AnitaB.org today announced the results of the organization’s annual Top Companies for Women Technologists program, the only industry benchmark that looks specifically at technical employees and awards companies that are making the most progress toward equity. For the fourth consecutive year, findings show a small but steady increase in the number of women employed in the technical workforce, with the highest representation of women occurring at the entry level.
Top Companies for Women Technologists evaluated 76 companies accounting for more than 572,000 technologists across a variety of fields. Within the participating companies, women held 25.12% of technical roles. This 1.09% increase is on par with the increase from 2018 (1.08%) and represents thousands of new jobs for women technologists, validating that intentional actions can result in increased gender equity.
In 2019, for the first time, participating companies had a combined representation of 29.8% women at the entry level. According to research, when an organization reaches 30% representation of any minority group, the culture begins to change and it’s an indication that representation may start increasing more rapidly.
New this year, AnitaB.org provided a breakdown of the numbers and guidance based on the size of a company’s technical workforce. Medium companies (categorized as having a technical workforce between 1,000 and 10,000) achieved 28.1% representation of women in technical roles – well above the overall average.
Participating companies continue to invest in programs and policies that show significant impact on hiring, retention, advancement, and overall representation of women. The 2019 results saw an increase in flex time policy, gender diversity training, and sponsorship programs. The areas with the highest increase from 2018 were formal policy for eliminating gender bias in performance reviews and gender pay equity policy.
Of the 76 companies that participated in Top Companies 2019, 70 contributed data on race of women technologists. Women of underrepresented groups are still the smallest population in technical roles but representation of Black/African American (8.2%) and Hispanic/Latina (5.8%) populations showed significant increases from last year.
The complete 2019 Top Companies Insights Report offers additional data, insights, and methodology details.
“We could not be more proud of the participating companies who are working to make tech equity for women a reality,” said Michelle C. Flatt, Vice President of Programs at AnitaB.org. “However, we need to see a higher increase of representation than 1% year over year in order to reach 50/50 equity for women in technology by 2025 as an industry. We know what programs and policies work to advance diversity, equity, and inclusion and those that have a positive impact for women technologists. We need companies to remain committed to moving beyond representation toward equity by tracking intersectional data on race and gender, sharing that data regularly and implementing proven strategies that drive diversity among the technical workforce.”
AnitaB.org recognizes the 76 participating companies that made commitments to measure and improve performance on critical gender-diversity metrics and implement programs and policies recommended in previous Insights Reports. This year, “Top Companies Leaders” were honored for being in the top 25th percentile of their technical workforce size category. The leader in each category with the highest total score will be announced on the main stage at the annual Grace Hopper Celebration (GHC) in Orlando, Florida on October 2, 2019.
“This Top Companies report debuts our new focus on promoting 50/50 Equity for Women in Tech by 2025,” noted Dr. Jacqueline Bouvier Copeland, Chief Operating Officer at AnitaB.org. “With a new focus on programs and policies that promote intersectional gender equity and pay parity for all women, we are raising the bar on what it means to be an inclusive workplace.”
Based on extensive research, AnitaB.org believes 50/50 gender equity in tech by 2025 can be achieved by improving equity in pay, hiring, retention, venture funding, and empowerment — all areas where technical women experience the greatest disparities. Top Companies measures these key areas that impact women in technology and provides companies with actionable strategies to increase representation and equity. To participate in Top Companies 2020, fill out this form to receive important updates.
About Top Companies
AnitaB.org Top Companies for Women Technologists is a national program that recognizes companies committed to building workplaces where women in technology roles can thrive. The program uses rigorous methodology to analyze data from participating organizations and produce insights across three key areas: representation, employee workplace experience, and programs and policies.
About AnitaB.org
AnitaB.org is a nonprofit social enterprise committed to increasing the representation of women technologists in the global workforce. AnitaB.org engages with tens of thousands of women and leading organizations around the world to build diverse and inclusive workplace cultures. Founded in 1997 by our namesake, computer science visionary Anita Borg, our organization works toward a future where the teams that create technology mirror the people and societies for whom they build it.
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