The tech skills gap is great news for anybody who has, or is willing to learn technical know-how. For women, this is especially good news.
As minorities in the tech industry women are noted simply for working in the industry at all. As a way to get remembered by potential employers, this can really work to the advantage of female talent.
At the end of last year it was reported that 12.33% of engineers at tech companies in the US were women.
A female software engineer or web developer applying for work will be instantly recognisable and remembered – she will probably be the only woman applying for that job – giving her an edge over males competing for the same roles.
So how can women make the most out of their opportunities in tech?
1. Gain startup experience
You dont have to quit your job or take an unpaid internship in order to gain startup experience. Just offer to help out at a local startup or at an event or take on Noah Kagan’s sumo challenge.
All of these will give you valid experience in starting something from nothing.
2. Prep yourself with skills along the way
Demonstrable digital know-how can get you a long way. Coding, for example, is one of the hottest skills to learn right now.
If you don’t think coding is your thing, or you simply don’t enjoy coding, then UX design or digital marketing may be more your cup of tea.
There are plenty of great online as well as offline schools offering courses which teach these skills, such as General Assembly, Codecademy or CareerFoundry.
Again, with far fewer women than men with tech knowledge, it will certainly up your market value to learn them.
3. Be bold
Find networking events you want to attend and just approach anyone you deem to be interesting. Don’t be afraid to talk to people.
To be a woman at a networking event is probably one of the best opportunities you can have: everybody will want to talk to you and help you out – because, let’s face it, who wants to talk to men all evening long?
Find out where people work and be clear about what you want. Do you want an introduction to their boss, learn more about the company through a HR person or simply hear what a specific role is like?
Make a list of questions and don’t leave until your conversation partner has answered them all.
4. Visibility
Get a great digital CV such as an about.me page, update your LinkedIn profile and write a blog. Employers like to see smart people who have their own opinions – and are not too shy to voice them.
Women can prove they are digitally savvy through a cutting edge digital CV like one of these examples. This will definitely give you an edge over your competition.
5. Negotiate hard
Know your market value and negotiate hard for your employer to match it.
As Sheryl Sandberg describes in her book Lean in, women are far more likely to sell themselves for less than their market value and she almost made the same mistake at Facebook.
There is still a long way to go before men and women will be holding down equal numbers of high-paid tech jobs, but it’s not all doom and gloom – slowly we are getting there.
In recent times a host of female-centric tech events and groups have been set up to support, advise and mentor women in the industry like Girls Who Code, Geekettes and Women2.0.
There’s also a solid core of female leadership right near the top of huge tech companies like Oracle (ORCL), Google (GOOG), and Hewlett-Packard that will no doubt set the tone in tech for years to come.
With the rise of more and more great, female role models and a growing support network for women, now could not be a better time for women to get into the industry. And once you’re in it, you’ll win it.
Raffaela is founder and CEO of CareerFoundry.com, an online vocational education platform for the digital economy. Before CF, she has helped found 3 companies for Rocket Internet in Asia. and is a frequent speaker on edtech and entrepreneurship.