Tech gender gap

Is retail being hurt by its tech gender gap?

With women as retail’s primary buyer and purchase influencer, the importance of having the gender prominently working in marketing and merchandising roles has been widely acknowledged. With technology becoming increasingly customer-centric, has retail IT joined their ranks?

Reshma Saujani, the founder of Girls Who Code, an organization that seeks to get young women involved in tech, is among those that believe a better balance of women in retail technology jobs is becoming essential for stores to understand how to best deliver on the customer experience.

“Technology is completely changing how people buy products, how they interact with brands and what they’re buying,” Ms. Saujani told the National Retail Federation (NRF). “In an industry where women control the majority of consumer spending, it’s an enormous missed opportunity to not have those voices at the table.”

Unfortunately, her organization was formed because not many women are pursuing tech careers at all. The nonprofit organization states that in middle schools, 74 percent of girls express an interest in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM), but only 0.4 percent select computer science when choosing a college major.

Beyond any challenges hiring women for IT jobs, a study from McKinsey & Co. in March showed the retail industry needs to do a better job advancing women in tech.

On the positive side, the retail and consumer goods sector was found to have a higher percentage of women in all entry- and mid-level tech roles than the study’s overall sample of industries. But the proportion of women in top roles fell sharply – to 13 percent – compared with the already low 18 percent for the overall sample, reflecting below-average top-level promotion rates.

“In our sample as a whole, women were 92 percent as likely as their male counterparts to make the jump from senior vice president to the C-Suite, while in retail and consumer goods the odds were far lower, at 45 percent,” wrote McKinsey. “Not surprisingly, only 23 percent of women in this sector feel that gender is a priority for their CEOs, compared with 35 percent for the overall sample.”

BrainTrust

"What we need is balance and that's a good idea in any industry."

Lee Kent

Principal, Your Retail Authority, LLC


"This may be a bit off subject, but I am reading a book called “Ashley’s War.” It is about the experience of women who were part of Special Forces..."

Gene Detroyer

Professor, International Business, Guizhou University of Finance & Economics and University of Sanya, China.


"The retail industry has struggled to get its share of women overall, let alone in retail tech positions, specifically."

Ralph Jacobson

Global Retail & CPG Sales Strategist, IBM


Discussion Questions

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS: Do you agree the retail industry has a problem around hiring and advancing women in technology jobs? How do you think this has and will affect the retail industry if not corrected? What solutions do you see?

Poll

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David Livingston
7 years ago

There is no problem. If there is it can’t be solved by for forcing a square peg in a round hole. Everyone is given talents and gifts. If someone if gifted in the IT field they will most likely gravitate towards it regardless of gender. Where’s the outrage that I have never met a male dental hygienist in my life? I’ve only came across one male kindergarten teacher. My church does not allow men to change diapers in their daycare (thank you church). I never see women hopping on the helicopters taking them out to the offshore oil rigs. When the shift ends down at the oil refinery, out of the hundreds of vehicles leaving only a handful are women. When you read about a major work accident killing workers, few are women. I know some very talented female IT people. However like the article states, they are in minority. No one benefits when someone is urged to pursue a career they simply don’t like or aren’t wired for. It’s human nature to pursue careers that allow us to use our gifted talents. Check out the stories in Ireland. Women without children make 17 percent more than men and IT is one of their fastest growing industries. Many major IT companies have moved to Ireland for tax benefits and a better educated workforce, particularly women. Ireland is doing something right. We should check that out.

Lee Kent
Lee Kent
Member
7 years ago

I’m sure to get some push back on this one but I’m going to say it anyway. I AM one of those women. I graduated in the early ’70s in computer science, a pretty new and unknown curriculum to most. The thing is, I wasn’t like most other women. I was more like all the other nerds in my classes.

What I am getting at is this: women may make up our top shoppers in retail, but if I were designing for them I would likely give them gadgets they had no use for. I have four sisters and I know of what I speak. The last one just got a smartphone this year.

Yes, yes, the times have changed and especially with the introduction of the iPhone, women are getting more gadget-savvy (remember I am not talking all women) but the nerds still tend to be a little further around the curve.

What we need is balance and that’s a good idea in any industry.

For my 2 cents.

Lyle Bunn (Ph.D. Hon)
Lyle Bunn (Ph.D. Hon)
7 years ago

All commerce is founded in tech (I say that being a tech person of 40 years). Retail is also strongly rooted in MEDIA. Advertising creates aspiration, social media reinforces, on-location media activates and online media offers opportunity.

So the gap is not so much in tech (coding is gender-neutral) as it is in the elements of media that include interface design, product presentation, value articulation, analytics, impact interpretation, user opt-channel and all the elements that are the smart part of instruction-driven tech.

Brains for marketing; stamina and structure for tech.

Gene Detroyer
Noble Member
7 years ago

This may be a bit off subject, but I am reading a book called “Ashley’s War.” It is about the experience of women who were part of Special Forces, Green Berets and Navy Seals 10 years before women were approved for combat in regular infantry. These women were full combat participants in their units and were strongly supported by the very top of the military hierarchy. The reason was that they often saw things differently than men saw them. Essentially, men were missing obvious clues on combat operations that the women perceived. Note, I am not saying the women were better at it, just different, like having a second set of eyes.

Perhaps this should apply to women in IT in the retail sector. Sometimes you just need a second set of eyes with a different perspective.

Ralph Jacobson
Member
7 years ago

The retail industry has struggled to get its share of women overall, let alone in retail tech positions, specifically. The tools used to recruit women for retail tech, need to be cast in a wide net so awareness is better within universities. People tend to think of tech companies first when pursuing these careers, and don’t typically check out retailers for these jobs. I think the retail industry needs to do a better job of promoting the benefits and lifestyle of tech positions, just like it need to do for retail jobs overall. I just don’t see much of a difference between tech and non-IT jobs and the lack of women applying for them in retail.

Ryan Mathews
Trusted Member
7 years ago

I agree that the retail industry — and almost all industries for that matter — has a problem hiring and advancing women in lots of jobs, particularly top and upper-middle management. Why? I think the cause might be institutional sexism. Let’s look at this piece as an example. Here we read, “With women as retail’s primary buyer and purchase influencer … ” Hmm. So, given all the contemporary social and cultural change, we still believe that women should be looked at as the primary consumers in all retail categories and viewed differently from men who apparently don’t buy for themselves in sufficient enough quantities to be taken seriously as shoppers? Or how about, ” … the importance of having the gender prominently working in marketing and merchandising roles has been widely acknowledged.” “The gender” … really? And, what does, “working prominently,” mean? Seen, but not listened to? Bottom line: tech is a good old, (or in this case, more often young,) boys club, just like the rest of the country’s businesses. How is it that women reach “just so far” in technology? The same reason that women’s test scores in math decline with age — men quit calling on them. Want to increase the number of women in top tech jobs? Start moving some of those boys out of those chairs.