*By Gabriela Vicari
By 2025, Brazil will have a demand for 797,000 jobs for IT professionals, according to the latest survey by Brasscom, the Association of Information and Communication Technology Companies and Digital Technologies. But the report, in addition to showing how heated this market is in the country, also points to a problem: there is a lack of specialized labor to fill these vacancies. According to the entity, the annual demand for professionals in the area is 159 thousand, but only 53 thousand people have graduated in technological profile courses, which generates a deficit of 106 thousand talents.
In this scenario, where the search for technical professionals is incessant, one way to fill these vacancies is to include more women, who seek equality and opportunities in the technology sector.
In recent years, women have begun to occupy more space in this area still dominated by men. A survey carried out by Catho, in 2022, showed that there was an increase of 2.1% in the female presence in technology positions compared to the previous year. According to the study, women occupied 23.1% of jobs in this sector – men had 76.9% of vacancies.
The data reveal that women also began to empower themselves in this area considered to be masculine. We were excluded from the job market for a long time, but the fact is that we always had skills in mathematics and calculations. Just look at history. Ada Lovelace, born in 1815, was an English mathematician and writer and is now recognized for having written the first algorithm to be processed by a machine. In other words, she was the first programmer in the world, even before computers existed.
During the 2nd World War, the first computer was operated by a group of six programmers, who agreed to be part of the US Army's ENIAC project. They worked tirelessly to provide data for the military to make more strategic decisions. That is, logical thinking, mathematical knowledge and technical skills have always inhabited female bodies.
In addition to technical skills, many women have also developed “soft skills”, such as communication, active listening and empathy, “super powers” that can transform problems into innovative solutions, making women excellent leaders in their companies.
According to a McKinsey study, companies with more women in leadership positions achieved 48% higher operating income and higher revenue growth 70% when compared to the industry average. This is due to the vision that women bring when making decisions, based on their soft skills.
But not everything is rosy and there are still major challenges to be faced.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, many women took on an extensive workday, lost their jobs or chose to put their careers aside to take care of their children and/or the elderly, such as parents and in-laws. Those who stayed at work deal daily with disbelief in their abilities and skills and other situations that cause a feeling of exhaustion. This scenario raised to 73% the number of burnout cases in women compared to men, according to the FEEx – FIA Employee Experience study.
Despite all the stress, women still continue to grow as stronger, empathetic, innovative and inclusive leaders, supporting their teams more and more and promoting diversity, equity and inclusion actions in all sectors, especially in technology.
Therefore, let's take our place, show our competence and demand equal wages and opportunities. Therefore, it is necessary for women to increasingly occupy technical training spaces and use (and abuse) their soft skills. A digital tsunami and transformation in the way we relate is approaching and we will be prepared to surf this wave and be protagonists in this revolution.
*Gabriela Vicari, managing partner of IT Mídia
Notice: The opinion presented in this article is the responsibility of its author and not of ABES - Brazilian Association of Software Companies
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