'Gender diversity in tech is good for business - it's not rocket science'

"On average, companies that practice gender diversity in their leadership teams outperform their peers by 20 per cent or more. Yet despite it being blindingly obvious, women only make up 22 per cent of software engineers in the US and there's even less representation in Europe, where only 5 per cent of tech leadership roles are held by women."

"If big tech firms had more gender-mixed teams designing their mobile handsets then someone may have pointed out that the latest supersize models are actually too big for most women (and a fair few men) to use comfortably one-handed. It also took a significant backlash for one of the previously mentioned tech companies to clock on to the fact that their health app would be a lot more useful if they incorporated a period tracker."

"There is a growing demand for skilled workers in the tech industry but a severe shortage of qualified candidates. Encouraging more women and gender-diverse people to work in technology not only offers them the opportunity to pursue an exciting career in this space, it also opens up the potential candidate pool available therefore helping to resolve this global shortage."

Gender diversity in leadership teams significantly boosts business productivity, with companies outperforming peers by 20% or more. Tech companies with male-dominated teams have produced poorly designed products that fail to meet women's needs, such as oversized phones and missing period-tracking features. Women comprise only 22% of software engineers in the US and hold just 5% of tech leadership roles in Europe. The tech industry faces a severe shortage of qualified candidates despite growing demand. Increasing female and gender-diverse representation addresses both equity concerns and workforce shortages. Solutions begin in childhood through education, with schools and parents encouraging girls to pursue STEM courses and exposing them to inspirational stories of successful women in technology.

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