"We want that our communication
tools become digital"
I
heard this during a client brief in a big French industrial group, and it
wasn’t a surprise: former consultant in a communication agency, I am one of
those people who know the importance that took the digital economy in our society.
However, I think that this sector supposed to be representative of our future
does not offer the best reflection of the parity in the work’s world. Even if
gender equality is part of development indicators (HDI) promoted by the UN, and
even if the french Minister of Digital Economy is a woman (a young one as well),
in reality the way which leads us to break the glass ceiling is still long.
I
am part of the generation in France that discovered Internet with MSN, with the
very first version of Internet Explorer, and with old modem connections doing
weird noises. Our children, however, who will be born already identified on
Facebook with pictures of their first bath, will be entitled to ask: why did we
let the digital economy in the hands of so many men (or so few women)?
The
European Union has sounded the alarm in fall 2013, with disturbing figures: of
a selection of 1,000 European student girls, there are only 29 who choose a digital
section. And over these 29, there are only 4 who eventually find a career in
this economy.
However
, digital is a growing industry , with a lot of job creations : executives,
engineers , entrepreneurs, start -ups ... The companies themselves are
struggling to recruit the necessary profiles to develop their digital offer : when
I was looking for a job online in France, I was seeing every day more and more
positions searched of " Community management " .
So
where is the gap? Like many inequalities, I think it comes from education. Too
many girls are leaving technical or scientific areas at school, it is a fact. I
remember we were 90% of girls in the Arts division back in high school. On the
other side, scientific classes had a more even spread of boys and girls. In
engineering school, only a few women choose industrial engineering or computer
option. Being a “geek” or “neird” is a male’s passion.
Look
at Twitter, summoned to feminize its board of directors (7 guys) : very quickly
we saw the appointment of Marjorie Scardino , a famous boss from the media's
world. Or Facebook, with its director Sheryl Sandberg. But apart from Marissa
Mayer (boss of Yahoo), these iconic women do not come from the world of
computing.
Finally,
I note this: the digital economy sector has become a success in developed
countries, so it attracts a predominantly male audience. Of course there are
women bloggers (mommy blogs, fashionistas bloggers), women from the media’s
world, but they are mostly women involved in the digital economy in its social
and conversational side. Which is also known as the traditional women’s side.
However, on the technical side, such as developers, engineers, we are still
left behind.
So
for those who are interested, let’s follow on March 7 the Day of the Digital Woman which will take place in
Paris, or at a more international level, the TedX Women which just started.
#Girls, there are places to be taken!
Agathe Ramsamy
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