It's International Women's Day

8th March 2021

To celebrate this occasion Simply Commerce have decided to focus more of our efforts on encouraging women to work in tech.

A recent Tech Nation report that looked into diversity in UK tech companies revealed that 77% of tech director roles are filled by men. Stats from Tech Nation also suggested only 19% of the tech workforce are women. This figure needs to improve. Here are a few steps Simply Commerce and our Client Partners are taking to make more of an impact:

Review how we advertise our tech roles
Male orientated job descriptions will instantly put a woman off applying. Using words like ‘high-powered’, ‘action orientated’ and ‘results driven’ is most likely to attract men, as women aren’t likely to see themselves in this way. Descriptions should be more focussed around a “supportive environment” with emphasis on “collaboration” and “teamwork” as that’s what appeals more to women according to research.
The use of too many bullet points can also be quite off putting for women as they instantly discount the job if they don’t match all the criteria whereas a man will still apply even if he doesn’t have all the skills.

Celebrating Successful Women
Here at Simply Commerce we have an amazing team of successful women who help make Simply Commerce a great place to work. We recognise that we’re strongest when we are supported and that there’s not limit to what women can accomplish.

Educating women 
Raising awareness and educating females on the rise of technology and the opportunities it can provide is one way of attracting women in tech. Awareness should be raised from young girls at school through to working women to improve their interests and options. In February 2021 Simply Commerce worked with Hoxo Media and Redholt to create Project 500, this campaign raised over £42,000 and sent laptops to schools across the UK, to ensure that children were still able to access their education whilst learning from home.

Support and Encouragement
Girls who code are a non-profit organization which aims to support and increase the number of women in computer science by giving young women the necessary computing skills to pursue opportunities. If you want to take part, you can donate or even set up your own club to encourage and support young girls in their pursuit of a career in tech. https://girlswhocode.com/ 

We know the results won’t be instant, but here at Simply Commerce we are committed to this cause.

Happy International Women’s day!