WiCipedia: Connectivity should be a right for allWiCipedia: Connectivity should be a right for all

This week in our WiCipedia roundup: International Women in Engineering Day highlights disparities; Pride Month marches on with the Queer 50 list; women far more unlikely to have access to Internet than men; and more.

Figure 1: Access for all is way overdue (Source: Pixabay)

While only 10% of executive-level jobs at tech companies are currently held by women, that doesn't mean there's no hope for female-founded companies. Just ask Idit Levine, a software engineer who founded cloud-management company Solo.io on her own. In an interview, Levine talks about her experience as a woman in tech working for startups, how she acquired $23 million in funding for Solo and her plans for the future of the minority-led company. Levine initially moved to the US from Israel in order to support her husband's career, and soon figured out through working for other companies that she had a passion for tech that required branching out on her own. "I got to that point when I realized that I really enjoy what I'm doing, I really had a good idea and I knew I had the ability to lead a company of my own," Levine said. No imposter syndrome here! (See WiCipedia: 'Gender is embedded in the job'.) This week marked International Women in Engineering Day. The Society of Women Engineers website explains that the day is intended for celebrating the accomplishments of female engineers in a male-dominated field and also for expanding the diversity reach of minorities in the industry. As of late 2019, only 13% of engineers identify as women, and they earn 10% less than their male counterparts. Those who are in the industry aren't likely to stay for the long haul either: Only 30% of female engineers remain in the industry after 20 years, with an additional 32% of female STEM college students switching to a different major in the middle of their studies. Moreover, about a third of female engineers cite "company culture" as their reason for leaving the industry. (See WiCipedia: Breaking through barriers and smashing inequality.) We're still celebrating Pride Month for another week, so it's perfect timing for Fast Company's second annual Queer 50 list of some of the most innovative "LGBTQ women and nonbinary innovators in business and tech." Created in collaboration with Lesbians Who Tech, the list celebrates trailblazers in a variety of industries who have paved a unique and memorable path. The list is incredibly diverse and transcends tech into entertainment, finance, retail and more. Many of the major household name companies have someone on the list, and those who don't should take heed: While diversity isn't about "tokenizing" any one minority group or hiring someone just because of their minority status, having a team of straight white dudes in suits is so 2020. "This is a full-stack problem and will take a lot of effort to fix it. Everyone has a role to play in closing the gap and leading the way for the next generation in STEM," said Caitlin Kalinowski, head of hardware for Oculus and a notable name on the list. (See WiCipedia: New inclusivity report for LGBTQ workers.) — Eryn Leavens, Special Features & Copy Editor, Light Reading. Follow us on Twitter @LR_WiC and contact Eryn directly at [email protected].