Why Gender Equity?
While some industries have made progress towards gender equity, the tech industry remains significantly behind by comparison. We want to do our part to change that.
The Gender Equity Problem
Companies have a pipeline problem. Women are less likely to pursue STEM-related bachelor degrees and women are underrepresented in entry-level tech roles. Women who enter the tech workforce have difficulty moving up the ladder into senior management and executive-level positions.
Many companies are working to increase gender equity at their organizations, but they struggle to find women candidates to fill entry and senior-level positions.
Many companies are working to increase gender equity at their organizations, but they struggle to find women candidates to fill entry and senior-level positions.
The current state of gender equity in the workforce
- Women are underrepresented in tech jobsWomen remain underrepresented in engineering and computer science occupations. Women hold only 15% of engineering jobs and only 25% of computer science jobs.
- Women are less likely to pursue a degree in STEMFor the 2017-2018 academic year, women earned only 22% of all bachelor's degrees in engineering and only 19% of all bachelor's degrees in computer science.
- Women-led companies are underfundedOnly 2.3% of VC funding went to women-led startups in 2020. Despite this, valuations for startups with at least one female founder are 63% higher than for those with all-male founding teams.
- Many women who enter tech roles end up leavingAbout 50% of women who enter the tech field end up leaving it, compared to only 17% of men. Women who leave cite reasons like glass ceilings, harassment, disrespect, and exclusion.
Improving gender equity helps everybody
- Employing women increases wages across the board
- Gender diversity improves company performanceGender diversity in tech is linked to better company performance. In fact, a company's percentage of female employees is positively correlated with its return on equity.
- Gender diversity improves employee satisfaction
- Gender diversity increases social responsibility
Why gender equity matters to us
At Forge, we empower students through skills training and pair them with opportunities to develop their professional experience. As a tech talent accelerator, we have the opportunity to impact the pipeline problem and train a diverse group of students to enter the workforce well-equipped to navigate these challenges.
Ultimately, our goal is to make the tech industry more equitable and representative of the communities that they serve. By empowering early talent, we hope to build better future leaders and a more inclusive workforce.
Ultimately, our goal is to make the tech industry more equitable and representative of the communities that they serve. By empowering early talent, we hope to build better future leaders and a more inclusive workforce.