Inequity Challenges Women in Digital Trust, But Progress is Being Made

A new workforce study by ISACA has found that while pay inequity remains a challenge for women in the digital trust space, some progress is being made around career satisfaction and progression.

The study revealed that 42% of women working in digital trust said that there is pay inequity in the sector. However, just 15% of men surveyed said this was one of the key reasons that there is underrepresentation of females.

Meanwhile, ISACA also found that while 43% of female respondents said most IT leaders and role models are male, just 15% of men agreed with this comment. This reflects the disproportionate number of men versus women in the industry.

Despite women representing around 25% of the global workforce, ISACA’s study did find that progress has been made toward gender equality in certain aspects of digital trust.

For example, in terms of career progression, both men (72%) and women (68%) were found to be satisfied.

An equal number of men and women (37%) have asked for a promotion in the last two years.

Finally, women (73%) were slightly more likely than men (71%) to have had a raise or a promotion in the last two years.

Speaking about the findings during ISACA’s 2024 Europe Conference, Sarah Orton, UK and Europe lead for ISACA’s SheLeadsTech initiative, said, “I think this is showing that women are being more assertive in their requests for promotions.”

“And they are more likely to have asked for a raise. Obviously, there is the well-publicized gender pay gap and with that publicity comes much more assertion from women to say ‘show me where the gap is and help me address it’. There’s a lot more assertion in those management conversations to make sure they are getting equity in that process,” she said.

ISACA’s SheLeadsTech program has three core focuses. These are:

• Mentorship and support for women
• Addressing identified barriers through advocacy and educational outreach
• Promoting women’s leadership roles within technology sectors

The study surveyed 7000 industry professionals, and the full results are expected to be published in two parts, first in November and then in early 2024.