Women in Digital: Is career growth being recognised?
For women in digital, is career growth being recognised and rewarded? It has been an ongoing discussion for TechNET Digital and the wider Ascent Group. Emily, part of our board of directors, has been particularly vocal about how companies can empower women. Not only that, it is important for the digital industry to show women that there is growth and success to be found.
To show a successful digital recruitment strategy, a company should be promoting career growth to all employees. However, is growth being fully recognised? Of course, positive feedback and training development make a big impact. Is it enough? Using updated insights from our 2023 digital salary survey report, we wanted to delve a little deeper.
Firstly, it’s important to consider our respondent’s opinions on diversity overall. 62% believed that gender equality was well-represented, though the diversity of leadership teams was rated 4.8/10. While the first figure shows promise, perhaps it could grow if diversity was also growing in leadership teams. From this current figure, however, it seems more work needs to be done.
Have women seen a salary increase in 2023?
In our Q3 update of the digital salary survey, we discovered that 50% of overall respondents received a pay rise. This is a great figure, especially since 68% saw an increase in our original Q1 release. It seems that salary conversations have paid off, with a steady number of digital professionals seeing their salary increase throughout the year.
How many of these respondents were women? In the most recent update, 25% of those who received a pay rise were women. With this being split right down the middle, it’s good to see an equal number of men and women being recognised for their efforts and this recognition is being reflected in their remuneration.
Empowering women in digital – should job titles matter?
So far, we can see that their has been equal recognition when it comes to salary. However, is this the case when we look at job title changes or promotions. It is easy to assume that a salary increase indicates growth in a career, so surely a more senior job title would round off that promotion?
However, of the female respondents who did receive a pay rise in our salary survey update, 71% did not see any change in their job title. Of course, we should point out that sometimes a pay rise is just the start of a next step up the career ladder. A full title change or job promotion might come later. That being said, it is still surprising that such a significant number of women saw no change in their job title. It certainly raises questions around why these opportunities have not been presented despite positive growth in other areas.
For some, a job title is just a title. However, for others it provides a huge boost in confidence and demonstrates tangible growth on their employment history. Conversations around salary are great, but it’s also important to ask employees about career growth and allow them to take ownership of this. This alone would empower women to envision their own career path and plot their own journey to success.
Here for your digital recruitment needs
If you’re looking for digital recruitment support and further insights into the industry, we’re here to help!
