” Gillian Tans, CEO at Booking.com, said.