Women Find Tech Career Opportunities in the Microsoft Channel, Part 1

The challenges facing women in technical professions continue to make headlines. Women account for just 12 percent of engineers, while their ranks within computing have fallen from 35 percent in 1990 to 26 percent today, according to a 2015 report by the American Association of University Women.

Myriad factors account for the poor showing of women in many technical positions. Bias appears to be one. A study included in the AAUW report showed employers routinely rated a hypothetical male job candidate more competent than a female, even though the two had identical resumes.

Even once women are hired for technical jobs, they tend to enter the field at lower positions and pay levels than men with similar backgrounds, reports Catalyst, Inc., a nonprofit focused on expanding opportunities for women and business. The dearth of female colleagues can leave women in technology positions feeling like outsiders. A 2014 Catalyst report states, "Feeling like an outsider relative to their coworkers affects their access to development opportunities, sponsorship, and ultimately their aspirations to the top."

No single action will address all the factors contributing to the challenges facing women in (or hoping to work in) technology, nor the companies that would like to attract more women to their ranks. One piece of the solution may be to explore real success stories, hearing from women who have found roles at Microsoft partner organizations across a range of functions. A recently published eBook from Microsoft, 12 amazing tech jobs and the women who rock them, attempts to do just that, with profiles of a dozen women who work in technology roles with Microsoft partners in the US. It also ...