How to Recruit and Promote More Women as Leaders in Technology
The gender gap in the workforce is even more noticeable when you look at careers in science, technology, engineering, and math. Inhi Cho Suh, GM of Watson Customer Engagement at IBM and Laura Bilazarian, Founder and CEO of Teamable, explain how companies can do a better job recruiting and growing women leaders in technology roles.
"We're able to statistically prove there's no pipeline problem," said Bilazarian. "We've mapped the world of social connections and people that have a presence on the web around work, and there's many many women in tech its just really hard to find them using today's tools."
Women filled 47 percent of all U.S. jobs in 2015 but held only 24 percent of STEM jobs, according to the United States Department of Commerce.
IBM offers a tech re-entry program for women to get back to work after dropping out of the workforce. "We create a 12-week internship for women that may have taken a leave during a particular portion of their personal and professional lives," says Suh. "Through this program last year we graduated 30 women who reentered back into the workforce, and we're looking to have more women as part of this in 2018."
A Senate bill unveiled on Wednesday looks to tackleonline safety for children by regulating Big Tech and social media platforms to deter users from content that can harm their mental health. Irene Ly, a policy counsel for the age-based ratings and review organization Common Sense Media, joined Cheddar News to break down the potential of the Kids Online Safety Act. "We can't be imposing such a big burden on parents to be doing it all on theirselves," Ly said. "I think you also have to keep in mind that parents often didn't grow up with social media, so they don't understand what it's like to be addicted to social media or really understand how they work."
While many still remain skeptical about the metaverse, big tech firms and even one big bank are ready to expand their virtual worlds. Facebook parent company has pivoted so hard it will now call its employees 'Metamates,' and even JPMorgan Chase has created its own digital lounge on one virtual platform. While the sector remains young, there seems to be significant investment opportunity, especially with companies like Nvidia. Adam Johnson, a portfolio strategist at Adviser Investments, joins Closing Bell to discuss which companies could win in this space, consumer appetite, and more.
Marc Blinder, Co-Founder and CEO of Aikon, joins Cheddar News' Closing Bell, where he discusses how his company is helping businesses use blockchain applications without needing to learn the intricacies of the new technology.
Senators Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) and Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.) have introduced a new bill to afford greater protection to minors on social media. The genesis of the Kids Online Safety Act came from a Facebook whistleblower case exposing the harm apps can have on the mental health of young girls.
