This story was first published in November 2021; however, it has been reposted for International Women’s Day 2022.
There are efforts to encourage women in the technology business, but the term has become somewhat of a buzzword, and there is still a long way to go before gender parity is realized in the field.
Women are expected to make up approximately 19% of the IT workforce, and only 15% of start-ups in Europe are started or co-founded by women.
During Web Summit 2021, Europe’s largest technology conference, there were more women than males for the first time in the event’s 10-year existence, with 50.5% of participants being female.
Women’s interest in the computer business is evidently strong, but the industry looks to be slipping behind in its efforts to recruit, promote, and retain women.
Euronews Next met with some of the industry’s female CEOs and company founders who are breaking barriers and asked them what is wrong and what advise they would provide to aspiring business owners.
Being a woman is still a disadvantage. – Nanaba
The internet software Nanaba, co-founded by Anne Laure Monier in the southern French city of Nice in 2020, benefits both children and parents.
It functions by requiring your child to play educational games before accessing other programs like as YouTube, Instagram, or TikTok.
Nanaba CEO Anne Laure MonierNanaba
“I founded this firm because I had a serious problem with my kid, a 12-year-old who spent an inordinate amount of time viewing movies on YouTube to the detriment of his education,” Monier told Euronews Next.
“And I thought to myself, as a mother, I can’t allow him to repeatedly unsubscribe (to those channels) on his cell phone and tablet when they may also serve as excellent educational tools.”
Monier has been a business leader for almost 15 years, but this is her first job in the technology industry. Being a female CEO, she finds it challenging to obtain investment from investors.
In the past 15 years, there has been a substantial improvement. On the other hand, as a start-up that is in the process of obtaining capital in Europe, being a woman is still a disadvantage since we must defend ourselves. We need legitimacy, and there are still worries about women in leadership positions,” she remarked.
“I find it really detrimental, as women nowadays add a great deal of value to a firm. There is a degree of finesse and spirit that might vary.
Instead, France must improve the environment for women, particularly in the startup sector, according to Monier.
“The state is now prepared to advocate for women in business. Nevertheless, there are both words and actions. “The words are great, but the actions do not always match,” she remarked.
“I have never gotten funds or any assistance for the status of women in corporate leadership roles. Among startups, the situation is considerably worse.
In other words, there is now no government backing, state subsidies, or similar resources that would enable us to express ourselves during fundraising.
Nonetheless, Monier is confident that these challenges will be remedied in the future, especially as the number of women in positions of authority increases.
“Leap right in” – Katch
Alessandra Knight wants to enable individuals to reclaim control of their time by favoring ad hoc meetings over schedules. And this is what the Katch app enables.
Knight told Euronews Next, “We want to offer individuals the ability to accept meetings on the spur of the moment, rather than being tied to their schedules and confined to these short, tight meeting blocks.”
She feels Katch benefits working women in particular.
She stated, “We’re able to manager schedule move our time to achieve the goals that we’re working on that will help the company flourish, as well as to meet our own goals and for personal and work-life to live in harmony.”
Katch was created in California and was inspired by the COVID-19 epidemic. The founder of Katch was a former executive assistant at the game business Dots, where she was responsible for organizing her team’s calendars and believed there could be a better approach to allocate people’s time.
Her advice to people who wish to become co-founders and CEOs is straightforward: “Do it, definitely dive in.”
She stated, “I believe networking with as many people as possible is the best way to learn that there are so many individuals eager to share what they’ve learned and possibilities.”
“Find individuals who believe in you and will support what you’re doing or want to do. Those are the individuals you want on your side; they will assist you achieve success in any endeavor.”
Knight stated that it has been amazing to watch thousands more women emerge on the tech landscape during the past eight years, including more Black women founders.
“I believe that we’ve all been here. It’s simply that now we’re truly in the spotlight, can have a seat at the table, and have a lot more support, which has been fantastic,” she added.
Her recommendation for businesses that wish to be more inclusive of women is to offer equal chances for women, and for the technology industry to make space for women and support them.
Investors are only interested in deep technology and fintech. – Omgyno
Omgyno, headquartered in Athens, provides a vital health service for women and individuals who identify as female.
It is a telemedicine service that, according to the firm, aims to empower everyone with a vagina by providing home test kits for the diagnosis of illnesses. In a secure and confidential environment, their team of qualified gynecologists may also give competent medical guidance.
Doreen Toutikian, CEO and co-founder of Omgyno, told Euronews Next, “We plan to expand throughout the Balkans and the Middle East in areas where we feel we are most needed because there appears to be a relationship between conservative societies and doctors who are not being very fair to many of our users.”
She is a native of Beirut and has dealt with these challenges personally.
“I realized that if I tried to take care of my sexual health, I was continually scrutinized, since many physicians want you to be married by a young age. They want to ensure you have a child,” Toutikian explained.
“They earn significantly more money out of you if you are pregnant, and they reject you or look down on you if you have an SSDI.” Then I began to realize that this is not only my problem, but also the problem of many of my friends.
Her team then performed a study of over 600 individuals and discovered that in communities with less tolerance, women feared being evaluated if they went to the doctor. Toutikian said that a significant number of respondents also reported abuse.
While the startup provides a lifeline for women, the CEO claims it is tough to obtain investors.
“Many investors are only interested in deep technology and fintech,” she remarked.
“When you see one or two tiny businesses attempting to do something creative and caring for a certain set of people, it doesn’t seem to be on everyone’s radar because they wonder, ‘Does that truly make money?'”
The firm does not profit from the physicians they employ, therefore acquiring finance is essential.
“They just need sufficient opportunities to be able to obtain the investment necessary to begin achieving the desired social effect, while simultaneously generating enough profit to make all the shareholders happy.
“That is really probable. I believe in it. I believe that others should begin to adopt the same approach.
‘Be persistent’ – Her Influence
Women were more likely to lose their employment or be placed on furlough throughout the COVID-19 epidemic.
In Poland, however, two women collaborated to establish the community-based platform Her Impact, which assists women in building their careers through locating employment.
It provides women with skills on how to cope with unethical behavior in the workplace and guidance on how to begin their own business, in addition to a networking platform.
Currently, it is only accessible in Poland, but the firm has plans to spread throughout Europe.
Founders Magdalena Linke-Koszek and Karolina Cwalina-Stpniak told Euronews Next, “According to our research, most women just want to be included in the IT environment and treated similarly to their male colleagues.”
They stated that the problem for women in technology is the male-dominated atmosphere.
According to them, this is partially due to the school system, since the majority of young girls are taught that computer careers are typically reserved for men. They claim that this is false.
“There is a dearth of understanding among women that there are humanistic roles in the realm of technology and that there are new, modern avenues for advancement in this area,” they stated.
They explain that one of the key purposes of Her Impact is to make inclusion feasible, and that they are attempting to assist women realize their full potential by providing development tools.
Their advise to other women in the IT industry?
“Be persistent in your search for a workplace with essential values such as gender diversity”
