When CNBC conducted a survey in October on what kept technology industry leaders up at night, the results came back with a twist.

Supply chain concerns and cybersecurity breaches were surprisingly not at the top of the list. In fact, 57% of tech executive respondents viewed finding qualified employees as the biggest worry. How is the evolving landscape affecting women in technology sectors?

The global pandemic of 2020 has given way to the Great Resignation in 2021, as employees across multiple industry sectors left their positions in numbers not seen in more than 20 years. A new Pew Research Center report found that low pay, lack of opportunity for advancement, and feeling disrespected at work were the primary reasons that Americans were quitting their jobs.

For the technology industry, already facing a skills shortage prior to the pandemic, the Great Resignation has brought the current state of women in tech into sharper focus. TheCUBE, SiliconANGLE’s livestreaming studio, in cooperation with Amazon Web Services Inc., will examine the current state of women in tech as part of an AWS Partner Showcase series on July 21, airing at 9 a.m. PDT. (* Disclosure below.)

Signs of progress

Data points collected by various organizations over the past year are beginning to paint a clearer picture of the job market for skilled tech talent and opportunities for women in the industry. A 2021 women in technology survey, conducted be S&P Global Market Intelligence in cooperation with the California Technology Council and WE Global Studios, found that women held 39% of IT roles in organizations, up from 27% two years ago.

The survey also found higher-than-expected job satisfaction rates, with 53% of female respondents indicating they were very satisfied, while another 39% were somewhat satisfied. A majority of women identified flexible work hours and remote work as key drivers of job satisfaction.

The AWS Partner Showcase will take a closer look at factors surrounding job opportunities for women in the IT field, as theCUBE will interview thought leaders and industry executives during the event on July 21.

Recent analysis provided by a recent “State of DevOps Report” from the IT automation company Puppet Inc. indicated that the pay gap between men and women in the DevOps field was beginning to narrow. The survey, which included over 2,600 tech professionals, found that 17% of women entered a salary range of $150,000 or higher last year versus 8% in 2020. The highest DevOps salaries were in the financial services sector, followed by healthcare and technology.

Lagging representation

Job satisfaction and narrowing of the pay gap represent two benchmarks of progress, but another important metric involves women of color. According to data provided by the Command Shift Coalition, of the 4.7 million tech workers in the U.S. today, Black, Latinx and American Indian women account for only 5% or 225,00 positions.

The Command Shift report noted that, in analyzing tech jobs across 10 U.S. markets, a barrier may well be the hiring practices of many companies. Data compiled by the coalition found that 250,000 women of color could be working in the tech industry if companies rewired hiring criteria to consider more diverse job experiences, skills and qualifications.

What the report also noted was that increasing opportunities for women of color in tech involved a better understanding of the industry among job candidates as well.

“One of the barriers is particularly for young women, there is an entrenched belief that a tech job is all about coding and bro culture,” said Bertina Ceccarelli, chief executive officer of NPower, in a recent interview. “And, sure, coding is a really, really important part of technology, but there are hundreds of career paths and a lot of great companies who have supportive cultures who are really eager and interested in cultivating and developing great talent.”

TheCUBE event livestream

Don’t miss theCUBE’s coverage of a new AWS Partner Showcase on July 21. Plus, you can watch theCUBE’s event coverage on-demand after the live event.

How to watch theCUBE interviews

We offer you various ways to watch theCUBE’s coverage of the AWS Partner Showcase S1 E3 event, including theCUBE’s dedicated website and YouTube channel. You can also get all the coverage from this year’s events on SiliconANGLE.

TheCUBE Insights podcast

SiliconANGLE also has podcasts available of archived interview sessions, available on iTunes, Stitcher and Spotify, which you can enjoy while on the go.

SiliconANGLE also has analyst deep dives in our Breaking Analysis podcast, available on iTunes, Stitcher and Spotify.

Guests

TheCUBE will interview expert guests during the AWS Partner Showcase S1 E3 event, including Vera Reynolds, engineering manager at Hound Technology; Sue Persichetti, executive vice president of global AWS strategic alliances at Jefferson Frank, a Tenth Revolution Group company; Stephanie Curry, worldwide head of sales and go-to-market strategy, AWS, at NetApp Inc.; and Danielle Greshock, director of partner SAs and worldwide ISV at AWS.

(* Disclosure: TheCUBE is a paid media partner for the AWS Partner Showcase S1 E3 event. Neither AWS, the sponsor of theCUBE’s event coverage, nor other sponsors have editorial control over content on theCUBE or SiliconANGLE.)

Image: SiliconANGLE