Collaborating to retain workers in Ottawa’s tech industry

The Leaking Pipeline is now an EXIT RAMP

NEW PICTURE EFFECTS

Introducing

Re-directing traffic from the EXIT RAMP

SITUATION: What’s happening in the tech industry?

EFFECT: Why does it matter?

SOLUTIONS: What can be done? Who’s doing it?

IMPACT: Higher retention rates, better recruitment, less staff turn-over, higher performance.

Tina Crouse Head, WIL

OttawaMelissa

GeorghiouTech Project Lead

41% of women leave technology companies after 10 years of experience, compared to only 17% of men.

This is what it looks like for the tech industry.

Benefits of having women in management

Let’s have a conversation

Group activity – meet in groups at the end of your row. A conversation topic will be supplied.

Unintended Bias - Knowledge changes everything

The Unlikeability Issue

Heidi / Howard Study – in 2003, professors at Columbia Business School did an experiment by presenting half the students with the actual resume of celebrated venture capitalist Heidi Roizen and the other half, received the resume with the name changed to Howard. Students rated Heidi and Howard as being equally competent but Heidi was rated as unlikeable and not the person to hire.

“Success and likeability are positively correlated for men and negatively correlated for women.”

 

Unintended Bias - Understanding hidden perceptions

Kieran Snyder – Fortune Magazine (online)

SOLUTIONS: InterruptersGOOGLE Issue– Women were promoted less often than men

Problem- Workers needed to nominate themselves. If women did, they received pushback. Women were rewarded for modesty and penalized for what was interpreted as aggressive behavior.

Solution - Google began including female leaders at workshops to coach everyone, men and women, on how to promote themselves effectively. The gender difference among nominees disappeared.

SOLUTIONS: InterruptersDELOITTE

Issue – improved operational and financial performance 

Problem – low female participation, low retention

Solution – matching senior leaders (mostly male) to rising female talent for one to two years. The objectives are to build confidence, create visibility of talent internally and provide access to stretch assignments. The results are then directly tied to the coach’s performance review and compensation.

SOLUTIONS: InterruptersIBM

Issue – increase innovation and enhance company reputation Problem – not enough female leaders moving to top executive positions Solution – reciprocal mentoring pairs top leaders (often male) with female mentors. It exposes female leaders to the most strategic work at the company, while creating visibility of the female talent whom the male leaders might not otherwise interact with.

BlackBerry Scholars Program - sponsors 10 undergraduate women at accredited colleges or universities. The Program is designed to help increase the number of women studying and influencing the future in STEM.

Shopify is hosting an event called Beyond the Code that celebrates women in technology.

Canadian Tech Company Initiatives

SOLUTIONS: Interrupters

Issue – lack of traditional mentorship opportunities 

Problem – with a lack of mentors and role models, women have difficulty mapping out what the career ladder looks like. A sense of stalling or being stuck and not sure where to go or how to get there

Solution – Organizations like WISE and WIL are designing mentorship programs that are different

Ottawa’s Tech Industry

Ottawa’s tech companies