The tech field’s unconscious bias on women and what we can do about it

There still are deep-rooted perceptions that will take time to erase

As a woman in tech for over 15 years, I have always felt and experienced the gender gap. It is not rare that I am the only woman sitting at a 12-seat round table at tech events in Hong Kong.

Although things have changed in recent years—many tech companies are trying hard to improve the situation—there are still some deep-rooted perceptions that will take time to erase.

A 2014 report from law firm Fenwick & West reveals that women occupy only 11 per cent of executive positions at Silicon Valley companies. It is difficult for women to climb up the hierarchy, which contributes to the prevailing bias in the tech field. This bias could take place in many aspects of the workplace including work capability and even appearance.

Women’s coding abilities are weaker

Often, people are amazed when they know a woman is skilled at coding. In a startup event, one of my IT friends was asked what programming languages she could write. After she listed out the programming languages, people questioned her ability. They were also shocked by her programming skill when she solved a coding problem.

You can treat this as a compliment, but when you step back to look closer, you may find that it actually isn’t. Because under the same circumstances, if she was a man, those programming languages would be presumed as a basic skill. “Male programmers should have known it.”



This is an example to show how unconscious biases are affecting people’s perception of the ability of women in tech.

“Same T-shirt practice” is not welcomed

In the tech field, there is also a perception of women’s appearances. Those I have encountered have said that they are fine with men wearing the same type of suit or tee every day. However, these same people expect women to be different. If women wear the same dress or outfit every day, it definitely will draw attention. “Girls should dress properly!”

The norm that currently exists in society is even more pronounced in this working environment where females account for a very small number.

Tech is not a career choice for women

Becuase the tech field has been male-dominated for a long time, it makes women reluctant to start their career in the industry. This forms a vicious cycle.

Research carried out for the Engineer a Better World campaign shows that only 7 per cent of parents feel that engineering would appeal to their daughters as a career. And according to the Institution of Engineering and Technology‘s (IET) skills survey, now just 6 per cent of the engineering workforce is female.

More can definitely be done to help eliminate the gender gap.

What can be done to help the situation?

Encourage equal opportunity for women

Equal opportunity should be given to female employees for job applications, evaluations, and promotions. Employers should set up objective guidelines, procedures, and methodologies to evaluate potential and existing employee performance.



Examples of this could be written tests on problem-solving, language ability, and multiple choice questions in which all tests will be objectively assessed without any reference to applicants’ gender and background.

Apart from that, more can be done to help employees recognize the importance and benefits of a diversified team. This could make them more willing to cooperate with people with different backgrounds and gender.

Minority group ratio in companies

An Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) report in 2014 found that, out of the 228 executives surveyed, 69 per cent said their senior leadership recognizes the value of a diverse workforce and strives to embed diversity into their culture.

Indeed a more diversified team can bring higher value creation. Therefore, changes must be made for the ratio of minority groups in a tech company.

Naomi Climer, president of Sony Media Cloud Services, launched a 50:50 campaign for Sony Europe. The campaign aimed to “create an inclusive and diverse culture that promotes gender balance and a fulfilling working environment so as to achieve a greater business result.”

With satisfactory results—including an improvement in employee satisfaction among women—this campaign became part of Sony’s global diversity initiative.

Mother-friendly working environment

Family responsibilities also become an obstacle to the career development of female workers in the tech field.



According to a report from The Association of Academies and Societies of Sciences in Asia (AASSA), although marriage has no effect on the work participation of men in Korea, work participation is significantly lower among married women (52 per cent) than that of unmarried ones (85 per cent).

The above statistics show that marriage and child-raising may be a crucial factor to women’s employment in the tech field. To prevent losing female talents, a mother-friendly working environment can be provided.

Examples of this are breastfeeding rooms and facilities and flexible working policies like extra leaves and work from home options. These serve to help working mothers strike a balance between work and family. Because of these, work performance could improve, which is beneficial to the company overall.

Start making a difference

An energetic and passionate working environment, which promotes diversity, can help increase efficiency through collectively utilizing  various talents and their abilities. However, things do not always work out ideally—the gender gap still exists in the tech field.

Although much effort has been put in to change the situation, a long way still awaits us.

What we should do now is to encourage people to take small and practical steps first and then bring real positive impact.

This article originally appeared on Tech in Asia.