YORK, Pa. — Randi Zuckerberg, the founder and CEO of Zuckerberg Media, spoke with FOX43's Matt Maisel on International Women's Day 2021 to discuss the importance of getting more women working in the tech industry.
While women made up approximately half the U.S workforce pre-COVID, they account for less than 30% of tech jobs. According to Zuckerberg, the pandemic is making that gap much more dramatic. Many women across the country are facing increased childcare responsibilities and are grappling with the ordeal that is working from home, making it all the more difficult to work in a demanding industry such as tech.
"Now is a more critical time than ever to focus on getting more women into technology," she said.
She says that in order to close this gap, more educational opportunities for women to work in tech need to be opened up, and men in the tech industry need to help women get in the door.
Zuckerberg spoke a bit about DeVry University's Women+Tech Scholars Program, one of the newest endeavors to attempt to bring more women into the tech field. The program's mission is to "empower women to forge the career path they've always dreamed of and take the first step toward a tech career," according to the school's website.
She went on to discuss why more women are needed in the field. She said that there have been many studies that show companies make more revenue when "there are diverse voices at the table."
Zuckerberg concluded by encouraging women to join the field. She said that the world is changing, and new technology is created every day, making careers in tech something that will be new and developing for years to come.
To hear more of what Zuckerberg had to say, check out the clip above.