In China, women are generally less favored than men, especially in the job market. (Photo : Reuters)
China’s technology sector is commonly accepted as a place dominated by males, who can be quite hostile to their female counterparts; but the industry is slowly becoming for favorable for female techies. After all, women are not limited to feminine wiles and interests.
This was revealed at a workshop held in DotGeek, a cafe located in Beijing's so-called innovation hub, Zhongguancun. Organized by TechieCat, the workshop, which included 22 women attending two panels on Web development and Internet security, aims to bring the male-dominated technology industry closer and friendlier to women.
The workshop appears to be a success, as 70 women applied to partake.
"We're totally surprised and satisfied with the turnout, as it's been held only twice in Beijing and once in Shanghai," said Gu Xi, the director of TechieCat. "We're delighted to see more and more women interested in technology."
Attendees came from different backgrounds. While some women were employed programmers in big tech firms like Youku Tudou, other attendees also included women who have little to no knowledge in coding.
More and more Chinese Internet firms are also improving staff diversity as more women enter the workforce. The phenomenon has been dubbed as China's "sheconomy."
Even Alibaba co-founder and executive chairman Jack Ma considers his female staff as the "secret sauce" of success. Compared to men, women tend to focus well on teamwork and have broader views, according to Ma.
According to statistics compiled by business advisory firm Grand Thornton, women only make up 4 percent of chief information officers in the country. Meanwhile, female human resource managers and chief financial offers fare better at 30 percent and 23 percent, respectively.
Despite the inequality, Kang Jian, JD.com's media director, believes that gender is not an issue when it comes to work.
"I think it depends on the nature of the job. Men are generally more qualified for intensive jobs, and that's really not a gender issue," he said. Women make up one-fifth of JD.com's technical workforce.
TechieCat continues to encourage women to embrace the interesting side of technology.
