What’s up with gender and technology in the Public Service?
Jillian LeBlanc, Treasury Board Secretariat
If I asked you right now to name a woman working in technology could you do it? If you can’t you’re unfortunately not alone.
While I do love a good celebration, especially a feminist one, as today is the International Day of Women & Girls in Science, once we are done celebrating we need to seriously roll up our sleeves and collectively get to work. According to Girls Who Code “1 in 2 Canadians (52%) cannot name a single woman scientist/engineer” with “70% of Canadian adults sa[ying] they had no female role models in STEM growing up”. We must do something to change this.
A few months ago, I started in the role of Senior Analyst, Gender and Technology with a mandate to increase the number of women and gender diverse people in technology positions in Public Service (PS) There is still a gender gap in the technology sector as a whole that government is not impervious to. As of 2019, the PS only has 25% women working in the Computer Science (CS) field.
You may be reading this and thinking, why does this matter? Who cares who is doing this work? Or even Technology isn’t biased!? However, this is not the case. Research has shown that companies with women on their boards perform better, startups with female founders can make more money, and as diversity on a team increases so does their collective intelligence. There have been many instances of technology being biased against women, and people of colour. The Public Service recognizes the potential impact that technology and algorithms can have and has created the Algorithmic Impact Assessment Tool to help mitigate these issues in Canada and internationally. And while the main function of the PS isn’t in the business of making money, we are in the business of delivering top quality services to all Canadians.
And in order to make sure we truly serve all Canadians, we need to make sure the diversity of Canada is reflected in the design, implementation and delivery of these services. That is what Beyond2020 is all about.
Now that I have laid out the problem for you, what are we as TBS doing to solve it? We are committed to looking at this issue from a variety of ways. We understand that this is not a problem that can be solved overnight, but one that requires strategic long term visioning. However, we are also aware that we need to be doing things now to ensure we are not stagnating. On the long term we believe taking a Gender Based Analysis + (emphasis on the plus) whole of government approach to this issue is the way to go, we are working with Shared Services Canada for their WinTech: Community Conversations which are open to all genders to attend for a confidential and safe space for discussion. Listening to the voices of the individuals currently working is crucial in developing our long term strategy.
For immediate options to support, did you know you can?
- If you are looking for a technology role in the GC check the Women in Technology specific pool open for positions across the government. With over 100 successful candidates who have been place in a variety of tech roles across the GC.
- If you are wanting to connect with the women in tech community, every month there are casual lunch time meet ups on the topic of Women in STEM ranging from informal chats with senior leaders to conversations about data bias and its impact on the world.
- Finally, if you are looking to grow your career, the annual Dr. Roberta Bondar Career Development Program for Women in Science and Technology is open until February 14, 2020. Please do take the time to apply for this incredible opportunity.
Have great ideas that I have not mentioned? Awesome, please do let me know.
If you feel none of this applies to you but you are wondering, how can I still help? There are ways for you to support the cause as an ally. We really do need your help and support in ending the technological gender gap. You can share all these resources with people in your network and your Beyond2020 Champion, or you can take the #panelpledge and help ensure a diversity of perspectives are represented.
While gendered issues such as these can feel overwhelming and that there is nothing that we can do to help, I promise you that is not the case. By publically elevating women, understanding and addressing your own biases and creating structural support mechanisms in your workplace you really will be helping to solve this persistent issue to the benefit the government, Canadians and the next generation of diverse technologists.
But for today take a deep breath, have a snack, play my personal favourite game of Can You Name a Women In Tech with your friends and family and celebrate the amazing past, present and future women in technology who have helped to shape our world.
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