‘Nobody expected to work in this sector’: campaign to encourage women to choose technology

“We all want to work in technology,” concludes the voiceover at the end of the video, directed and produced by Malmö Production, whose films and documentaries take aim at anti-sexism. This message, commissioned by the Government Information Group (SIG), underpins action in the great national five-year cause of professional equality between women and men.

With this in mind, the service, which is under the leadership of the Prime Minister, has decided to collaborate with Social Builder, a pioneering association in the field of supporting and engaging women in digital technology. Broadcast online only on video platforms and social media since 20 September, the clip has already been viewed more than 3 million times and aims to combat stereotypes that persist in the tech sector and the underrepresentation of women. They make up just 29.7% of the digital workforce, according to trade union Numeum.

To “give a picture of women as consistent as reality,” director Shirley Cohn didn’t want to go down the simple cliché path of the profession: the geeky man or the slightly atypical woman. She did not want to shake the only thread of humor or succumb to the easy approach to the topic associated with the jargon and formality of this job, which was mainly occupied by men. On the contrary, she explains: “I wanted to show the other side of it: creativity, logic, teamwork and analysis. »

Jobs of the future

“I think they’ll hire me for this position because I’m a hyperdynamic person,” says one of the women in the clip during an interview. Another admits to listening and dancing to K-pop (a very popular music genre from South Korea).). “I wanted these women to speak without immediately revealing their profession,” explains Shirley Cohn.

So she aimed her camera at real professionals, not actresses: a data analyst, a full-stack developer, an IT support specialist… Real characters who run a “very real” campaign in which everyone can shine,” cheers Michael Nathan, GIS director.

80,000 jobs created annually

“None of them expected to work in this sector, and they all got there in different ways,” says the director. She also asked them all over the place about their hobbies, musical and culinary tastes before ending with their profession, then this voiceover: “What did you expect? »

Some of them receive support from Social Builder, like the 80,000 women the association has led since its inception in 2011. jobs of the future. »

And for good reason. In France alone, startups create 35,000 new jobs a year, reports Numeum. “If we add vacant jobs,” explains Emmanuel Larroque, “we will get 80,000 vacancies every year. »

Work in data science, project management, cybersecurity… all sectors. For example, in construction, work on digital twins—virtual representations of an object or system—is concrete, going beyond a single image of construction sites.

Career Guidance Quiz

To discover the variety of these jobs and help everyone plan for them, Social Builder uses its chatbot Adabot. This virtual coach offers a career quiz to find the digital career that’s right for you, job descriptions, over 300 training courses, and contacts with experts to test your project.

“The best thing,” insists Emmanuel Larroque, “is to show what women like most. “Including during study. The Ministry of Higher Education, in particular, notes that students from science branches, engineering schools and universities are more sensitive to the purpose and objectives of the position than to the idea of ​​​​doing technology for technology’s sake. They will be very careful to know that they can continue to work in the sector while working for a healthcare startup.

The main thing is to put an end to this idea, which is still too strong, Emmanuel Larroque regrets, that women in digital are an exception. “Planning ahead doesn’t help,” she says, convinced that “if businesses open their doors to the news, it will work. » They will also have to create internal career management pathways to retain women in these professions and break the glass ceiling. »