Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1105939
18.04.19 7 INNOVATION barriers could solve tech labour shortage' "As parents, mentors and educators we cannot continue to push girls solely in one direction, that of occupying traditional roles as carers or career paths which we erroneously believe are more suited to girls" IT did not escape Beata Young's eye when she ar- rived in Malta and noticed a lack of female participation in the domestic tech indus- try. A serial entrepreneur, she has witnessed the same sto- ry in Poland, Abu Dhabi, London and Montreal. "Women enter ICT amongst other sectors and we do not feel welcome. The loneliness, self-doubt and frustration that often comes with the minority status of being an ostensibly 'token' woman in STEM can be overwhelming," she told BusinessToday. According to The New York Times, the National Center for Women & In- formation Technology, over 56% of women with STEM expertise will leave the in- dustry over the course of their careers. Young insisted she was committed to fundamen- tally reshape the current culture of, "white guys talk- ing to white guys delivering 'brogramming'". "Half of the population is equally capable of program- ming, managing teams or running a startup. A grow- ing body of research proves that revenues are far better in many companies than those run by male-only teams," Young said. Asked to elaborate on why the tech industry lacked fe- male professionals, Young pointed out that there were simply not enough female graduates. Young is a founder of the Women on IT initi- ative, which has the ob- jective to promote the visibility and inclusion of women and people from other under-represented backgrounds. "Apart from meet-ups we are planning workshops and different initiatives that will showcase the achieve- ments of women in tech and throughout business while identifying new role mod- els," said Young. She believes that following the success of blockchain is- land, it was time for Malta to become "the springboard for more digitally native women". "Our size enables agility. With a growing legion of stakeholders supporting the momentum, Women On IT is a springboard to deliv- ering a diverse tech savvy workforce," she insisted. Women On IT was launched at the Xara Lodge this Monday during a joint meeting with the Malta Business Network. The event was chaired by Joe Zammit Tabone, the Prime Minister's Special Envoy for Investment Pro- motion. Guests included the Brit- ish High Commissioner Stuart Gill and the French Ambassador Brigitte Cur- mi, as well as diplomatic representatives from the US Embassy and Australian High Commission. 'Women do not feel welcome' in ICT sector Liam Carter