Putting Women in Tech Where They Belong

WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. - Oct. 28, 2016 - PRLog -- When Judy Smith finished a degree in computer programming in 1975, she was one of three women who started the program at the same time, and one of two to graduate.

"When I started, the IT industry was something that was certainly done in a big back room behind closed doors," Smith says. "There were no PC's, and very little was known about computers by most people."

In the 70's, few people knew about technology, and even fewer of those people were women. Smith has seen the tech industry change remarkably in her 40-year career, especially in terms of women receiving promotions and taking on leadership roles – herself included. At her first job, despite seniority and a proven track record, she could never get the promotion she wanted.

"No matter how hard I worked – and no matter how much they promised – I could never get the promotion to manager that I wanted," she said. "I was always told that the time just wasn't right; the position they just filled just wasn't right for me; my time would come; and on and on.  I finally left the bank after 10 years of empty promises."

Despite these setbacks, Smith excelled – in her next job, she got promoted to manager within 6 months.

"{Being held back because of gender} only makes a woman stronger and more determined," she said.

As an account manager for PeerPoint Solutions, a tech-recruiting firm in North Carolina, Smith has been able to watch other women in tech in action, working as part of PeerPoint's team to place qualified women in the field. She has noticed that women have specific characteristics that are incredibly valuable within the tech industry, including being highly analytical, having a desire to see and understand the big picture, and a high attention to detail.

Despite their qualifications, women are still very underrepresented in tech fields. Although they make up more than 46 percent of the overall workforce in the U.S., women fill only 26 percent (https://www.dol.gov/wb/stats/stats_data.htm) of computer and mathematics occupations.

"I have always worked with women in my jobs, but the majority of them have been men, especially in leadership roles," says Smith. "I did see that start to change some in the 1990's – I was always pleased and proud to work with the women in the managerial roles."

"Women tend to be detail-oriented, which makes them great in technical roles and especially with programming positions," says Lu Cook, PeerPoint's recruiter and Smith's coworker. "However, many women aren't interested in pursuing these degree programs, so they're harder to find for these positions."

Using both Smith and Cook's experience and insights, PeerPoint Solutions has been working to increase the number of women in tech. PeerPoint's team members identify women's strengths, experience and skills to pinpoint the jobs where they will excel. By being dedicated to placing more women in the industry, PeerPoint is helping to blast through the stereotypes about women in tech occupations by presenting women as competent candidates to their clients.

It's working – PeerPoint's submission-to-interview ratio is 71.7%, well above the industry average.

"I would never hesitate to place a qualified woman in any technical position," says Smith. "I see absolutely no reason in the world for a woman to be held back or overlooked in this day and time in the tech industry.  Everyone is tech savvy now, by a very young age. Gender plays no role in what all we are exposed to and capable of."

PeerPoint Solutions is a tech recruiting firm based in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. To learn more about PeerPoint, check out their website: http://www.peerpointsolutions.com/.