A new global survey by Africa Tech Festival and Connecting Africa on the career progression of women in the technology sector across Asia, Europe and Africa has found that over half of respondents believe women’s career progression has suffered due to Covid-19 and the cost-of-living crisis.
Up to 56% of respondents believed that women missed out on work opportunities, while 26% of respondents believed that women had been denied access to financial support from governments.
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The cost-of-living crisis impacted employment situations of over two-thirds of European and Asian women, while almost 81% of African women were affected. The report also found that 21% of women in African tech roles were working more than one job to make ends meet.
The survey also highlighted a skills shortage as a major barrier to entry, with 68% of respondents seeing it as an obstacle to women entering the sector. The report suggests that women are still a long way from achieving equality when it comes to obtaining funding.
However, having more women-focused business events and awards is perceived as one of the most powerful initiatives that has helped women-led start-ups get better access to funding over the last 24 months.
The presence of more women-led venture capital funds and women-focused accelerator programmes could also help to encourage more women to enter the field.
The report also revealed that women in tech face significant career progression barriers. 73% of women respondents across the three continents surveyed had seen their employment situation impacted by a lack of career development opportunities, with 32% having a pay loss and/or not having received a promotion for more than 24 months. The report also found that women are still experiencing gender bias in the tech sector.
Africa Tech Festival editor Paula Gilbert commented on the situation in Africa, stating that while the continent was making strides towards gender parity in the tech and telecoms industry, there was still a lot that needed to be done to have true equality in the sector.
Gilbert suggested that empowering Africa’s young women to follow paths into STEM careers by providing better funding, access to skills programmes and mentorship opportunities could help break down the barriers that are preventing women from progressing in the technology sector.
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