LONG been viewed as a male-dominated industry, information-technology (IT) companies today are slowly being penetrated by women, albeit only a few.
Some analysts have pointed to a gender glass window, of sorts. One who has successfully broken that roof is Karrie Illagan, Microsoft (Philippines) Corp. first Filipina general manager.
She could have easily chosen another industry but was drawn to what technology makes possible for people, organization and communities, Ilagan shared.
She said she could have worked at the same position for a different technology company, but she chose to work for Microsoft because of the impact of its creativity, tools and programs that empowers Filipinos, including women and students.
But Illagan avoids also the stereotyping applied to people in the work force.
Computer engineer, system administrator, Web developer, are just titles, Illagan said. More than just the titles, IT professionals are problem solvers.
“Technology is here because there are too many complexities in the world that needed to be solved,” Illagan shared, adding that one problem that the industry has yet to address is the notion the IT industry is a man’s world.
She noted that while the IT industry continues to grow and attract talents around the world, last year’s worldwide diversity reports from 11 of the world’s largest technology companies, including Microsoft, show that women make up of only 30 percent of professionals working in the sector. And of chief information officer jobs at Fortune 250 companies, only 20 percent were held by a woman.
In the Philippines, she doesn’t have the exact figures, but said that “it’s even less than 20 percent.” There are many possible reasons but she noted that gender stereotypes take the lead.
Citing the book Lean In: Women, Work, and the Will to Lead of Facebook Chief Operating Officer Sheryl Sandberg, gender stereotypes introduced in childhood are reinforced throughout our lives and become self-fulfilling prophesies.
This means that because many of us females grow up seeing that most IT jobs are held by men, we are predisposed to believe that IT jobs are for men, Illagan said.
She explained this as the reason Microsoft is reaching out to female millennials who are aspiring to have a career in IT. “The industry needs more of you. We need your perspective, your ideas and your creativity,” she said during a forum on September 5 attended by students from the University of the Philippines, Asian Institute of Management and the University of Asia and the Pacific, among others.
She said that women have been a driving force for innovation and ideas in technology in the Philippines. Illagan cited Myrna Padilla, a former domestic helper, who created a mobile-phone application to help overseas Filipino workers who are distressed. Microsoft saw the impact of Padilla’s work and tapped her as an ambassador for Windows 10.
Globally, Microsoft had been promoting computer science through programs like Girls Who Code. It hosted over a thousand young women in its Redmond office for a seven-week computer science education program.
Locally, Microsoft is spearheading Tech Femme, a forum that aims to promote computer science and technology to attract and recruit women into IT industry. With the theme “#SheCanDoIt,” Tech Femme 2015 Philippines gathered industry leaders and female millennials for a discussion on countless opportunities and resources available and to inspire them to pursue leadership roles.
Having been in the industry for 20 years and now managing the local subsidiary of one of the biggest tech company in the world, Illagan wants to be an inspiration that “women are not just working in the IT industry, women can also lead in this industry.”