Role models are essential to developing quality business leaders. But what if a sector was underrepresented by a certain type of role model?

The tech industry is saturated by role models but unfortunately they tend to be male. How can the sector encourage female workers to get, for instance, an ITIL certification or PRINCE2 training if they only have a few relatable role models to look up to?

Role models and career aspirations

According to a 2012 study conducted by MIT, increased presence and visibility of female politicians in government improved the scholastic and career goals of young females in India.

The study presented new evidence that female role models figure highly in the lives of young women.

MIT Economist Esther Duflo surveyed roughly 8,000 Indian adolescents and parents living in the west state of West Bengal.

This region is quite special, as it has had one-third of all its pradhan (village council leader) positions reserved for women since 1998. The approach is part of much larger policy in India to facilitate women moving into local government.

The study compared villages that had never had female leaders to villages that have had a female pradhan serving two terms. The results showed that in those villages where a female pradhan governed, the gender gap concerning educational goals and career aspirations was completely gone.

Importantly, this derived from modifications to the adolescent girls' ambitions, not from changes to the expectations placed on boys, as these levels of expected schooling and career success stayed the same. 

"We think this is due to a role-model effect: Seeing women in charge persuaded parents and teens that women can run things, and increased their ambitions," said Mrs Duflo.

Further, the study found that in villages with no female pradhan, boys were 6 per cent more likely to attend school and 4 per cent more likely to read. Yet, in places where villages have had a female pradhan for two terms, the gender gap disappears.

"Changing perceptions and giving hope can have an impact on reality," said Mr Duflo

Could role models be the answer to improving female representation in the tech industry?

What could this mean for the tech industry in Australia?

Exposing women to the right tech role models may have the same effect on young female Australians as increasing visibility of female pradhans had on young women in India.

According to the Workplace Gender Equality Agency, in 2014, full-time working women were paid 17.1 per cent less per week than full-time working men. The difference equates to a weekly pay difference of $262.50

The tech industry needs to do all it can to reduce the gender gap currently affecting it. Improving the chances of hearing about female tech leaders is one way to do this.

Gaining a certificate of qualification in IT is an excellent way to broaden your career options Get in touch with a qualified and experienced course provider to find out how.