March is National Women’s History Month and when it comes to women, the field of technology has a diversity challenge. There is a disconnect somewhere between high school and tech jobs; 74% of young girls are interested in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) education and career paths, but only 26% of all tech jobs are held by women. Only 5% of tech leadership roles belong to women.

What’s going on? How can Phoenix employers recruit more women into the tech field? Find more diverse female IT recruiters as we have at Prosum as part of our Phoenix team who can support a company’s efforts to attract more women into tech.

Why Is It Important for Phoenix Tech Companies To Recruit Women?

Diversity matters. Having a monoculture makes companies less innovative but it also affects the bottom line of these businesses. Forbes reports diverse companies produce more revenue from innovation. Fast Company says, “Having diverse perspectives from teammates who come from different backgrounds ensures that your team approaches a problem from multiple angles, and this can lead to faster resolutions.”

Within the spectrum of diversity lies the necessity of recruiting women. It’s crucial for companies to recruit women into their tech teams for several reasons:

• Diversity of perspectives: Women bring unique perspectives and experiences to the table. These perspectives help create more innovative and effective solutions for everyone—including customers.
• Talent pool expansion: IT staffing services companies in Phoenix focus on bringing in more women in part because it broadens their talent pool. Women make up half of the world’s population and are increasingly pursuing STEM fields, so excluding them from your candidate search means you’re missing out on a potentially bigger pool of talent.
• Improved company culture: Recruiting more women helps create an inclusive company culture, better morale, and in turn, higher employee retention.
• Positive social impact: Companies that focus on gender diversity and inclusion can break down stereotypes and have a positive impact on society and their brand.

While these benefits should stand on their own, companies also win when they recruit more women into their IT roles. Gender diversity helps:

• Team troubleshooting
• Women advance their careers
• Employee retention

Diversity Promotes Problem-Solving 

Gender diversity helps to promote problem-solving in several critical ways:

• When teams have a diverse group of individuals, they bring a broader range of experiences and perspectives to the problem-solving process. This helps them identify problems that may have been missed and generate more creative troubleshooting solutions.
• Avoids “groupthink,” a phenomenon where teams make decisions without considering all the possible options or viewpoints. Gender diversity avoids this by bringing in new ideas and challenging assumptions.
• Increased creativity within groups is desirable for innovation. Gender diversity fosters a more collaborative and creative work environment.
• Better decision-making occurs when a team has a wide range of perspectives.

Removing Unconscious Gender Bias Helps Women Advance Their Careers in Tech

Hidden biases are a problem in the tech world, and they keep women from advancing in their careers. Unconscious bias can result in unequal access to resources such as networking, mentoring, and training. When these biases are removed, women can be evaluated based on their skills, rather than stereotypes or assumptions. They have more opportunities for leadership roles, which increases their impact across an organization.

Inclusive Work Environments Can Improve Employee Retention

Diversity on an IT team helps create a more inclusive and welcoming work culture. Inclusivity leads to better morale, higher retention rates, and even increased productivity. Some of the benefits of an inclusive environment are:

• Employees have a greater sense of belonging to a team. When employees feel included and valued, they are more likely to stick around. Inclusive work environments give your tech employees chances to connect with each other and form relationships, which is the glue that helps hold people to your company.
• Improved engagement because employees feel like their contributions matter.
• Less stress because an inclusive environment is generally more supportive and collaborative. Less stress means better mental health and improved employee retention.
• A more positive corporate image in the marketplace can attract more candidates to your organization. It can help you retain existing employees. Finally, it can even help improve sales across your organization.

IT Recruiters in Phoenix Share 5 Tips To Hire More Women in Tech Careers

IT recruiters in Phoenix understand the importance of recruiting more women into the tech field. They employ a variety of techniques to help their organizations find a diverse array of talent. Some of the most common techniques used by Phoenix staffing agencies include:

• Writing more inclusive job descriptions
• Encouraging companies to increase their family-friendly benefits
• Create career paths for women to move up the ladder
• Build diversity into your hiring strategies
• Pay women what they’re worth

#1 Write Inclusive Job Descriptions To Recruit More Women in Tech 

Writing inclusive job descriptions can help recruit more women in tech by removing gender bias language. For example, avoid gendered pronouns like he/him or she/her. Use they or their instead. Also, focus on the job requirements instead of using gendered stereotype language like “ninja” in your ad. Words like “competitive” or “aggressive” is also a potential turn-off for women and may keep them from applying.

Always add a diversity and inclusion statement in your ad. Adding this statement helps attract any candidate looking for an inclusive workplace, but particularly women.

Finally, consider increasing job flexibility and remote work options to attract more women candidates into your tech job.

#2 Increase Family-Friendly Benefits To Attract Female Tech Candidates

Offering family-friendly benefits can be a great way to attract female tech candidates. Policies could include flexible work arrangements to allow caregivers (men and women) to pick up kids from school. Along the same lines, consider offering paid parental leave to help new moms and dads take time off work to be with their children without worrying about their job.

Some companies take this a step further and offer childcare support in the form of subsidized daycare. Or they offer onsite childcare. As an alternative, consider offering more work-from-home options, which save time and money on their commute.

Shore up your family health benefits to ensure they are the best your company can afford. Finally, offer lactation rooms or other breastfeeding support options to help new moms cope with their responsibilities.

#3 Promote Upward Mobility in Tech Jobs

IT staffing firms in Phoenix know that once you’ve attracted a job candidate, you must also work to retain them. How can companies promote upward mobility in tech for women?

• Start with clear career paths. Your goal should be establishing road maps for women to work their way up the ladder. Outline the skills and experience required and shore it all up with a solid mentorship and coaching program to help women succeed.
• Offer training and development. Invest in your employees, and they will invest in you. From technical training, leadership advice, and mentoring, these programs help your women in tech grow along with their job titles.

#4 Create Diverse Hiring Strategies

Companies and their IT recruiters in Phoenix can create more inclusive hiring strategies. Start with a diversity goal for their hiring process, such as hiring a certain percentage of women or from other underrepresented groups. Then work to expand your recruiting channels beyond traditional job postings and employee referrals. This effort could include attending diversity job fairs or working with a Phoenix IT staffing minority-certified agency like Prosum. You can also train your hiring managers to recognize and eliminate unconscious workplace bias.

#5 Emphasize Equal Pay

Pay women what they’re worth. It’s a simple concept that most companies are failing to achieve. Women still make .83 cents for every dollar a man makes. In tech, women make 3% less than men in the same job. That’s with the same qualifications as men and in the same job. It’s a simple idea that women are just as qualified as men. How can a company move forward in its diversity and inclusion efforts when this apparent disparity needs correcting? Paying women the same as men for the same job is fair. It will also benefit your company by attracting more qualified candidates.

Diversify Your Workforce With the Top Tech Recruitment Agency in Phoenix

At Prosum’s tech recruitment market in Phoenix, we also emphasize finding more women to fill IT positions because it’s the right thing to do. We are Phoenix’s leading tech recruitment agency, with particular expertise in healthcare and government recruiting. We’d also like to partner in your efforts to diversify your tech teams. Prosum is a certified minority-owned enterprise and diverse supplier, and we’re standing by to help you reach your hiring and diversity goals. Contact our IT recruiters in Phoenix for more information about our tech staffing services.