On Wednesday December 4th, BC Tech celebrated what was scheduled to be the conclusion of our #WhatWorks series on women in tech, which was designed to move the dial on increasing the participation and success of women in the technology industry.
BC Tech published 15 top strategies grounded in made-in-BC success stories for driving gender equity across five key areas: Data, Recruitment, Culture, Career Development, and Pay Equity.
We launched this series because women make up only 18% of the tech workforce here. It goes without saying that we must, and we will, do better. Leading B.C. companies’ success stories and strategies are blazing a trail or the wider community. Now, it’s time for the rest of the sector to take action by choosing what’s appropriate for each and every company.
The name of the series speaks volumes. We want to celebrate and promote what works, whether it’s negotiation and public speaking skills for career success, or sensible policies at the business level. So we designed our events to benefit both individuals and companies looking to create diverse and inclusive teams and workplaces.
We learned a great deal from the #WhatWorks series, and we’d like to share it all with the community. Perhaps the greatest learning has been the importance of data. After all, we can’t improve what we can’t measure.
If your company is looking to build diverse teams so everyone can succeed, you need to measure metrics like promotion, retention, salaries, and off-cycle compensation increases through an intersectional lens. Then you need to announce targets and publish your results to hold yourself accountable.
We’re proud that nearly 500 people from the B.C. tech community are involved in the series. But we want to do more.
That’s why, based on the strong demand and success of the series, we’re delighted to announce that we will be extending it through March.
In the meantime, our call to action is this: Determine what your company can do to move the dial for women, diversity and inclusion, then do it. There’s no excuse for sitting on the sidelines, especially with #WhatWorks providing so many compelling made-in-BC strategies.
