Majority of Britons can’t name a successful woman in tech

Research has revealed that almost three quarters of Britons cannot name a successful woman who has made her name in the technology sector, yet two thirds of those polled could recall the fact that reality T.V. star Kim Kardashian-West has her own app. Justine Roberts and Joanna Shields were amongst the most named successful women in technology. 

Kim Kardashian-West, who has her own successful app, was the most frequently recalled woman in technology by Britons, with a majority of respondents unable to name a single woman who had made her success within the industry. Furthermore, when asked to name successful men in technology, the respondents could name an average of five.

The research was carried out by www.VoucherCodesPro.co.uk, a money saving website in the UK. The team there polled a total of 2,870 respondents, all over the age of 18, who were asked questions about their use of technology and their views on females in tech.

Initially, respondents were asked to reveal whether or not they could name any successful women, dead or alive, in the tech industry. Only 17% of respondents were able to name a successful woman from the tech industry, with a majority of 73% unable to name a single female in tech.

Of those who could name a woman who had made her name within the tech sector, 21% named Justine Roberts, the founder of Mumsnet, whilst 16% named Joanna Shields, the Digital Advisor to the Prime Minister.

When asked to give the name of a well-known woman who had made a huge impact on the technology sector, almost two thirds (64%) listed reality television star Kim Kardashian-West, who has launched an extremely popular and lucrative app within the past year.

Following on from this, respondents were asked to reveal whether or not they think more women should work in tech. While a majority of 54% said they did think more women should work in tech, 46% disagreed.

When asked why they disagreed, 1 in 4 respondents (24%) indicated that they thought ‘men are better suited to technology’, whilst a further 19% revealed that they did not think ‘technology was a female focused industry’.

Finally, when asked to list any successful males in the tech industry, the average respondents were able to name five people, with Steve Jobs (86%), Bill Gates (78%) and Mark Zuckerberg (74%) the most popular responses.

Commenting on the results of the study, George Charles of www.VoucherCodesPro.co.uk, said: “This is worrying. For a long time, there has been a lack of recognised females within tech and things need to change. There are some fantastic women working within the tech industry that deserve recognition and praise.

“Don’t get me wrong, Kim Kardashian has been incredibly successful with her tech ventures, but I’m sure most are naming her as a reality star, not as a woman in tech. We as a society need to do more to put the spotlight on these women and encourage young girls to enter the technology industry.”