The Information Technology (IT) area has one of the longest paths to achieving gender equity. In Brazil, only 20% of IT professionals are women, according to the National Household Sample Survey (PNAD) and, on the other hand, the female share of the national population exceeds the mark of 52.5%. This picture is repeated in other countries and has encouraged a number of companies to take actions aimed at changing this scenario. On the eve of International Women’s Day (March 8), the good news is that some have achieved relevant results in this regard, especially in leadership positions.
One example is the UnitedHealth Group Brasil, which carries out the Women in IT initiative. In 2022, the action achieved a 5% increase in the percentage of women in management positions in the area, rising from 18% in January to 23% in October. There was also a 1% increase (from 25% to 26%) in the number of women in the sum of all IT positions. This last one was, in fact, the main target established at the beginning of last year.
“The 5% growth in leadership positions turned out to be a consequence of this goal of increasing the overall female presence in IT and others that we had established to achieve this, such as training in different areas of knowledge (such as personal branding, storytelling and English) ; dissemination of corporate programs such as Dialog Groups and various training courses; and encouraging enrollment in internal vacancies”, explains Rosane Ricciardi, Director of Management Information at UnitedHealth Group Brasil, the company that controls health operators Amil and Amil Dental and the Americas medical-hospital network.
This year, the objective of the initiative is to continue growing with the female presence in IT and one of the paths is to seek male support through the replication of the #ElesPorElas program, an action led by the United Nations for gender equality. And, also, by working even more in line with Nós por Elas, one of the six Dialogue Groups of UnitedHealth Group Brasil, with a focus on gender equity. The others are: Kaleidoscope (cultural diversity), Pride (LGBTQIAP+), Our Generations (intergenerational diversity), Melanina (ethnic-racial equity) and + Eficiente (people with disabilities).
“Equity, not just gender equity, as well as Inclusion and Diversity, need to be recurring themes throughout the year on the agendas of organizations. This thought, which we carry out at UnitedHealth Group Brasil, certainly contributed to the results achieved by the Women in IT initiative. We constantly seek to influence and encourage women to advance in their careers, in all areas of our company”, says Ricardo Burgos, Vice President of People and Corporate Security at UnitedHealth Group Brazil.
To highlight International Women’s Day, UnitedHealth Group Brasil will promote on March 15, for all its collaborators, the live “Harassment at work: what it is and how to fight it”, presented by delegate Jacqueline Valadares. She is co-author of the book “Combating Violence Against Women: protective measures – Maria da Penha Law” and president of the Union of Police Chiefs of the State of São Paulo.
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