Articles about Equality

A new survey of 4,000 knowledge workers across the UK, US, Germany, and Canada reveals that higher earners have disproportionate access to the latest AI tools and training, allowing them to reap AI's promised rewards.

In contrast, the study from The Adaptavist Group reveals that lower earners and women are being shut out from AI opportunities, which impacts their skill development, job satisfaction, and time savings, both personally and professionally.

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New research from ISC2 shows improved representation of women under 30 in cybersecurity roles but concludes that more need to be done to improve diversity.

The study gathered responses from 14,865 people who participated in the latest ISC2 Workforce Study finds 36 percent of those under 30 were women compared to only 13 percent of those 65 or over and 17 percent overall.

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A new report uncovers widespread gender disparities in the cybersecurity workplace, with women encountering exclusion at twice the rate of men.

The study -- from Women in CyberSecurity (WiCyS), a non-profit organization dedicated to the recruitment, retention and advancement of women in cybersecurity, in conjunction with with DEI firm Aleria -- finds the top four categories of exclusion faced by women are: respect, career and growth, access and participation, and recognition.

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This week IBM, along with charitable partner United Nations Human Rights, and program affiliate the Linux Foundation, launches its 2024 Call for Code Global Challenge with the aim of encouraging developers to use generative AI technology to create solutions that improve equitable access to resources and opportunities for historically underserved and vulnerable people.

Participants will have access to a trial version of watsonx, IBM's AI and data platform with AI Assistants, as well as IBM Cloud technology and developer-friendly training and resources to help teams develop their solutions.

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Women working in technology face tougher scrutiny and are more often asked to handle administrative duties than their male colleagues according to a new survey.

The study from Navisite polled over 100 women in the technology industry, with two-thirds of respondents holding engineering or technical roles within their organization, and finds 94 percent feel they are held to a higher standard than their male colleagues.

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The poor state of diversity in the cybersecurity industry is shown by a new report in which 57 percent of women working in the industry believe it will take at least a decade for them to be treated as equals to men, with 20 percent believing it will never happen.

The study from the UK's Chartered Institute of Information Security (CIISec), released in advance of Monday's International Women’s Day, shows women are struggling to progress both due to the status quo of the industry and also not getting the required support.

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According to new analysis by Sopra Banking Software, men still dominate senior roles in the tech sector and this is harming the industry’s growth.

A study by McKinsey Global Institute finds that 38 percent of women in the technology field feel that gender discrimination staggers growth and chances for progressing their career in the future. What's more, 60 percent of these women attribute not wanting to be a top executive to excessive stress and pressure.

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A survey back in 2013 found that only 11.2 percent of software developers were female. Working then on the premise that males would be prejudiced against female coders work, a group of students has now studied the acceptance rate of GitHub pull-requests by gender.

A pull-request is when volunteers submit work to a project and it receives some scrutiny by the project team, they often accept the work or reject it with some advice. What the study team has discovered is that 78 percent of work submitted by women was accepted, which compared favorably to only 74 percent for men.

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As we come to the end of 2015, I begin reflecting on the year. While a lot of my memories are tech related, the truly important reflections involve friends and family. Ultimately, technology should be a part of our lives, not the entirety of our lives.

Apple is a company that I greatly respect, as it seemingly understands this concept. Regardless of your opinion of its products, it is undeniable that its devices and services are improving people's lives daily. A huge factor in its focus on users and society is the leadership of Tim Cook -- a person I greatly admire. His sincerity regarding equal rights is heartwarming, and throughout 2015 he has shown deep commitment. Today, Cook, with the help of Siri, is starting a conversation on cerebral palsy.

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The Internet is one of the most significant inventions in all of humankind. It has enabled the world to easily communicate across borders -- both literally and figuratively. More importantly, however, it allows the free movement of information and ideas. Your location shouldn't  have to limit your mind.

Sadly, a lack of money can block access to the Internet for poor communities globally. There are many people on this planet that do not have access to a service that you and I probably take for granted. In other words, social inequality impacts people in technological matters. Today, Microsoft announces a new fund -- as a part of its Affordable Access Initiative -- in hopes to deliver affordable Internet to people in underserved locations.

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New research carried out by non-profit certification organization (ISC)² and technology consulting firm Booz Allen Hamilton highlights a lack of gender equality in IT security roles.

Based on a survey of almost 14,000 global professionals, the report looks at the differences between men and women in the industry, the current and future outlook for women in the information security field and the unique skills women possess to fill information security positions today and in the future.

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Diversity has become something of a buzzword in tech, and it's one that companies are only too keen to bandy about at every opportunity. The likes of Apple, Google, Facebook, and Amazon are eager to demonstrate how diverse a workforce they have built up -- but the fact of the matter is that they have all failed abysmally.

This much we know. We've seen that Facebook's workface is far from diverse, Amazon is about as white and male as it gets, and that Apple wants people to believe it's doing everything it can to foster greater diversity. Its latest report shows that the number of female, black, and Hispanic employees has increased but Tim Cook wants to do more. But the big question is: does diversity matter?

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If game designers opt for a male protagonist thinking it would make it easier to tap into the predominantly male gaming audience, then they’re in for a nasty surprise.

A recent study conducted by Time has shown that most boys don’t really care which gender the main character is, as well as that they’re aware that women are underrepresented in video games.

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Like transparency reports, diversity reports have become quite the fashion at the moment. Companies such as Google, Apple, and Amazon are keen to demonstrate that they are not dominated by white, middle-class men, and that they are open to the full gamut of gender identities and sexualities. Today Facebook released its second diversity report showing that at Mark Zuckerberg's company things haven’t really improved over the last year.

More than half of the workforce (55 percent) is white, and at senior leadership level this jumps all the way up to nearly three quarters (73 percent). The percentage of black workers at the social network is incredibly low -- just 2 percent. The gender balance is largely skewed as we have come to expect. Across the company 68 percent of employees are male, although in 'non-tech' roles women make up 52 percent of the team. For those striving for equality, the numbers make for somewhat depressing reading.

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For those of you who are not in the know (and you really should be) Startup Grind is a global startup community designed to educate, inspire and bring together like minded entrepreneurs and provide a space to network in. Last night, the inspiring President and CFO of Mind Candy, Divinia Knowles, took to the stage at Google Campus, London for a fireside chat with Zomato UK CEO, Kimberly Hurd.

Divinia is one of the driving forces behind Mind Candy and along with Michael Acton Smith, guided the company from a small startup to one of the most successful tech companies, responsible for the behemoth that is Moshi Monsters. Moshi Monsters is a phenomenally successful website for 6-14 year olds with over 80 million users registered in over 150 territories worldwide. The website was so successful that a movie and mobile games have all since been released. Interestingly, Divinia hinted at the potential to move the brand onto new platforms such as Smart TV and, once they have matured, both VR and the Apple Watch Platform, so watch this space!

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