Key Facts
- The New Zealand tech industry is a dynamic, growth industry to work in. It offers higher than average salaries, a variety of roles and great career opportunities.
- The tech sector has an ongoing need for employees, yet women are in the minority, occupying only 23% of professional IT roles overall.
- Less than 1 in 20 girls considers a high-paid career in science, technology, engineering or maths, compared to 1 in 5 boys.
Why this is important
Women are under represented in STEM careers in New Zealand. While New Zealand is doing better than some countries there is a need to do more for two reasons:
- The number of tech roles is increasing so to keep the economy growing well we need to ensure women are interested in taking on tech roles.
- According to international research, tech firms that have a gender balance have better financial performance.
The reasons for the current gender inequality in the tech sector are many, spanning issues such as:
- social pressure on girls and women to pursue “suitable” careers
- societal biases in higher education and the workplace
- lack of support for women who wish to have a family or re-skill when returning to the workforce.
These are complex problems that we all need to work to understand and address.
What you can do
- Get better at saying what’s brilliant about a career in digital technology.
- Show the range of jobs that use tech, the opportunities tech provides, and the kinds of people who have tech careers.
- Get involved with TechWomen activities.
