Women in Tech: Why is it important?

By Chantel Lindeman, Programme Director at Clickatell

One may ask why it is important for women to be in tech and the key reason is that if one half of the population designs technology, then insights, innovation, and solutions of the other half are missing in this design thinking.  Considering Clickatell is developing leading solutions like Chat Banking, and Chat Commerce and products like Chat Desk, we are fortunate to boast a staff complement of 36% women with 44% of our leadership roles occupied by women. This is clearly not half but in my 20 years of working in Tech, this is a lot better than other companies out there.

According to the PWC report (April 2018), in South Africa “women currently hold 19% of tech-related jobs at the top 10 global tech companies, relative to men who hold 81%. In leadership positions at these global tech giants, women make up 28%, with men representing 72%”.

For me, it has not been merely the number of women in a company but the opportunity for women to be heard in meetings and supporting each other. As Erin Teague said “Being a woman on a team of all men, means that you are going to have a unique voice.  It’s important to embrace that.” At Clickatell, one of our core values is being courageous. We know that by pushing the boundaries and innovating requires bravery to step into the unknown.  As Programme Director at Clickatell, I have needed to embrace this value to ensure we deliver on the promises we make to our customers and ourselves. Also, my unique voice and thoughts as a woman are usually slightly different from my male counterparts and I am fortunate that I am heard and acknowledged.

Over the past month, Clickatell has paid homage to our outstanding, diverse group of women within our organization through the “I am Woman” campaign.  We are privileged to have so many women among us who personify the Clickatell values - from the quietly courageous to the creatively collaborative! Our “I am Woman” campaign pays tribute to our women, representing who we are, as women, and how we inspire others to be the best versions of ourselves.