Workiva Commits to Bring More Women Into Technology With PowerToFly Partnership

The technology industry takes pride in changing the way the world works with innovation: leading the charge to improve processes, politics and even people. However, when it comes to who works in the space, the tech sector still lags woefully behind the rest of the job market. 

While the percentage of women across all job sectors has grown to nearly 47% in the last decade, it is significantly lower in the tech sector. The five largest global tech companies only report a workforce of about 34.4% women. 

Data from Leanin.org shows that over the past five years working women across job markets are being promoted to senior level positions more, but research from the PEW Research Center shows that women are still underrepresented in engineering (14%), computer (25%) and physical science (39%) occupations. Leanin.org also found that women have a much larger barrier to entry into the workforce; further research paints an even more discouraging picture for women of color in the workplace, who make up just 18% of entry-level positions compared to 30% of white women and 35% of white men.

So how do organizations help to address these trends and reach diverse talent?

Emily Forrester, Vice President of Human Resources at the publicly traded, software company Workiva, turned to PowerToFly, a female-founded startup dedicated to helping companies build and retain more diverse teams by connecting women and underrepresented candidates to high-visibility roles.

"Workiva is committed to building a talent attraction and retention strategy that is anchored in the core belief that diversity, equity and inclusion are paramount to building a great company,” said Forrester, whose talent acquisition team is aiming to better reach and engage with professional women working as Software Engineers, Technical Program Managers, and Operations Program Managers.

The PowerToFly platform has 300,000 active community members in 204 countries and a database of 25 million professional women. The community is intersectional and empowers women, non-binary, and trans individuals of all races, ages, ethnicities, sexual orientations, abilities, veteran statuses, and gender identities.

Workiva is among the many companies committed to creating a more equitable and diverse workplace. The organization invests in Diversity, Equity & Inclusion initiatives, which actively shape company culture. Workiva lists Inclusion as a core value, reports its diversity data and has been listed on FORTUNE’s 100 Best Companies to Work For list for two consecutive years.  

“We recognize the disparity that exists in the tech sector, and are committed to increasing representation of historically underrepresented talent across all levels of the company," added Forrester. “We believe that PowerToFly's partnership is key to enabling our continued success.”

For the latest news and information, visit the Workiva newsroom.