In recent years, strategies have been created to promote the presence of women in management positions; however, as the hierarchical level advances, they are underrepresented.
The “Women in the Workplace 2022” study, conducted by McKinsey & Company, notes that for every 100 men who rise to managerial positions, only 87 women arrive At that scale, if we talk about the technology industry, the gap widens, data from the World Economic Forum says that around 24% of the leaders in this sector are women.
Within the framework of International Women’s Day, which is commemorated on March 8, Lourdes Ocampo, a professor at EGADE Business School, highlights that in a world of constant transformation, technology companies require prepared talent; However, there is little presence of women studying careers in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM for its acronym in English), only 35% are women, Unesco reveals.
The low presence of women in these careers creates a gender gap in leadership positions, because talking about equity is complicated when talent is lacking, a problem that requires attacking from upbringing and education.
According to Nazareth Black, CEO of Zacua, a Mexican electric vehicle company, to increase the presence of women in management positions in the technology industry requires work with girls from an early age to bring them closer to the scientific and technological world.
“There are studies that say that women from the age of six begin to self-bias themselves and we think that to enter careers in which you have to be very smart To cross it you have to be a man, so by yourself we begin to relate that the intelligent ones are men”.
For this reason, it is important to eliminate prejudices and stereotypes, because “women are no less capable than men in the fields of science, but there are external factors such as gender stereotypes that families have, the lack of role models and cultural factors that prevent the presence of women in STEM subjects”, reveals the World Economic Forum.
Wage gap
The wage gap is still present in Mexico, the women earn 34% less than men in the same position, according to data from UN Women Mexico. In this regard, Ocampo says that this inequality is the result of a lack of training, since women who are not trained in new technologies lose opportunities for promotion or access to a better salary.
Although the wage gap is also present in STEM careers, it is much smaller, for every 100 pesos earned by men, women receive 82 pesos, while in other careers women receive 78 pesos, reveals Imco.
In addition, STEM graduates have a higher average income, since a science and technology professional who works at least 30 hours a week has an average salary of 13,316 pesos per month, that is, 8% higher than talent from other areas. which is 12,380 pesos for the rest of the professionals.
