It's no secret that technology companies attract a talented pool of job candidates. The industry is fast-paced, dynamic and creative. Unfortunately, in recent years, the same technology companies that have changed the world with computers, smartphones and social media, have also developed a reputation for a lack of diversity. Despite calls from industry leaders to hire more women to tech industry jobs, major technology companies still have a significant ratio imbalance when it comes to male and female employees. As of 2014, many major tech companies-- including Google and Facebook-- had fewer than 30 percent female employees. Microsoft and Intel had fewer than 25 percent female employees.
The numbers don't lie: women are not working in tech industries, and it is the tech industry's loss. According to some, this gender imbalance is because the office culture of many tech companies is incompatible with women's home responsibilities. This is more true for working mothers than any other demographic.
Many working mothers are highly qualified, experienced professionals with demanding home lives. "There are two bad choices for [mothers]: go back to the office full-time or slowly lose your career because you can't go back to the office full-time," Katherine Zaleski, a former editor at The Huffington Post told Wired. However, there is a third option: remote working.The benefits of working remotely are no different for working mothers than anybody else. Remote working offers a better work-life balance because there is no commute to and from the office. Often, working remotely offers a more flexible schedule. It can even give employees more spending power by allowing team members to earn wages that match their skill level while living in areas with a lower cost of living. For working mothers, these advantages mean more than ever before. Time is at a premium for working moms who, a recent study from the Pew Research Center has shown, still do the majority of the housework and child rearing, even in dual-income households.
Maintaining gender diversity in your company has many advantages. There are many roles to be filled in tech businesses, and these roles require different skill sets and working styles. Often, men and women have different strategies and angles of vision when it comes to completing a task and bring to bear a variety of thinking styles on various problems.
If finding the absolute best candidate for a job is not incentive enough, consider that a 2012 Gallup survey found that companies with balanced genders had a 22-percent-lower turnover rate. This saves money on training in new hires and improves the company's reputation as a great place to work.
Technology companies giving working moms the flexibility they need by allowing them to work remotely is a win-win. Technology companies have the opportunity to hire bright, capable, dedicated team members, and working mothers have a chance to shine in their professional life without having to sacrifice a satisfying home life. Working mothers are more likely to choose an employer whose structure and benefits meets their needs. Managing a remote team is easier than ever before and is a key strategy for attracting the untapped resources of working moms.
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About the author: Joju Mangalam is the founder of HireJar, which provides Recruitment Strategies and Alternative Hiring Options to mitigate long-time unfilled jobs.
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