New Delhi, Feb 26: More than half (62 per cent) ofwomen in tech have seen levels of gender equality improve in their organizationover the past two years, a report said on Friday.
According to a Kaspersky report, the idea of gender equalityrepresents more than just physical bodies through doors. It is also the notionof perceptions, feelings, stereotypes and opportunity.
"The issue of gender stereotypes needs to be addressedlong before women enter the workplace. It needs to start at school, to engageand encourage an interest in IT and tech fields," Noushin Shabab, SeniorSecurity Researcher, Global Research & Analysis Team at Kaspersky, said ina statement.
Addressing the 'intimidation' side of things first, 50 percent of women agree that lack of other females in their industry made them waryof starting a career in IT/tech, 12 per cent above the global average.
This fear is compounded by 43 per cent of APAC womensurveyed stating that they felt intimidated by the unequal gender spilt when theywent through the interview process for their first job in IT/tech -- a numberthat is driven in part by India where this number rises to a concerning 64 percent.
Despite a global improvement in perceptions around genderrepresentation, more than half of the women in the APAC region (58 per cent)agree that gender equality could be improved by remote working, this indicatesan entrenched office culture concern that is still lingering for newcomers evenif the overall picture and climate is improving, the survey revealed.
The one remaining fear, however, is the impact of Covid-19,with 46 per cent of women (40 per cent globally) saying they have been heldback from pursuing career changes since March 2020 because of home pressures,and only 40 per cent of males in APAC reporting the same.