Efforts to improve gender balance in the tech industry are facing challenges, as the gender disparity in tech teams continues to be a persistent problem. While there are commitments from big operators in the igaming community to achieve a 50/50 male-female split, the reality in the tech department paints a different picture. For example, at Sky Betting & Gaming, the tech team is predominantly male, with only 11% being female.
This problem is not unique to the gambling industry, but is rather prevalent across the high-tech industry as a whole. There is a lack of female tech talent, with less than 1% of technical job applications coming from women. Despite the desire to recruit more women into tech teams, the numbers simply do not reflect this intention.
One of the reasons for the dearth of female candidates in technical roles is the limited pool of women entering science and technology-based education. Only 10-20% of computer science students are female, making it difficult to achieve gender balance within the industry.
Efforts are being made by companies to attract more women to tech roles. Strategies include having female representation in interview panels, presenting balanced shortlists, using gender-neutral language in job ads, and promoting flexible working arrangements. However, it is evident that the number of women in tech positions remains small. While initiatives are being implemented to increase the participation of girls in relevant education, it will take time before a significant change is seen in the number of female applicants for tech roles.
Despite the current gender disparity, women in tech positions, such as front-end developer Nadiia Golovnia, find their work interesting and fulfilling. Although she is the only female developer in her team, she receives support and collaboration from her male colleagues.
