Tech Trailblazers: Women leading the way in growth companies

In recent decades, initiatives by companies and governments have aimed to boost the representation of women in the Technology, Media, and Telecommunications (TMT) industry. These efforts have led to significant progress, including a doubling of the number of women on technology industry boards and a 60% increase in female executives since 2010 (S&P Global). Despite these advances, women still make up less than one-third of tech sector employees and only 22% of the workforce in the AI field. This persistent gender gap is attributed to enduring stereotypes, lack of confidence in quantitative subjects among women, and the “glass ceiling” hindering career advancement.

A year ago, we carried out a more general analysis of women in executives roles in small-medium PE-backed growth firms https://www.catalysis-advisory.com/blog/women-in-growth-companies-d78xc. To build on that, we decided to analyse our database of Wave leadership profiles, which includes over 440 executives in the TMT sector, to explore the situation of women in TMT within small to mid-sized growth businesses. Our goal is to understand what sets women in TMT apart and how they perceive themselves compared to their counterparts in other sectors.

Women in TMT outlook: how many are there and what positions do they hold?

Graph 1 below shows that women represent a small minority of TMT executives in our records, totaling only 59. Despite the low number, this data is statistically significant. Over half of these 59 women are employed in finance, HR, and operations, while only 5% work in technology or product development. Additionally, only 5 out of 100 TMT CEOs are women, which is below the 10% overall average for female CEOs in our database. These numbers suggest that female CEOs in TMT are underrepresented in small to mid-sized growth businesses. According to the Harvard Business Review, industries with fewer women in top positions tend to maintain the status quo and continue to support men's career advancement.

Graph 1: % of women in TMT vs men in TMT

Characteristics of women in TMT: how do they perceive themselves?

Addressing the gender gap and creating a more inclusive environment are crucial challenges for the TMT industry as it transitions towards greater gender equality. We investigated how women in TMT perceive themselves differently depending on their gender, role, and sector, and which characteristics make them unique. We analyzed 36 Wave characteristics where candidates assess themselves on a scale from 0 to 10.

• Gender

Women executives in TMT are more likely to perceive themselves as activity-oriented, attentive, insightful, factual, dynamic, and organized. Conversely, TMT men scored themselves higher in rationality, being enterprising, articulate, self-confident, strategy-oriented, and capable of distinguishing themselves.

Graph 2: Difference in average scores across selected leadership categories in the Wave leadership profile. N = 59 women in TMT, 382 men in TMT

• Sector

Female executives in TMT share self-scored traits with their male counterparts, such as rationality, striving, and a more challenging nature. This suggests that female TMT executives may adopt certain success factors which look more traditionally masculine either due to conforming to industry norms or self-selection (i.e. women with those characteristics are more attracted by careers in TMT). Women in TMT roles tend to present themselves as more challenging, insightful, dynamic, striving, and rational compared to women in other sectors. However, they present as lacking self-confidence, self-promotion, and positivity, which may deter some women from entering the TMT sector, limiting their participation in this male-dominated industry.

Graph 3: Difference in average scores across selected leadership categories in the Wave leadership profile. N = 59 women in TMT, 268 women

Graph 4: Difference in average scores across selected leadership categories in the Wave leadership profile. N = 1166 women, 268 women

• Role

The role has the greatest influence between the mentioned categories (sector and gender), with significant differences observed among female executives in TMT and female TMT CEOs. Despite our dataset including only five female TMT CEOs, they appear to show a strong interest in strategy-oriented activities. They are extremely ambitious, change-oriented, receptive, and enterprising. These traits contribute to their success in the industry, enabling them to thrive in a male-dominated environment. However, compared to their male counterparts, female CEOs exhibit lower levels of resolving skills, positivity, self-confidence, reliability, and the ability to motivate and engage with others.

• Risk factors

The Catalysis database reveals risk factors inherent to various categories. These arise when strengths are overplayed and can become weaknesses, posing potential dangers in the workplace. Female TMT executives, particularly CEOs, are more likely to become ‘daring’ (ambitious to the point of taking excessive risks), ‘disruptive’ (change oriented to the point of disorienting subordinates), ‘critical’ (analytical to the point of seeming negative), and ‘unpredictable’ (innovative to the point of confusing business as usual, possibly neglecting details and procedures. In contrast, female TMT executives show little variation from their male counterparts, except being slightly more perfectionist and less daring and disruptive.

Conclusion

Certain traits make female TMT executives unique. Compared to women in other sectors, they see themselves as more ambitious, analytical, challenging, and rational. Compared to their male counterparts, they are more activity-oriented, attentive to details, factual, organized, and resolving. However, women in TMT consistently perceive a lack of self-confidence and self-promotion, along with less positivity, reliability, and engagement skills.

Female TMT executives possess distinct traits, making them capable in the industry. Yet, the potential lack of self-confidence and positivity may hinder their career advancement in a male-dominated environment. Female TMT CEOs, with greater ambition, may be the minority who have shaped themselves to counterbalance these negatives. Recognizing and addressing possible weaknesses that impede career progression is crucial for supporting talented women in TMT. That might affect recruitment and development approaches within TMT businesses.

By focusing on these aspects, we can better understand the dynamics of female leadership in TMT and work towards creating a more inclusive and supportive environment for women in this field.