Women make up around 20% of tech leadership roles and that's a problem when tech is delivering so many solutions and framing so much of the way we live. There are a number of outstanding initiatives for the development of women in tech, especially getting girls into tech fields through education - eg Code Like a Girl.The importance of this announcement by Melinda Gates is that it is more focused on today's influencers and fits within Gates’ three priorities for her pledge: DISMANTLING THE BARRIERS TO WOMEN’S PROFESSIONAL ADVANCEMENT; FAST-TRACKING WOMEN IN “SECTORS WITH OUTSIZED IMPACT ON OUR SOCIETY,” INCLUDING TECHNOLOGY, MEDIA, AND PUBLIC OFFICE; AND MOBILIZING TO CREATE EXTERNAL PRESSURE ON COMPANIES AND ORGANIZATIONS IN NEED OF REFORM.
The $50m announcement is significant because it is designed to speak directly and quickly to the issue of influence. It is designed to transform tech hubs into more inclusive places for women. Called the Gender Equality in Tech (GET) Cities, the $50 million initiative will focus on increasing the number of women working in tech in three cities over the next five years. Pivotal Ventures revealed Chicago as the pioneer city and plans to announce the remaining two cities over the next few years. As local tech ecosystems grow, GET Cities looks to engage students from the first college course, to women in the current workforce, to female founders and investors. The initiative aims to create collaborative models that can be replicated in other growing innovation hubs by bringing together key stakeholders to invest and align resources and create shared goals for women in tech across academia, non-profit, government, venture capital, and business sectors in each selected city. The goal is to maximise the impact of local women-in-tech efforts and foster local coordination that can accelerate the pace of change, nationally.
In October 2019, Melinda Gates announced that she was committing to $1 billion over the next 10 years to expanding women’s power and influence in the United States. Her ambition is to see more women in the position to make decisions, control resources, and shape policies and perspectives.
We’ll have to watch and see where the other $950 or so million goes.