While only one in six tech specialists in the UK are women, this trend does not have to continue indefinitely. Developing countries such as the Philippines and Vietnam are leading the way for women in technology - and companies like Sharesource are promoting gender diversity within the tech space, with talented female tech professionals working for many of their international clients.

This is according to Janette Chester, UK Business Development Manager at Sharesource, an entrepreneurial company which operates globally and exists to equalise opportunities for tech talent in developing countries.

Chester explains: “I am aware of the statistics noting that only around one in six people in the tech industry in the UK are female. However, this is not the case at Sharesource: we work according to a truly ‘gender-diverse’ paradigm, consistently sourcing smart female tech talent for our partner clients in Australia, the UK and other countries.

In addition, we aim as far as possible for equal numbers of men and women in our teams, thereby promoting balanced gender diversity. We also demonstrate in the process that our remote tech team members – the majority of whom are based either in Vietnam or the Philippines - are on a par with their international colleagues, with regards to attitude, ability and education.”

Under-representation of women

According to Womenintech.co.uk, a site dedicated to women already in or looking to start their career in the IT and tech sector, women are significantly under-represented in this field, stating that ‘…only 19% of people working in tech in the UK are female. Even though the tech industry is becoming more diverse, and companies are looking to grow this diversity, the gender gap is still an issue which needs tackling.’

However, Sharesource - which provides remote tech teams from developing countries and matches them with businesses in Australia, the US and the UK - has consistently shown that women do not have to accept ‘second place’ in the tech arena.

Commendable statistics for women in tech in South-East Asia

Chester comments: “We are able to tap into a global talent pool where we have found that women are holding their own in the tech arena. Our Sharesource female employees in The Philippines and Vietnam certainly represent the trend of more women in technology compared with in the UK.”

Chester’s input is backed by research carried out by the Boston Consulting Group (BCG), which studied gender diversity in technology across six Southeast Asian nations, including the Philippines and Vietnam, in 2020. BCG notes that: ‘…the participation of women in technology across Southeast Asia is slightly higher than global averages, in terms of both the number of college graduates with technology degrees and the overall tech workforce. Notably, the region leads several mature Western markets in gender diversity - including the US and the UK.’

Additionally, the BCG report also clarified that women make up 35% of the technology workforce in the Philippines, and 34% in Vietnam. Additionally, almost half (48%) of university graduates in the technology industry in the Philippines are women.

“These commendable statistics support our decision to source our gender-diverse tech talent from these countries,” explains Chester.

Breaking through the tech ‘glass ceiling’

Precious Zara-Dominguez and Camille Joy Leong are Sharesource team members based in the Philippines while working in the GIS space for companies in Australia. Zara-Dominguez is a GIS analyst, while Leong works in the engineering/GIS space.

Zara-Dominguez obtained a Master of Science in Natural Resources Conservation, and is involved in processing and analysing multispectral and hyperspectral imageries - as well as LiDAR data for agriculture and carbon projects. Leong studied applied mathematics with a specialisation in mathematical finance, and manages client and planning requirements for fibre optic networks and designs.

Zara-Dominguez says that she has fortunately experienced very little gender bias, and that this is true not only of her work experience at Sharesource, but in a variety of previous jobs.

She comments: “I have been fortunate throughout my career not to have encountered gender bias. What men can do, women can do the same, and with excellence: whether during fieldwork, data collection, data analysis or interpretation. I believe that there should be a balance in every team, and that having a gender-diverse workplace will ensure a balanced and varied perspective and approach to the work. I do believe that in the Philippines we have true gender equality in the tech space, including in universities and schools, where the STEM (Science Technology Engineering and Maths) courses at university reflect an almost 50/50 representation. I feel that although we are still a patriarchal country in some respects, the Philippines is doing very well regarding gender diversity and equality.”

Camille Leong corroborates Zara-Dominguez’s experience in many aspects, although she has experienced the incorrect perception that her origins from a different country have meant that her abilities within the technology space must be inferior.

She notes: “I have observed the existence of a gender bias in the tech space in different countries. While there is a fairly even gender representation in the Philippines, I work mainly with Australians, where it still appears to be a male-dominated sector. However over time - and especially after meeting face-to-face - my Australian colleagues have accepted my competence: both as a woman and also as a person in the tech space from a developing country.

Karen Pham, a Sharesource team member from Vietnam, works in branding and building culture and events. She explains: “In Vietnam, women in the tech space report that their opinion is still not respected as much when compared to men. There is still a bias against women the tech arena at the recruitment stage. Nonetheless, this bias is not something that I have personally experienced within Sharesource.”

Myth-busting and equalising

Chester concludes: “The Sharesource model and culture offers a win-win situation to our client partner companies and our team members. We have proven that sourcing tech talent globally can really work successfully.

We believe we are also playing a significant ‘myth-busting’ role, challenging international misperceptions around women in tech - and doubts about the competence of tech professionals from developing countries. Our candidates prove otherwise, and we are proud to be able to endorse these strong women in the technology arena who show up every day, do an excellent job and in so doing, also champion the cause of gender diversity and inclusion.

We look forward to working with UK partner clients, and in so doing, to equalising opportunities for our team members from developing countries; as well as contributing towards equalising the representation of women in tech in the UK moving forward.”