The View | Asia’s tech sector has a ‘missing women’ problem. Here’s what the industry can do to help them

Oranuch Lerdsuwankij says the male dominated start-up space and venture capital industry can do more to support Asian women in the technology sector

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While women have made great strides in the workplace, the tech sector remains male dominated. Photo: Handout

Published: 5:00pm, 19 Jun 2018Updated: 10:29pm, 19 Jun 2018

Even today, women struggle to be seen as equal to men in the workplace. The tech industry, in particular, is male dominated with most tech start-ups being run by men. According to recent figures from the World Economic Forum, in 2015, women comprised only 25 per cent of people working in computing, with Asian women making up a mere 5 per cent of this number.

If we compare Western developed countries with those in Asia, there are significant differences. Asia and the West do business differently. My home country of Thailand is a very dynamic, forward-thinking nation driven by a hardworking female workforce. This female succession has been shaped and encouraged by well-developed educational and entrepreneurial foundations that enable women to build their confidence and develop a strong business sense. In other Asian countries, however, gender roles remain very traditional, with cultural norms limiting female potential.

While Western women are making their mark on the business and tech industry, the male-to-female ratio in STEM fields worldwide remains an issue. A Unesco Institute of Statistics fact sheet shows that the under-representation of women in science, technology, engineering and mathematics is a global problem, with less than 30 per cent of researchers being women. More worryingly, only 23 per cent of researchers in East Asia and the Pacific are women.

New generations are changing this. Generation Y is producing more female programmers, scientists, strong entrepreneurs, product designers, user experience designers and tech-savvy women who are transforming various aspects of the tech industry and the female entrepreneur game.

Currently, some of the biggest technology firms in the West have cultivated programmes to support women in tech. Microsoft has extended its initiatives to include helping women return to work. These are women who may have paused their careers for reasons that range from starting a family to returning to university. Google has partnered with the Techmakers programme, for example, to organise a series of global events which provide tech-driven women with visibility, networking opportunities and a community.

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