Data Center Knowledge, a publication that provides in-depth analysis, and expert insights to the data center industry, recently published an article discussing the strides women have made in the tech industry and the challenges they still face. The article states that according to a survey conducted among 1500 female tech employees throughout the United States, UK, and India, 93% of respondents felt there has been improvement in gender equity and inclusion over the past year. However, half of the surveyed women noted that issues like underrepresentation, stereotyping, and microaggressions persist and can still prohibit growth and success for women in the tech industry.
The article lists several ways that tech companies can foster more inclusion in their workplace, such as using inclusive language in job descriptions, addressing unconscious stereotypes through bias training, setting clear consequences for workplace misconduct, providing flexible work arrangements, and fostering professional development for all employees through training and mentorship programs.
Prioritizing mentorship programs is particularly important for women in tech because, despite the strides in gender equity and inclusion, the tech industry is still male-dominated. According to the article, women make up only 26% of the tech workforce. This lack of representation can make it difficult for women to find role models and mentors in general, let alone mentors who understand their specific challenges. Mentorship provides women with the support and guidance they need to succeed. Mentors can help women navigate challenges such as discrimination and harassment. They can also help women develop their skills and career paths.
At Wevise, we are passionate about fostering a more gender-balanced workplace in tech. Our free, on-demand mentorship platform facilitates equitable access to mentorship. Our platform allows individuals to request mentorship based on specific needs, interests, backgrounds, and experiences. This means mentees can be matched with mentors who have overcome the same barriers they may be facing, including gender inequality.
While our platform is free and open to all, we are committed to helping the underrepresented, underserved, and disadvantaged, for whom mentorship is disproportionately unavailable. We provide custom tags that allow mentors and mentees to match with people who have overcome similar barriers, such as a woman in tech, LGBTQIA+, veteran, first-generation student, a person of color, a person with a disability, single parent, etc. Additional tags allow mentors to mark a preference for someone from one of our non-profit partners.
| Tag Categories | Examples of Wevise custom tags |
| Duration | Long-term, Medium-term, Short-term |
| Gender | Male, Female, Other, Prefer-not-to-say, Trans man, Non-binary |
| Personal characteristics | Self-taught/teaching individual, Low-income individual (past or present), First-generation college student, Person from a marginalized racial or ethnic group, LGBTQIA+, veteran, Person with disabilities, Single parent or caregiver |
| Skills, Career paths, Industry sectors | Software engineering, Web development, JavaScript, Java, .NET, Resume/CV support, Networking and professional relationships, Job search strategies, Healthcare technology, Financial technology, Gaming and entertainment technology, E-commerce and retail technology |
If you are interested in joining our mentorship program as either a mentor or a mentee, click here for more details and to register.
If you work for a technology company or a non-profit organization that serves an underserved community and you’re challenged with finding a simple, low-cost way to provide a mentorship program, please contact us at info@wevise.org. We offer a robust, turnkey mentorship platform that handles all the hard stuff:
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- Automated mentorship matching beyond just career and industry interests – we also connect people based on their shared lived experiences
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- Built-in training, webinars and educational resources for mentors and mentees
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- Out-of-the-box reporting, dashboards and analytics to quantify impact
Click here for more info on our partner program.
