Career barriers for women in regional markets

As a recruiter, one challenge I face time and again is finding female candidates for technical and sales roles. It’s surprising — so many women graduate with Computer Science or IT degrees, yet only a small fraction build careers in core tech fields. Many transition into roles with limited coding or leave the tech industry altogether. In Bangladesh, the numbers tell the story: 📊 Around 25% of students in Computer Science or ICT are female, but only 13–14% of them go on to work in technical positions. 📊 Women make up just 12–15% of the total IT workforce. (Source: The Business Post, UN Women reports) There are many factors behind this — from societal expectations and family pressures to workplace biases that still exist today. Some organizations remain hesitant to hire married women or those with children, fearing “continuity issues.” Others lack flexible structures that could actually help women thrive. A similar picture exists in sales roles, where fieldwork or extensive client travel often discourages female candidates. The job nature itself can feel unwelcoming when workplaces aren’t designed with inclusivity and safety in mind. As recruiters, we’re on the front line of this reality. But we can also be part of the solution: 💡 Encouraging companies to adopt inclusive policies and flexible work options. 💡 Ensuring our hiring criteria focus on skills and potential, not assumptions. 💡 Creating visibility for women role models in tech and sales. 💡 Partnering with universities and women-in-STEM programs to build stronger talent pipelines. Bangladesh has made progress, but we still have a long way to go. Diversity isn’t just a social goal — it’s a business advantage. Tech-driven and fast-growing companies need different perspectives to innovate, adapt, and lead. Let’s build a future where more women not only enter the industry but also grow, lead, and inspire the next generation. 🌿 #WomenInTech #WomenInSales #RecruiterPerspective #DiversityAndInclusion #Bangladesh #EqualOpportunity #EmployerBranding #WomenEmpowerment

"Can I succeed in [region X] as a woman of my ethnicity?" It was a brutally vulnerable question I got recently from a young lady with world class professional and educational qualifications. She had excelled at everything possible and this was the one question she asked me. I asked the young lady why she had that question and she frankly said she didn't see anyone like her in leadership in [the region]. I told her there were examples and that there was no glass ceiling for someone like her. Given the changed political (and cultural?) situation in America, diversity, equity and inclusion is becoming an increasingly sensitive topic, but I don't think there should be anything controversial about encouraging anyone to believe that they have the ability to realize their fullest potential - and then doing what we can to remove any real barriers. It IS a real barrier though - particularly for women of colour - and at an early stage in their careers. This is what McKinsey senior partners Kweilin Ellingrud, Lareina Yee, and Maria del Mar Martinez call “the broken rung,” and its effects compound throughout women’s careers, causing women to fall behind at the start and keeping them from catching up. The broken rung is a phenomenon even more pervasive than the glass ceiling in holding women back from career success. Women around the world do extremely well when it comes to their education. They graduate at higher rates than men do and have higher average GPAs. But then a strange thing happens: Upon entering the workforce, they immediately lose their advantage. When the first promotions come around, the slide continues—for every 100 men who are promoted to manager, only 81 women get promoted. Digest that. For every 100 men who are promoted to manager, only 81 women get promoted. The McKinsey & Company research shows that it is worse for women of colour - https://lnkd.in/epCxJjDS The blended average of 81 women overall breaks down to 99 Asian women, 89 White women, 65 Latina women, and 54 Black women. The recommendations to empower women to climb over the broken rung by making decisions to steer toward the industries, companies, and strategies that can enable them to build more experience capital should be essential reading - https://lnkd.in/eTkDGJrv I've been in the Middle East since 2013 and I had my own share of experiences where I worked on teams with brilliant young women from the region and saw their challenges firsthand. Some of the experiences were shocking and the young women involved will be path breakers for many other young women who will follow them. Men need to be allies in the change we need to see and I commit to being a leader who will do my best to enable women to realize their full potential. #IWD25 #LinkedInNewsMiddleEast

What’s stopping females from climbing the career ladder? How can we have more gender representation at all levels especially at senior levels? We discussed ideas in our Women in Experian meeting yesterday. As I reflect deeper on this topic, I think there are 2 categories of obstacles in my observation. 1) Self Self belief: the imposter syndrome is sometimes a stumbling block. The lack of role models also weakens the belief that it can be done. Self confidence: A woman won’t apply for a job unless they meet all listed requirements but a man would. Ambition: I have seldom hear females speak freely about their ambitions. Sometimes it’s due to lack of ambition but other times, it may be because culturally it may not be seen as a good trait for a female. 2) Society Education: In schools, certain subjects systematically attracts more men than women like STEM. This will create the gender gap in the workplace especially in these fields. Cultural norms: Many women pick up bulk of the caregiving duties, be it parents or children, on top of their work. As such, there’s less time relatively to build the career, and to network for example. Of course, I have had the good fortune of working with many women who have overcome the challenges and are excellent role models for female leadership. But for every one who has made it, there’s many others who didn’t. As such, I wanted to pen this post to explore what are other challenges women faced in ascending the career ladder, and how we as employers and society can provide that support. Welcome any thoughts or suggestions. #gender #genderequity #femaleadership #greatplacetowork #jenelim