A New Era of Collaboration-based Business Models Bodes Well for Women in the Technology Industry

July 6, 2009

By Abigail Rowland and Jason Deign

It is September 2008 and groups of women from Amsterdam, Singapore, Zurich and London are gathering to watch a talk by yachtswoman Dame Ellen McArthur.

What is notable is not just the talk, a speech on overcoming adversity delivered by one of the greatest British sailors of the last decade, but also the fact that the audiences are brought together by a technology which itself might help the viewers overcome adversity in the workplace.

Not one of the women attending the Cisco® Connected Women conference had to leave their home city. The London group had traveled as far as the Cisco U.K. headquarters in Bedfont Lakes, near the British capital's Heathrow airport.

But the others had viewed Dame Ellen's presentation via Cisco TelePresence, perhaps the most advanced of a new breed of collaboration tools which are changing the way people do business—and potentially opening new opportunities for women in the IT market at the same time.

The tools are tipped to create new business models and new opportunities that may favor women in the IT workplace.

Collaboration tools are at the heart of what Cisco Chairman and Chief Executive Officer John Chambers has dubbed "the second phase of the Internet" and which he says could deliver productivity gains of up to 10 percent over the coming decade. 

Cisco believes one of the consequences of the introduction of collaboration tools such as TelePresence, Unified Communications and WebEx will be the replacement of traditional, linear business hierarchies with more inclusive, non-linear networks of workers.

At Cisco, the classic command-and-control management structure has already been largely replaced by a series of councils that assign responsibilities to their members according to individual skills and experience.

The change is allowing Cisco to work on up to 24 new product areas simultaneously, a rate of innovation that was previously unthinkable.

And this new collaborative way of working is not just more productive; it is also arguably more suited to workers outside the typical IT employee stereotype of a young man with an interest in computers.

Modern collaboration tools make it easier for a greater range of people and personalities to be involved in IT businesses, bringing with them new skills and capabilities.

In areas such as research and development, for example, innovation may be driven less by engineering abilities (although these will still be necessary) and more by pure creativity.

At Cisco, again, this greater inclusiveness is illustrated by the fact that two of the most senior technologists in the company, Chief Technology Officer Padsmaree Warrior and Chief Information Officer Rebecca Jacoby, are women.

There are several other examples of senior female executives, such as Hong Kong and Macau country manager Barbara Chiu.

But, notwithstanding the current economic climate, the business recognizes the need to encourage more women into its workforce and into the IT industry in general.

Chris Dedicoat, Cisco senior vice president of European Markets, says: "IT companies are competing to attract and retain employees from a small work pool. The challenge starts with attracting more young women into studying mathematics, science and engineering.

"Our own efforts to increase the employee pool and the percentage of women include Cisco employees meeting local school children. Sharing their own career experiences, they hope to encourage children to broaden their choices."

David Kelly, who since 1985 has worked for innovative online companies such as Amazon, lastminute and eBay and is now chief executive of a groundbreaking Internet startup called mydeco.com, says: "In recent years, applicants have had many more options on who they work for.

"They are more confident in making career decisions and they are increasingly looking for things other than money. Candidates are looking for a chance to make a difference; they want careers that play to their interests and to work for employers who value the difference they make.

"Positions in businesses which believe in innovation are increasingly attractive. Company culture, intellectual challenge, and commitment are perceived as equally as rewarding as high salaries."

Kelly adds: "Technology is really offering the opportunity to create new markets and products in a way that has never previously existed, and individuals are grasping the possibilities presented by businesses which are using technology in innovative ways.

"We want to be the business of choice for them."

IT companies are making an effort to attract a wider range of talent by becoming more appealing to this new breed of workers.

In a 2008 United Kingdom survey of the 'Top 100 Employers to Work For', published by the London Times, Google and Apple captured first and second place respectively, replacing the Richard Branson-led Virgin Group and Innocent Smoothies, an employee-friendly drinks firm.

Significantly, 60 percent of the respondents to the survey were women. And anyone doubting the contribution they could make to the IT industry in the future would do well to heed the tough-as-nails example of Dame Ellen's exploits in the male-dominated world of yacht racing.

"At sea, there is no way to restock the boat and I have to carefully monitor my resources, switching off my computer screen and lights," says the yachtswoman, who is using her fame to promote green causes.

"Even producing drinking water, a drop at a time, used up electricity reserves. Sustainable living on a boat—using, reusing and fixing every resource—can mean surviving, not just winning or finishing the race.

"I wanted to use my experience to raise awareness of sustainable issues facing all of us on dry land. As I approached the finish line of my second round-the-world race, a media frenzy waited for us to dock. I knew it was my opportunity to make a difference." 

Abigail Rowland is a freelance journalist located in Seaford, United Kingdom; Jason Deign is a freelance journalist located in Barcelona, Spain.