The majority (84%) of tech employees don't think that the products their companies produce are inclusive for minorities, VentureBeat reports. While that's the overwhelming bulk of tech workers, tech execs (who make up a much smaller percentage of the survey base), are less likely to fess up, with only 18% admitting there might be inclusivity gaps. Yet the evidence of a lack of inclusivity is clear, with "sexist Google features and racist Snapchat filters" galore, and not enough women or racial minorities designing products to call out the inequality. "Time after time, people wonder, 'why didn't anyone notice this?' Across subfields, technologists are sounding the alarm about the dangers of homogenous teams that can't and don't account for the experiences of underrepresented groups," the article states. (See WiCipedia: How to tackle implicit bias and the 'lonely only'.)

A whopping 44% of women in tech say that they have been overlooked for a promotion due to their gender, a new study reports. The data comprised responses from women in tech in four different countries, and took the temperature of inequality in the industry at large from women's perspectives. For example, 38% of women don't apply for jobs because they don't feel they meet all of the qualifications required in job postings, while another 45% don't feel they are paid the same salaries as male counterparts. Nearly 60% of women cited responsibilities at home as having hampered their careers, which is why more women than ever are also starting their own businesses for flexibility and work-life balance. It seems that if jobs can't be fixed, many women will create their own. (See WiCipedia: Women leave workforce in droves due to pandemic and burnout.)

It's cause for celebration whenever a woman becomes CEO of a tech company. Fortune reports that one of the most recent celebrations was for Wendy Tan White, a tech founder, investor and executive who has been tapped by Alphabet to head robotics company Intrinsic. The company will focus on the future of robotics software for companies to complete simple tasks, though they don't currently have a specific product they're working on. Tan White is one of just a handful of BIPOC female CEOs in tech, and with a background of working towards equity for women in tech, she certainly understands the pressures that her new role will hold: "I take the responsibility seriously," says Tan White. "I know that Alphabet is a big, impactful company in the world." (See WiCipedia: Google employees protest and unionize.)

— Eryn Leavens, Special Features & Copy Editor, Light Reading. Follow us on Twitter @LR_WiC and contact Eryn directly at [email protected].