But, both within our own organization and the wider industry, there’s still work to be done. The 2024 Global Gender Gap Report, published by the World Economic Forum, highlights that women represent only 28% of the tech workforce globally. In leadership roles, the figure stands between 14%- 21%. When it comes to specialisms like AI and cloud computing, representation drops again. On its current trajectory, the timeline towards gender parity is glacial (standing at 134 years).
While these numbers are stark, they also provide focus — what can be measured can be improved.
2019 saw Thoughtworks set an organization-wide goal to see 40% of women or gender diverse people (W/GD) in technologist roles by the end of 2022. Since then, we’ve achieved major milestones — we hit our target in 2022 — and faced fresh challenges in working towards and maintaining this level. We’ve learned that, while setting a goal does expedite the pace of change, it can’t be the only tool we deploy. To meet and then maintain 40% gender diversity (in places where legally permissible) requires a more holistic approach.
The case for gender diversity is clear
McKinsey has been investigating the link between business performance and diversity for over a decade. In their most recent “Diversity Matters” report, they found that top-quartile companies for female representation on executive teams had a 39% greater likelihood of financial outperformance versus their bottom-quartile peers. An earlier McKinsey report found that companies with the highest levels of gender diversity had a 15% lower turnover rate for female employees and, interestingly, a 25% lower turnover rate for male employees. Data shows that other areas benefit too: from innovation to productivity.
From a tech design perspective, having equitable representation, including W/GD balance on your team, is critical. The benefits lie in understanding user needs, having insights based on lived experiences, and looking ahead to predict possible pitfalls and consequences. When gender considerations are overlooked, it can lead to reinforced stereotypes, exclusion from services, or in worst-case scenarios — direct harm.
Gender bias in product design has already led to virtual assistants being cast as females (Siri, Alexa, Cortana). Health trackers that ignore menstrual cycles (early Apple watches). And early AI recruitment tools that penalized female applicants thanks to biased training data. In each case, user outcomes have suffered, and so have reputations. The lesson is clear. For tech to benefit everyone, it has to be built by everyone.
Measurement is the starting line
Accountability starts with metrics. Without data, how can we track progress and benchmark against industry standards, and our own? Deciding what to measure is the next crucial step. The simplest metric for gender diversity is the overall gender ratio: the percentage of women or gender diverse people and men across the entire organization (as long as data collection allows and is done respectfully). Many organizations stop there, but to achieve our goal of gender balance in tech-delivery roles, our approach needed to be more nuanced. And to maintain it, more nuanced still.
We’ve established a systemic approach to measurement by making sure it happens at every level, across regions and roles. Our metrics include new hires by gender, representation on project teams, gender ratio by seniority and function, and many more. To properly promote inclusion, we need to know what’s happening, not just at the hiring stage, but throughout the thoughtworker lifecycle. The data is examined monthly and quarterly, so we know if we’ve regressed, where we’ve improved, and which areas we need to focus on.
Growth versus sustenance
When we first set our goal of 40% back in 2019, our focus was only on hiring. And the strategy was very simple: hire at the entry level and grow these hires through the business. The problem with such simplicity is that it doesn’t account for how businesses (and economies) fluctuate.
There’s a risk of creating superficial diversity, that is — while the numbers might look better, the lived experiences of W/GD within the organization may not have significantly improved. We've shifted towards a more holistic strategy to sustain our goal and move beyond the numbers.
There’s a risk of creating superficial diversity, that is — while the numbers might look better, the lived experiences of W/GD within the organization may not have significantly improved. We've shifted towards a more holistic strategy to sustain our goal and move beyond the numbers.
Our new approach goes beyond hiring to address the potential for systemic inequalities within our organization. Alongside a thorough system of measurement and a foundation that starts with recruitment, we’re widening our efforts to involve more teams and more tactics. For example, partnering with our learning and development team to shine a lens on equal opportunities and access to training.
A carefully balanced and equitable approach to promotions is being implemented to ensure a healthy funnel of talent towards more senior and leadership roles. Pay parity checks also encourage leaders to adopt a lens of equity in all reward reviews. Better representation in leadership will mean, longer term, a better gender ratio on committees and boards, whose decision-making powers have a knock-on effect across the business. Interview panels must be more diverse, and we’re reviewing our promotion criteria to eliminate bias. We’ve kicked off a new program, “Beyond” in LATAM, focused on developing inclusive leaders. We have also been running “Vapasi” for many years in India, a returnship program for women in tech who have taken a career break and are looking to return to work.
The importance of shared accountability
To see balanced representation in everything we do requires buy-in and action from across the business. For things to fully embed, we’ve implemented a number of practical steps to raise awareness of our goals and equip people with the tools and knowledge to help us achieve them.
We’re rolling out New Hire Orientations (NHO), induction sessions that cover topics like bias, micro-aggressions and systems of oppression and how these can appear in the workplace. We also have bias cheat-sheets that can be used for decision-making moments like nominating peers equitably for leadership roles. We use data from engagement surveys and experience interviews to implement changes aimed at improving retention for all employees, including W/GD.
Other initiatives include making sure all employees are equally represented on event panels and conferences. We also spread the word about our efforts through gender equity ERGs (employee resource groups, open to all employees), quarterly (internal) newsletters, and have DEI champions promoting engagement throughout the business.
The journey to gender equality is an evolution, not a straight line
Our progress is shaped by a complex interplay of cultural, structural and economic factors. But we remain determined to meet and maintain our 40% representation goal globally because we know it’s the right thing — both conscientiously and for our business. We’ll continue to take stock, refining and improving our approach in response to our own learnings, external factors and the ongoing development of DEI best practice. This includes nuances such as intersectionality — making sure that as a business, we aren’t looking at gender in isolation.
We know that the roots of gender disparity in tech begin early: societal gender roles influence access to education and the choices young W/GD make. For those who do pursue STEM subjects, encountering a switched-on and supportive tech industry when they enter the workforce will make a massive difference to how their careers unfold.
We know that the roots of gender disparity in tech begin early: societal gender roles influence access to education and the choices young W/GD make. For those who do pursue STEM subjects, encountering a switched-on and supportive tech industry when they enter the workforce will make a massive difference to how their careers unfold.
By making long-term, transformative changes to our processes, Thoughtworks continues to advance the cause and create positive outcomes for gender equality.