Women in Technology Study

Job satisfaction is high among U.S. women working in technology, but work remains to improve gender diversity and root out unhealthy aspects of company culture, according to results of a new study focusing on women in the technology industry from S&P Global Market Intelligence.

Conducted by S&P Global Market Intelligence in collaboration with the California Technology Council and WE Global Studios, the study titled, Women in Technology: Key strategies to retain and attract diverse talent, investigates key drivers of career satisfaction and dissatisfaction for women working in technology and helps companies identify strategies for creating more inclusive and productive cultures. The study is based on a fourth-quarter 2021 survey of 626 U.S.-based women working in technology-focused roles across various sectors.

Key highlights from the study include:

• Overall job satisfaction is high among women in tech, with 53% of respondents reporting that they are very satisfied in their current positions, while 39% say they are somewhat satisfied.
• Just over half of respondents expect things to get better for women at their organizations in the next year. Younger women were more likely than those aged 45 or older to be optimistic about the changes on the horizon and to think that conditions for women had improved over the previous year.
• Workplace flexibility should be at the top of the list for companies seeking to attract and retain a diverse tech workforce. More than 57% of survey respondents identified flexible work hours and remote work as a key driver of job satisfaction.
• More than 50% of respondents said that seeing women role models in senior leadership positions is an important factor in career satisfaction.
• Respondents estimated, on average, that women hold about 39% of IT roles in their organization. That compares to the 27% average reported by respondents to 451 Research’s Voice of the Enterprise: Digital Pulse survey in the second quarter of 2019.
• Despite the high satisfaction levels, there is still work to do to improve company culture. One in three of respondents has experienced sexual harassment at work. Many more women reported experiencing inequitable pay and advancement opportunities, as well as exclusion from important projects and social networks at work. Explore the research and get more essential insights on ways to attract and retain women in the tech field.