There are still a stereotype in our society assuming that technology is a men area. However, there are women who gain a successful career in technology world and managed to occupy a strategic position. Two of them are Facebook COO, Sheryl Sandberg or Susan Wokcicki, CEO of Youtube. Both entered into “The World’s Most Powerful Women In Tech” published by Forbes magazine in 2017.
In celebration of International Women’s Day that fell on today, 8 March 2018, Rock Paper Scissors as an information technology company share the views related to the role of women in the world of technology.
At one fine afternoon, RPS Founder, Hendri Augustine share about his thoughts about womens in tech, especially on technology business area. During his time in the business world for almost 7–8 years, he said that “not many women works in technology, especially in business area of it. Nevertheless, the participation of women who plunge into the world of technology has begin to increase. Many companies nowaday have started to see employees not based on gender but on value that can be brought back to the company. “
In the business world of technology, especially in Indonesia, the women are considered still lacking ambition. This condition is certainly influenced by many factors, not because of the inability of women to compete with men, but because the influence of the mindset society is still strong. In some case, work vs. marriage sometimes restrict women to be free in encouraging their own careers.
Basically the IT world is very flexible for women. The work can be done remotely, at any time of your preference, and not only restricted to programmer, there are many other options such as graphic design, digital content, etc.
Gender Issues in Information Technology
Related to gender issues in information technology, people’s understanding of IT world itself is not quite precise. Many think that IT is only limited to programmers, while in fact, there are hundreds of other position/expertise on IT world. In fact, women are less likely to occupy programmer positions, as women tend to take other equally strong positions in the technology industry, such as systems analyst.
Jobplanet.com survey stated that “female employees respondents dominate several areas of the IT profession, viz. Graphic Design, Digital Content, Project Management, Data Analysis and IT Quality Assurance,” said Chief Product Officer of Jobplanet Indonesia.
Amid the gender inequality issue of Sillicon Valley, Hendri argues that it could happen because the business world is a world full of uncertainty, while women are required to behave as boldly as men when making decisions. When asked, what exactly are the views of men when women compete in their world in Indonesia?, he said “either they underestimate women or they even feel threaten, which is a good sign. A sign that women is also as strong as men.”
“Women are still considered to have a more gentle attitude than men who are naturally aggressive. Although it does not mean women can not occupy a strategic position in the technology business,” He added.
What may prevent Indonesian women from moving into the world of technology is the effect of an environmentally perspective, that women are perceived to be more desirable to work as flight attendants, secretaries or more “feminine” jobs, especially environmental pressures that require women to choose family first instead of ambition to work, although in the end what determines everything is the personal mindset.
The other unfortunate thing is the bias effect that happened in IT world today. Technology becomes advanced, the need and dependence on technology is increasing, but the understanding of the world of IT itself is still limited to the Software house or programmer, coupled with the idea that work at startup is hype, fun, but working at startup is not that simple. Finally, many feel trapped by mistake in choosing the work area.
It is possible for women to occupy strategic positions in the technology world, but women must be able to withstand double pressure; social pressure that tell them to stop, marry and take care of the family, then pressure in the work itself, because working in the environment of men who are always considered ruthless, bold and have to make decisions flawlessly.
RPS and Gender Equality
RPS itself provides an enormous opportunity for women who have an interest in the IT world. Even from the beginning when RPS was built, the ratio of female employees was more dominant. Hendri also explained that RPS provides wide opportunities for women to occupy strategic positions in the company, and all these criteria depend on the quality of work, value brought to the company, and consistency, clearly it has nothing to do with gender issues
“Find mentors who have an advanced mindset, mentors who do not have the mindset that men and women have their respective traditional position of life. The goal is to strengthen the inner mindset in order to penetrate the barrier of the social mindset. The most important thing is keep progressing, no need to hear public opinion. IT is an intersection between science, design and art. There are 1001 ways and resources in IT, and most of the resource is free. What it takes to be able to walk well into the IT world is just persistence and determination, “ Hendri said to women who have passion in the IT world.
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