Women in Tech: Getting women excited about the IT industry

We still are classifying the male and female professions. When we hear of a job that is predominantly associated with technology, we automatically associate it with a man's job. The IT industry is still dominated mainly by men, even among global players, there are few women specializing in IT.

Few probably know, but women were the first to dare to take the first steps in the area of programming and software development. During World War II, it was not appropriate for men to work in IT. Programming was a typically female profession. The reason for this was that such activities were done by office workers, which was not a typical male activity at the time.

Below are some facts about women in IT.

Important computer women scientists:

• Known as “The Sorceress of Numbers”, the mathematician Ada Lovelace (1815 - 1852) provided the first groundbreaking ideas in programming. To this day she is considered to be the founder of computer science.
• Joan Clarke (1917-1996) was a crypto analyst. Together with the logician Alan Turing, she deciphered the algorithm of the rotor key machine Enigma.
• The invention of the compiler goes back to the computer science pioneer Grace Hopper (1906 - 1992). She was also involved in the development of the COBOL programming language.
• Jade Raymond, (born in 1975) is a Canadian video game producer, best known for helping create the Assassin’s Creed and Watch Dogs franchises, and executive at Google in charge of Stadia Games and Entertainment.

Back to the present:

• On the international average, the proportion of women in IT professions is slightly more than 20%.
• Global players such as Google, Apple, Amazon and Facebook also have a female quota of only around 20%.
• In Moldova, in the Information and Communication Technology sector (ICT), girls and women occupy 31% of the jobs in the sector and 19% of digital professions.

Despite equal rights, support programs and grants, there are too few women specializing in IT.

Away from clichés

Technology nerds that develop complex software programs for coke and pizza belong to the stone age of IT. Today, in most companies as well as at Indrivo, another type of specialists is in demand: communicative people who appreciate teamwork and who are curious about change. Because agile working methods changed our requirements and thus the job profiles in IT.

The ability to communicate and work in a team are just two characteristics that are particularly attributed to women and that IT specialists have to bring with them nowadays. Anyone who has the ability to tackle challenges in a solution-oriented and creative manner, is open to new approaches and understands the needs of their team has all doors open in IT. The proportion of women employed in IT is slowly increasing, as women are more interested in topics such as cloud, hosting and digitization than a few years ago. The diversity of the teams plays a decisive role in the agile world.

The need for female IT specialists is increasing

In the agile working world of the IT industry, the need for female specialists is increasing. Agile methods have a decisive impact on the leadership culture. Agile requires supportive leadership so that teams can work autonomously. That is why Indrivo actively practices the concept of Servant Leadership: Managers guide employees, these understand their strengths and use them in developing and performing their tasks. Empowering a team to do its best is paramount here. Managers need a large portion of empathy and communication skills - qualities that are often attributed to women. In addition, there is the long-known fact that mixed teams work more successfully. So there are many reasons to promote diversity in teams. A differentiated way of thinking helps better understand the customers' needs and develop optimal solutions.

Women ideally qualify for the IT industry

Companies are beginning to realize the opportunities they are missing out on because they do not employ female IT staff. The IT industry is moving away from its old structures and guidelines. The time has come for women to find their place in IT. To do this, however, they should become more courageous and confident in their skills. Even if a job advertisement does not correspond 100 per cent to the skills acquired so far, it is often worth the courage to apply for this job. Today and in the future, those who feel comfortable in the agile working world will successfully lead a team or be part of it. Today and in the future, those who feel comfortable in the agile working world will be part of a team or successfully lead one. And women are very well qualified for it.

How women could shape IT

As of today, the employees of IT companies are mainly men, and the female perspective in the development of technological solutions is often completely absent or partial. However, the users of digital products and services are equally female and male. If to take a very specific look at Indrivo's area of ​​mobile development, it becomes evident that the majority of apps are largely designed and developed by men. In addition, there are many apps on the market whose target group is 50% or even primarily female. It is also not uncommon that precisely these apps do not create a positive product experience for women by missing rudimentary insights and/or playing with clichés, especially when it comes to design. Therefore, we are convinced that women definitely create a benefit in app design and app development and thus in the end a better product can be generated.

How do our colleagues experience everyday life in the IT industry

To get a better insight into the everyday work of our colleagues, we want to bring some women from our company on the stage and make the diversity and creative freedom of our technical and non-technical professions visible and tangible.

“I have been working in IT since 2019 and, as a Project Manager, I take on the coordination of agile digitization and software development projects. I act as a contact person for our customers as well as for our software developers and system administrators. I decided to work in the IT industry because I enjoy working in a team on new solutions and innovations and the range of tasks is very diverse and challenging. What I particularly appreciate about working in IT, is the fast pace and the great innovation potential of the industry. To keep up, we always have to be up-to-date about the latest technologies, programs and methods. I get insights into many industries and it is exciting to work with people from different disciplines and to find solutions together.” 
Ana, Project Manager at Indrivo

“Being a UI/UX designer at Indrivo, I mainly design apps and websites. I enjoy being able to work with so many different people and doing varied activities, from researching the needs that a product must meet, meeting with customers, creating concepts, graphic design and testing the products, to customer presentations, testing the products and having technical discussions with developers. This way, I can combine empathy, creativity and analytics to develop meaningful products." 
Cristina, UI/UX Designer at Indrivo

"The fact that I ended up in an IT profession is not a coincidence. Having an elder brother, being a child, I was always surrounded by his friends which were mainly boys. Being an engineer himself, my brother said I had a good knack for IT and encouraged me to study information technologies and become an engineer. It's a male domain, but I get along very well with it and feel on a par with my male colleagues. There are hard moments, but I am convinced that any woman who applies by Indrivo would feel very comfortable. It often happens that the men are amazed when a woman stands in front of them and tells them how the technology works. We, women, have a different way of communicating and we bring a breath of fresh air with us. Hence, my appeal: Dare to take on jobs that are actually considered male domains!" 
Nina, Front-End Developer at Indrivo

As an IT company, Indrivo is particularly keen to encourage and inspire women to choose technical professions. Therefore, we would like to encourage more women to get involved in IT to make tomorrow's digital products and services even better! We are particularly happy to receive applications from women, because we live equal opportunities and focus on the professional progress of women throughout the company.

With internships from Software Engineering to User Experience, Indrivo offers many growth opportunities. You will work closely with developers and other senior employees as mentors. We will give you the tools and support you need to take your passion further. We will be glad to answer your questions about internships or other career opportunities at Indrivo. Take a look at our careers page and apply today!