THE Why:
Keeping women in technology matters.
Diverse teams cooperate better, work more collaboratively, and yield better results. Keeping women in tech saves companies money too - employee turnover is expensive!
Yet we still see women leave the tech industry at almost double the rate of their male peers, with 56% of women in tech leaving the industry within the first 5 years of their career.
Why?
A 2018 report based on in-depth interviews with women in tech found that 56% of women in tech reported feeling alienated and 65% of women in the field reported feeling isolated and excluded at work.
1 in 5 women who left tech reported that the workplace climate played into her decision to leave the field.
1 in 3 women left due to limited opportunities to advance and low salary.
That’s where Switchboard comes in. By connecting women to tech mentors, we are creating a platform for open and honest dialogue with other professionals in the field. On Switchboard, women can anonymously share their frustrations, solve problems together, and combat isolation. Mentors will share advice from their own experiences on how to negotiate salary, time off, and ways to make the most of a career in technology.
Switchboard combats turnover by providing support for women in tech with anonymous peer-mentor relationships to other women in their field, helping those struggling with the environment of the technology industry.