Hey Girl, Apply for That Job
If you’ve spent any time researching the lack of gender diversity in tech, you have probably come across some version of this statistic: “Men apply for a job when they meet 60% of the qualifications, but women apply only if they meet 100% of them.”
This idea has been repeated again and again, from Lean In to Brotopia and dozens of blogs, as one possible explanation for the lack of qualified female candidates. Even though that data comes from an internal report from a single company, it has become gospel to the industry.
If there aren’t many women applying to your job postings, well hey…, that’s their fault. Combine that with the so-called Pipeline Problem and we’re letting recruiters and hiring teams off the hook for finding qualified female candidates.
Subsequent studies have shown that women do apply for tech jobs less often than men, but little data supports the qualification gap as the only reason women aren’t applying. Imposter syndrome, biased language in job listings and degraded confidence from past experiences of discrimination at work are far more likely culprits.
The good news is many companies want to hire you. While we’ve still got a long way to go, organizations are making the effort to expand their talent pool and hire more diverse candidates. Also, employers are expecting candidates that don’t meet every single requirement — those potential employees need room to grow.
Apply for that job anyway! Show recruiters that the talent exists and only needs to be nurtured by the right opportunities. Don’t let one or two skills stop you from pursuing the career you want. Embrace the continuous learning mindset and get confident in your ability to grow into any role you can dream.
Ryan*, Michelle* and Tyrese* believe in you — it’s time you do too.
*Note: Not actual endorsed comments of Ryan Gosling, Michelle Rodriguez or Tyrese Gibson…but a girl can hope, right?
