5 Steps to ensure the growth of women in tech

Where a great number of women face barriers while trying to advance in their tech careers; there are also a few women who have reached the top levels and are leading with confidence.  Angie Ruan, Head of PayPal Retail’s engineering team, is one such woman. Under Ruan’s leadership, PayPal launched the first product that enabled merchants to take payments easily anywhere. Having previously worked with ebay, she won several awards for her contribution as the Director of Engineering.   In an interview with Forbes, she discussed the 5 Critical Steps tech leaders should take that would lead to the growth of women in the tech sector.

• INTERNALISING THE COMMITMENT TO SUPPORTING WOMEN

Ruan suggests that this is extremely important as finding an internal driving force makes the desire for helping women succeed all the more strong. She feels that if a male leader strongly believes in the talent and abilities of their spouse and daughters, etc., they end up being more authentic in their desire.

• HIRE, HIRE, HIRE

She also feels that all tech leaders should help create role models for their female employees by appointing at least one female leader in each team. Role models play a huge role in motivating many others to aspire to set and achieve similar goals.

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• ENABLE GROWTH

By introducing programmes such as talent review processes or succession planning processes and sponsorship programmes, organizations can enable growth by fostering growth on a grass root level.

• FOCUS RECRUITMENT

Even though a lot of women change their career choices later on in life, in college, there are a substantial number of educationally qualified women. By recruiting them at an early stage, an organization can groom both genders with similar treatment.

• OFFICE ENVIRONMENT

Providing a gender irrelevant work environment, introducing women friendly work policies, and ensuring equal opportunities for all employees is also one of the key factors that would help advance more women in tech.

ORIGINAL SOURCE: Forbes http://www.forbes.com/sites/kathycaprino/2014/09/15/supporting-the-growth-of-women-in-tech-5-critical-steps-from-angie-ruan-paypal-retail-engineering-head/