The push for more greater involvement of women in tech companies doesn't appear to be going well, as women are reportedly leaving the tech industry in massive numbers.
While plenty of programs encourage girls and minorities to get involved in technology at a young age, the payoff may not come as it's becoming increasingly tough to keep them on the job, The Los Angeles Times reported.
Millions of dollars have been invested in STEM education and technology programs for women, but huge numbers of highly trained women are facing disappointment on the job. Many are suffering silently, forgoing reporting their male colleagues for "perceived" prejudices and slights designed to keep women out of management and far from career growth -- and pay.
Women are quitting for a range of reasons, but the main theme appears to be a lack of respect and decreasing desire among women to secure opportunities to rise into the ranks of management.
The report cites a Harvard Business Review study from 2008 that says "hostile" work environments represent the major problem for women working in tech companies large and small. The study, which was updated in 2014, indicated the reasons haven't changed much.
Most women in the Harvard study said the manifestations of the hostility are subtle or masked and are hard to challenge. Alaina Percival of Women Who Code -- a group that works to recruit women into the tech business -- told the Times that the subtleties of exclusion represent a big problem.
Meanwhile, the tech industry is growing at a fast pace and needs workers, regardless of gender. However, as more and more women leave the business, the problem of filling the open positions at big -- and small -- tech companies continues to grow.
But apparently, this latest news comes as no surprise to women who are actually in the tech industries, and to those who regularly cover the business.
The Guardian reported last May that based on information provided by Gartner on CIOs and employment stats, women still only held 14 percent of positions at the C-Level in most tech companies. Not much growth had occurred since the company started tracking CIO and gender analysis in 2004, The Guardian quoted from a Gartner author involved in the study.
The Gartner report that The Guardian cited indicated that there was a likelihood that men in C-Level jobs were seen as "heroes," often fixing problems, whereas women in those positions didn't seem as "hero-like" because they often identified issues before they needed to be fixed.
It was clear from the information, Gartner contended, that women and men approach management differently and each has a different set of skills in presenting products.
Besides employees at tech companies, women entrepreneurs in technology also have challenges, the Times said, citing those who work with entrepreneurs in technology.
