WomenInTech. How to attract more women to the IT industry

We met with successful women from the IT sphere and talked with them about the obstacles women face in IT and how to overcome them.

Alina Abdrakhmanova, entrepreneur

About myself

Currently, I am developing my own business — the IBS project. This is a management company for universities and educational institutions. Our first major project is the transformation of the Kazakhstan American University.

Previously, I worked as Managing Director at Astana Hub. I headed the MNU Business School and was the founder of Geneva Business School Kazakhstan.

I am actively involved in public activities: I am a member of the National Commission on Women's Affairs and Family and Demographic Agenda under the President and a member of the Association of Independent Directors of Kazakhstan.

About stereotypes

When you are a young woman, everyone seems to think you are not competent enough as a professional. People think you need someone more serious who can vouch for you. I was a manager myself. I had to prove with my actions and portfolio that I deserved to hold this position.

When I started working as an employee, I noticed that there were few women in the teams. Sometimes it feels like your position is weaker because you are a woman. My colleagues did not discriminate against me — it was more about an internal feeling of discomfort.

Another aspect is informal communication, which is necessary for work. When the industry is predominantly male, it is difficult to build the same trusting relationships with them as with women. Women understand certain issues better: flexible working hours, the need to combine family and work, and building a non-aggressive, soft corporate culture.

Obstacles for women in IT

One of the problems is stereotypes: when parents tell girls not to go into this field because it is created for men. This is a bad statement because IT is more suitable for women: here there is an opportunity to work on a flexible schedule, remotely, and much more.

When women enter the corporate sector, there is a stereotype that they cannot compete intellectually with men. This is absolutely not true. I know many cases where women work at Google, create cool startups, and become great engineers.

The third difficulty is social pressure after forming a family. Society expects that a woman should solve household issues at home, have several children, and at the same time work without stopping. If she asks to reduce her workload or transfer to remote work, she is fired. This is wrong and unfair.

How to fight this

Through upbringing. It is necessary to talk about the fact that this is abnormal. Women should not work their shift and then come home and perform as many household chores.

It is necessary to promote a healthy attitude when a woman has support from her family and loved ones. Girls should believe in themselves and not think that their only path is to get married and be beautiful. We are all equal. Men and women have equal opportunities for intellectual development.

It is also necessary to promote standardized working hours and work-life balance.

Recommendations for those just starting their path

Do not confine yourself to limits. Do not think that you are being discriminated against.
Despite all the obstacles, you need to move forward like a tank.
Do not let people do things that make you uncomfortable.

Dara Tumenbaeva, founder of Black Swan

About myself

I lead the Black Swan startup. This is an AI marketplace for gift selection. I recently took the position of CTO at GoDays. The startup calculates the level of employee burnout using a working keyboard. Previously, I worked as a developer at Amazon.

How I came to the IT sphere

Upon graduation, I realized that the field closest to me was STEM. And within it, I chose programming. I studied in the first year of the "Mathematical Computer Modeling" faculty at MUIT. I liked the assignments of students from another major — "Computing Technology and Software." It seemed that this was the future, and I was not mistaken. After that, I went to Malaysia to study to become a developer.

Stereotypes

I began to show interest in the STEM field at a teenage age. Then society began to exert great pressure because I was a girl. People said that science and technology were too difficult for a woman. Such statements came from everyone: teachers, dad, classmates. But my mom supported me, and despite all the obstacles, I was able to choose this path.

In Malaysia, I faced nationalism. There was great resistance from people because I am Kazakh. To avoid this, you need to choose companies that anticipate such problems in the team. I moved to Amazon because of this.

Obstacles for women in IT

There are many obstacles and many opportunities for women in IT. Many organizations create programs to solve these problems.

Women are often looked down upon. Another problem is that we give birth. A study on this topic showed that women and men progress closely up the career ladder until women give birth. Immediately after that, we start to fall behind, while men at this time start to grow and eventually take higher positions.
To solve this problem, Europe introduced parental leave for both parents: both women and men can take parental leave. This problem also needs to be solved in Kazakhstan.

Recommendations for those starting their career

You need to experiment. IT is more about practice than theory. No matter how much you learn, when performing real tasks, everything will be completely different. Try to find internships, go work on projects.

Maftuna Lutfilayeva, Product Manager at Tenge Market

About myself

I studied at Inha University majoring in "Information and Communication Engineering." I worked at a startup for three years. I grew as a specialist in this field. Currently, I hold the position of Product Manager at Tenge Market. I am responsible for the client side of the product.
I also organize IT events for women within the WomenTechMakers and TechnoWoman organizations.

How I came to the IT sphere

I studied at an IT college in Tashkent. But at that time, I did not have a clear idea of which field to enter. Then I participated in the Technovation Uzbekistan competition. There, you had to develop your own application. I saw the work from the inside and realized that I was interested in this field.

Stereotypes

There are few women working in the IT sphere. In my group, I was the only girl, and in the entire stream, there were five or six females. At work, I faced a similar problem.

Women are afraid to be trusted in management. People thought that a woman would not be able to manage competently. Therefore, at first, there were prejudices about my work when I was a product manager and led a team of male developers. During work, I realized that such a gender balance, on the contrary, makes it more effective.

Obstacles

In the mentality of our society, there is an opinion that women are better suited for more humanitarian professions. But now I see positive changes: more and more girls are interested in the IT sphere. This stereotype is wrong. And I see that this field, on the contrary, is more suitable for women. Because here you can work anywhere, there is no attachment to the workplace. You can also find positions with flexible hours.

Recommendations for beginners

Many are afraid to even try something new. The main thing is to start and do. This will all bear fruit.
You need to constantly develop. In our field, in addition to "hard" skills, you need to have soft skills. Many events are held for professional IT networking.