Read this opinion piece from Amy Foster, Operations Director and Partner at Rockborne, on why it is crucial to cultivate a more diverse STEM community
Fostering diversity of thought will make any industry richer. The STEM industry is sitting on a huge opportunity to benefit from the value that a diverse group of people can bring to the conversation, both in terms of increased innovation and profitability.
Experience has taught us that the best employees will not all come from the same background, or university.
A lack of diverse perspectives in any industry is problematic, but in an industry such as STEM that is so reliant on innovation, it could be disastrous to its future.
Without diversity of thought, innovations such as artificial intelligence (AI), for example, could stall, and biases may leak into the development of AI models. For example, only 3% of Chief Technology Officers (CTOs) in Forbes’ 50 List of Top AI Companies of 2024 are female.
Why we need a more diverse STEM community
We already know the potential detrimental impacts of a lack of diverse voices in teams that build and develop new things. Take physical design as an example. Male architects of the past did not take into consideration that female bathrooms need to have more cubicles because there are always longer queues due to a higher demand for female toilets or that cars need to be made safer for non-male bodies. The people building these models need to tackle the gender bias that will undoubtedly appear in the models because of its existence in society.
In the world of STEM, in particular, a team of people who think similarly does not lend itself to innovation, which can result in missing glaring issues. This might mean a piece of software that isn’t programmed to pick up on different skin types or even different language styles. Building these considerations into an algorithm or software product will have a knock-on effect on the consumer base.
All employees will have natural, unconscious biases that influence how they scrutinise data and creep into their interpretations. This doesn’t make them a ‘bad’ person – we all have unconscious biases and must be aware of them. Using different groups of individuals to analyse information and develop solutions will ensure that no perspective is neglected.
Unfortunately, despite DEI efforts by many businesses, our research found that female talent is falling out of the data industry, despite it being on a steady incline over the past five years. The proportion of female professionals joining the industry at entry level has fallen by more than half, from 35% in 2023 to 11% this year.
What’s most concerning is what this could mean for the diversity of the industry’s talent pipeline going forward. The STEM industry’s ability to operate as an innovative, forward-thinking field is reliant on a constant stream of high-quality talent, and if, as employers, we fail to reach or retain any section of the population, our growth and success will ultimately hit the ceiling.
Sadly, our research reflects an emerging global narrative that a diverse workforce is a ‘nice to have’ rather than essential. In the tech industry in particular, this has been compounded by a string of stories from major companies, such as Microsoft, Google and Meta, laying off DEI roles.
How to ensure that diverse talent continues
To ensure that diverse talent continues to flow into the industry, we need to ensure that a career in data is viewed as worthwhile and appealing to all and that we are making a sustained industry-wide commitment to removing any barriers to entry.
Employers also need to ensure that the talent pool from which they recruit is kept as wide as possible. In STEM, hiring is frequently heavily weighted towards those of a certain educational ‘ilk’ –typically STEM graduates from top universities – without considering whether this background is necessary to carry out the role effectively.
Our own experience has proven that those with nonSTEM degrees and lower socio- economic backgrounds can offer new perspectives and ideas and still be trained to become just as technically capable as their STEM counterparts.
Where possible, hiring managers should approach their search with an open mind, granting access to other disciplines and taking a fresh look at how to attract those who might not otherwise have considered this career path.
Part of this involves employers regularly reviewing recruitment processes and challenging whether they really need numerous interviews and tests for a particular role. After all, if a candidate is already feeling like a bit of an imposter or doesn’t have a network of people to lean on, the prospect of enduring a complex and lengthy process might be intimidating enough to result in them dropping out of the race.
We also know that neurodiverse candidates struggle with lengthy testing processes, surprise elements, and psychometrics. So, at Rockborne, we try to be very clear about what the process will be and give people plenty of time and information to prepare for every step.
