Salto forward instead of roll backward

Women from the IT industry and the SAP environment who are active in the Women@DSAG initiative were surveyed about their experiences and the impact on their careers and workloads during pandemic periods. Just under 200 women took part in the online survey.

When asked about workload, 46 percent of women responded that they had worked more during the past 12 months than before. For 45 percent, the situation has remained the same. Nine percent are working less. The workload shows that the IT industry has come through the pandemic more stable than many other industries. 

How the corona crisis is affecting careers and areas of responsibility was another theme of the online survey. 62 percent of women said the pandemic had no impact on their careers. A good fifth of the female participants had to accept setbacks.

However, 17 percent of all respondents have advanced or even climbed the career ladder despite the pandemic. Possibly, the IT sector has better starting conditions for equality and fairness than other industries. The survey results show that women have worked more than usual. Here lies a certain danger.

A woman is quickly valued as hardworking. But then, firstly, she is indispensable and, secondly, pure workhorses are not promoted to management positions. Here it is advisable to set a focus for oneself and pursue personal development goals. This also means proactively and offensively demanding advancement as a reward.

These are important goals that are becoming even more urgent in view of current developments and studies. According to the current Gender Gap Report 2021, it will now take 136 years instead of just under 100 years (2020) until women are equal to men worldwide.