The result is an increased demand for labor at a considerable scale, and one of the biggest sources of untapped talent is the female population. The most effective way of recruiting this talent and encouraging more women to join science, technology, engineering and mathematics fields is to get women and girls everywhere involved in technology and refining computer skills at younger ages, preparing the world for a better future, according to Sally Eaves (pictured), emergent technology chief technology officer of the Global Foundation for Cyber Studies and Research.

“When we are talking about diversity in technology, it’s not just what we are doing now with what we are looking at,” she said. “It’s looking ahead, but also looking at future pipeline as well.”

Eaves spoke with John Furrier, host of theCUBE, SiliconANGLE Media’s livestreaming studio, during the Women in Tech: International Women’s Day event. They discussed equipping the future generations with technological education, the importance of having a variety of different skillsets to choose from, Eaves’ non-profit organization Aspirational Futures and more.

Filling in the gaps

Although a lot of organizations and foundations are focused on getting young women interested in tech careers, they frequently forego equally important demographics: younger girls still in school and older women. To help address these ignored age groups, Sally Eaves founded the Aspirational Futures nonprofit, designed to jumpstart younger girls into acquiring future tech careers and assisting older women as well.

“There’s something for all different age groups and backgrounds here, but specifically I think in terms of getting people interested in this career. Curiosity matters,” Eaves said. “It’s changing the narrative again on what a tech career is, what skills are valid. I mentioned I have a coding background as a starter, but not all tech careers involve coding … with the rise of low code and no code, for example.”

There’s a common misconception that when people enter tech careers, their scope is limited to coding. There’s a whole toolbox of different skills and potential career paths for people to choose from without limiting themselves to what’s popular and more well-known, Eaves explained. These include networking positions and jobs in data collection and analysis, security architecture, and much more.

“I think the niches around being a specialist coder, we’re going to get more roles in that area,” she said. “But in other areas, we need to look at different skills gaps. I’m advising people to look at where the gaps are now. Cybersecurity is a key example of that testing architecture; those gaps are getting bigger, and there are amazing skills opportunities there.”

Eaves also stressed how important it is to nurture artistic jobs as well, as creative jobs are just as important as any other technical job.

“Over the last five to 10 years, there’s been less of a focus within curriculums on the arts area than the other areas,” she said. “For me, putting that equal focus back is hugely important to navigate change.”

Here’s the complete video interview, part of SiliconANGLE’s and theCUBE’s coverage of the Women in Tech: International Women’s Day event:

Photo: Sally Eaves