When you look at the statistics surrounding girls who study STEM and go on to work in the field, it quickly becomes apparent that the gender gap is a systemic issue.
According to data compiled by the European Union, women only account for 25% of self-employed professionals in science, engineering or information and communication technologies, and only 10% of patent applications come from women.
A separate study by Microsoft has uncovered that across 35 European countries, fewer than 20% of computer science graduates are women, and boys are more likely than girls to imagine themselves working in tech roles in adulthood.
In fact, by the age of 15, less than 1% of girls have ambitions to break into a career in tech compared to 8% of boys, despite girls scoring higher across science and mathematics.
One woman on a mission to change this and encourage more women to pursue a career in tech is Anna Brailsford, CEO of Code First Girls, one of the largest providers of free coding courses for women globally, which has helped more than 120,000 women learn to code.
“One thing that our research has shown is that women come at technology slightly later,” Brailsford shared recently at the Dublin Tech Summit.
“Switcher-wise, we get teachers, nurses, and accountants who would like to be their own boss, and we’re providing them with the vehicle to do that. Ultimately, they come with a plethora of skills so [it’s about] creating alternative ways to get in technology.”
Financial sense
Closing the gender gap and encouraging more women into tech roles makes financial sense too. A report by McKinsey predicts that if Europe can increase its share of women in tech to 45% by 2027, it could increase the GDP from €260 billion to €600 billion.
Conversely, a study by the Korn Ferry Institute found that Europe will have lost out on a potential €1.323 trillion in unrealised annual revenue by 2030 if the talent deficit to the tune of 14.3 million workers carries on.
Ready to make your mark in tech? The Silicon Canals Job Board is the perfect place to start your job hunt as it features thousands of jobs in companies across Europe that are actively hiring, like the three below.
Staff Software Engineer – Data Application Platform, Fivetran, Amsterdam
Fivetran is building data pipelines to power the modern data stack for thousands of companies. It is looking for a Staff Software Engineer to join its core platform team and perform a mix of design and implementation tasks to advance the technical foundation behind the Fivetran product offering. The role will challenge you to reason about relational semantics, powerful abstractions, data representation, and software performance and while you don’t need to be a subject matter expert before you join, you will need to have experience working carefully with a high impact software team. View more details here.
Senior Software Engineer – Ledger Connectivity, LEDGER, Paris
Founded in 2014, Ledger is a global platform for digital assets and Web3. It is seeking a Senior Software Engineer who’s not just interested in writing code, but also passionate about the broader JavaScript ecosystem, blockchain, and is excited about the impact of decentralized systems on the world. Besides implementing solutions, you will be involved in working with cross-functional teams, helping on the development and optimisation of our Blockchain architecture, and fostering a functional programming approach to create an efficient, maintainable and side-effect-limited codebase. See the full job description here.
Senior Software Engineer (Risk) (w/m/d), Billie, Berlin
Buy Now, Pay Later (BNPL) payment platform Billie is hiring a Senior Software Engineer to join its Risk domain. As a Senior Software Engineer, you will be responsible for designing, developing, testing, deploying, maintaining, and improving software solutions that meet customer needs. You will have a high degree of autonomy to make decisions that support the team’s goals and objectives. In this role you will also get the opportunity to mentor and train other team members on coding standards, design techniques, and quality practices and provide architectural advice on security and scalability. Get more information here.
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