Only 3% of women take up a career in technology

The mobility industry is seeing a lot of women taking up important roles in recent years — contrary to how the industry has been male-dominated in the past. Also, the mobility industry becoming more technology-oriented and when only 3% of women take up a career in technology as their first choice, it mandates a re-think.

Since gender-diverse leadership drives innovation by 20%, diverse groups are known to reduce risks by 30%.

KPIT Technologies’ marketing and thought leadership team hosted the second edition of Women in Mobility, around the theme – “I am where I am, because….” with a virtual panel of industry leaders.

Pointing on instances from their lives and careers, the panellists shared views, experiences, and insights on how to make the field of mobility more inclusive.

The discussion included industry leaders in the mobility space such as Gary Johansen, Vice President, Engineering, Power Systems Business, Cummins, Michele Kaiser, Business Development Manager, John Deere,
Karen Horting, Executive Director and CEO, Society of Women Engineers (SWE), Kenefra Carter, TheMomProject, Lorraine Parker Clegg, Global HR, Allison Transmission, and Sophia Suo, Vice President, Electrification, KPIT Technologies. The event was directed by Jayada Pandit, KPIT Technologies.

As per statistics, only 5% of women in tech are in leadership roles, while women board members in the tech space account for 12.2%. It’s clear then, that STEM still remains male-dominated.

Let’s not forget that women employees face an uphill task at workplaces, globally. This results in significant early-career drop-outs. Without a paradigm shift in domain-thinking and, experience given due to weightage, change seems a tall order — but a necessary one.

Organizations can start by acknowledging that women are the sum of many parts. Having robust support from society, an empathetic family, and resilient “He for She”2 campaigns at work, can transform the “mom in battle” into the “mom in balance”.

Recognizing motherhood as a value-enhancer, productivity-booster and a chance to improve conversations at workplaces can take this a notch higher. However, for women to be heard, they must pursue their dreams and not be swamped by expectations. It requires a strong mind.

In a post-Pandemic world, a global survey finds that 51% of women are less happy about their career prospects though 84% report better work-life balance, 52%, access to flexible working, and 32% experience a strong sense of belonging under gender-equality leaders.

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