The Women of Toward

I thought now would be a good time to get the views from some of the women of Toward, to find out their view point of working in the design industry, the challenges they face, and how they overcome them.

Senior leadership roles

Only 5% of senior leadership roles are held by women in the tech industry.

While the UK is thriving in the Tech industry, sadly women are still rarely seen in leadership roles. The Tech sector has always been seen as a “Male” zone, with more men working throughout due to the stigma surrounding technology. 

Women are 2 times more likely to be mistaken for a junior.

At Toward we have Naima Hidalgo Muñoz and Megan Knowles who work in client services, and deal with people on a day to day basis. 

For the most part, working with clients is great. The thrill of bouncing ideas around or the excitement of winning a project makes it all so appealing but also comes with its challenges.

During my 10+ year career in project and client management, I've been exposed to and dealt with some interesting characters who I've always managed to win over and develop a great professional relationship with, however, you do get the few that take things to another level of disrespectfulness particularly when they're not getting what they want or are challenged on their views or decisions.

My biggest pet peeve is when opinions or ideas are not considered. I've experienced this a lot throughout my career and I'm still unsure of the reasoning behind it.

A report by The Pipeline in 2020 explained how companies with more than 33% of their senior team, being females, had a 10 times higher profitability than companies with no female senior members.

I think being a woman today in a new business and client relationship role has a lot of opportunity. Women have had to work hard in thought leadership roles to prove their worth - that’s for sure, but during my growing journey into networking I’m listening to confident women leading in their fields and paving a way for how business is done - the right way!

My voice is one that I’m always learning on how to share, how to build authentic partnerships and to get people to buy into what you do. It's all about people in my opinion and understanding business challenges. I wouldn’t say I’m a leader (yet) but I do lead my clients to an inevitable journey to improve their businesses through listening and learning and more importantly use an amazing team to get there.

We will always be faced with challenges as women on varying levels, which should never be ok, but based on what I see today, women are leading the way in many businesses, which should be celebrated!

Sadly half of the women in leadership roles leave them by the age of 35 (Source). This comes from a multitude of factors including burnout, feeling outnumbered, childcare and harassment. While these issues exist in all fields, not just tech, it feels more normalised in the tech industry due to the gender pay gap.

12 trillion GDP bump to level Gender Pay Gap is needed.

Addressing the barriers

Companies are moving forward and making the right changes to bring women into the tech industry. By improving on flexible working conditions, using more accessible language in their job adverts and working on gender balance. We need to keep pushing these factors forward to make the industry more attractive to females especially in the leadership roles.

The majority (72%) of women in tech are regularly outnumbered by men in business meetings by at least a 2:1 ratio. 26% of women report being outnumbered by 5:1 or more.

A lack of representation can hinder a woman's ability to succeed in any industry. With limits on opportunities and mentorship this can create an “unconscious gender bias in company culture”.

Returning to the job market after focusing on raising my young family (I have four daughters), I found it challenging to find part-time roles, especially in the tech sector. So when Toward offered me a part-time Finance Manager position, it was a perfect fit.

Working in finance within a brand and web agency has allowed me to combine my skills in accounting with the dynamic world of tech. While it’s true that both fields still face challenges facing women’s representation, particularly in senior leadership roles, I’ve been fortunate to work in an environment that values flexibility and supports career growth. Seeing my daughters embrace technology today gives me hope that they’ll enter a more inclusive and diverse workforce in the future.

Women from ethnic minority backgrounds

Stats from Tech Nation suggest that only 26% of the tech workforce are women. This figure is even less for black and Hispanic women at just 3% and Asian women just 5%.

For many women from minority backgrounds psychological safety is key in the workplace. They should be able to work themselves up to challenging the status quo without fear of repercussion, however sadly this is still a big factor in why women are leaving the industry.

Talent Tech Charter conducted a survey with the UK VC market, and found that only 3% of women, from ethnic minority backgrounds, held senior positions. There are no senior Black women holding any senior positions in VC firms as identified in a British Venture Capital Association (BVCA) survey. (Source)

More needs to be done to encourage women to join / stay within the tech sector, with flexibility & support being paramount.

Women in development

Women have been fundamental in software development. In 1843 Ada Lovelace is regarded as the first computer programmer due to writing an algorithm for a computer that didn’t exist at the time (Source).

Then in 1942 Hedy Lamarr invented the frequency-hopping technology which later allowed for the invention of wireless communication such as WIFI and Bluetooth (Source).

There are many more who have developed technology we all use today, but sadly women represent less than 30% of software developers globally (Source).

Gender differences in coding

Research has shown that there is a difference between “female” and “male” written code. Carter and Jenkins (2002) conducted a study into the differences, finding that many teachers could work out the student’s gender from their code.

They found that code written by “female” students was generally neater and more well organised with better formatting.

Gender differences in language

Alice Ashcroft has written an article on Hedging and spoke about how “females” are more likely to use a hedge before a keyword to “avoid the appearance of playing the expert”.

This puts across a feeling of uncertainty which can impact a client’s perception of the developer. Understanding how our words put across our position is key for women in tech. We need to be more assertive and confident when speaking about what we can do.

For example “females” are more likely to say “I think this should...”. “Males” are more likely to say “This should…”. Just a small change in our words can make a huge difference in how others feel. We also need to know our own worth, and showcase that to the best of our abilities.

I’ve been working in development for over 12+ years. For many years I felt I had to prove myself in different ways due to my gender (she/her). Especially at the beginning of my career I felt I was looked over and overshadowed by my male co-workers and it did damage my confidence.

However, within the past few years, especially as my career has progressed, I am finding the language I’m using is pushing people to listen to my words and see me as a driving force within this industry.

I like to let my work speak for itself, and keeping up to date with the latest technologies lets me keep growing.

I want to keep moving up in the sector, and showing how women can build their way up to being a senior developer. It’s a career that’s well worth it.

What is your brand?

During Women in Tech 2024, Amy Lynch posed the question of What is your brand?

Helping women identify what are their strengths, their interests and what they want to be known for. Ideally if someone asks you what your brand is, we need to be able to confidently answer that question.

As a designer, finding your own voice and identity can be a challenging and ongoing process, shaped by countless influences. I believe this journey is never-ending, and it should be. Design is constantly evolving, and as designers, we must adapt and grow with it—not by blindly following every trend, but by understanding the society and culture we live in. After all, we are communicators.

I was raised by three strong women who inspired me in different ways, shaping me into the woman I am today. From them, I learned the value of sacrifice, dedication, and the importance of standing on my own feet.

My journey as a designer has been challenging in ways that might differ from others' experiences. Convincing my Turkish father to let me pursue graphic design instead of a career in law or medicine was particularly difficult. For many designers with backgrounds similar to mine, this is a common struggle, as design is often seen as merely a “hobby.” My first goal, then, was to prove to my father that I could find a job after university and demonstrate to those around me that I am good at what I do.

Reflecting on my journey, I see parallels in the design industry itself. Many female designers feel the need to constantly prove their value and significance. Instead, we should be focusing on ourselves—exploring our design values and setting personal goals.

Everyone should be planning for the future. This means looking into what’s coming next and, if it interests you, finding out more so you can be at the forefront of the curve. 

Finding someone, in your sector, who you admire, inspires you and challenges you, is something that is encouraged as well, especially if you’re still progressing through your career. 

Companies should also be looking into mentoring programs in which they pair junior employees with experienced mentors who can provide guidance.

We do not need to be fixed.

All leaders are different, and there is no mould you need to fit into. Know your worth, value and negotiate.