Though most of what is published about women in technology are located in the North American or European sectors, we must not forget about our Asian and Oceana friends. Just like here in North America or Europe, Oceana and more specifically Australia, is fighting in the same push to bring to light the inequalities and disproportionate effects that women in technology face each day. Our featured article today comes from the Canberra Times, which focuses on the efforts Australia has put forth to bridge the gap in women in technology and what the Australian Government may pay if efforts are not met.
Australia is one of the world's fastest-growing tech sectors. A large majority of the country’s technological growth is centered around the capital city, Canberra which has seen a 16.9 percent increase in tech jobs within the past year, four times that of the national average. Experts believe that this sudden boom in jobs is due to the federal government departments making major digital shifts which are expected to continue through the rest of this year.
The Australian government has pushed universities and Australian tech giants to root out possibilities of an “impending gap” which experts believe will ensue after this current boom in tech jobs. If this gap of a projected 1.1 million tech jobs in the next five years, is not proportionality filled with women and minorities, the Australian technology sector has the possibility of “falling substantially short” to the Australian government's expectations. Economists believe that a failure to boost women in tech could cost the Australian government 11 billion dollars in the next 20 years.
Like the Australian branch, the North American sectors are continuing to push women to take a leap of faith and join the tech community. If the Australians may lose 20 billion dollars in the next 20 years if their goals are not met, imagine how much money the US and more importantly, the world may lose.
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