I’ve been looking into the makeup of the semiconductor workforce lately and found something interesting: While 59% of technical support and operations workers are female, only a fraction – 6% – of the women are in management.
One key reason for the gender gap not only in these fields but across the semiconductor industry is that, historically, vastly more men than women have pursued STEM (science, technology, engineering, mathematics) educations and careers. Unconscious bias in recruiting and hiring women has also played a role. But the tide is turning.
With the global semiconductor industry continuing to struggle with a workforce shortage, more companies are looking to diversify and expand their talent pools. And they are taking action by implementing diversity and inclusion initiatives, recognizing that people from different backgrounds can bring new ideas to the industry and help drive innovation and growth. Women in semiconductors matter more than ever before.
For its part, SEMI launched the Women in Semiconductors (WiS) program in 2018 to promote diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) in the workplace and since then has spared no effort to help women – from students to professionals at all organization levels – thrive in the industry. SEMI encourages women to help their employers build more inclusive workplaces that allow everyone to fulfill their potential while contributing to industry innovation and growth.
Many chip companies worldwide are cultivating more inclusive workplaces that respect diversity, setting goals to achieve gender balance, and relying on diversity and inclusion success metrics for developing internal talent. For example, one SEMI member, Dell Technologies, aims to increase the proportion of female executives to 40% by investing more to develop middle- and senior-level female leaders. This kind of purposeful, concrete action is vital in building more diverse workforces.
Semiconductor companies must dispel the myth that only students and professionals with STEM backgrounds can work in the industry. While it’s true that the industry needs workers with computer and electronic computing skills to develop technological applications, employees with university degrees and expertise in sociology, psychology and other fields are also critically important to, for example, understanding AI behavioral patterns.
For women puzzling over what skills they can bring to the semiconductor industry, it’s important to turn seeming disadvantages into competitive advantages. For instance, many women are strong communicators, creative, empathic and able to quickly adapt to different circumstances and roles – all traits needed in the chip industry.
People looking to enter semiconductor careers should also consider other important personality traits including the following:
- Motivation to learn and explore different fields
- Ambition to learn in an industry characterized by constant, rapid innovation
- Problem-solving skills
- Ability to address problems and work to identify their root cause creatively and from a broad perspective
- Accountability to drive change within themselves and the organization
It’s also important for anyone entering the semiconductor industry to understand and break through their own personal limitations and find a comfortable work-life balance.
I look forward to seeing more women, men, and future talent who transcend gender boundaries in the semiconductor sector make great contributions to the industry growth and innovation. Let us rise to the occasion to enhance inclusion at work and move the industry forward!
Jo-Ann Su is Vice President at SEMI Taiwan.