Powering Australia’s technology professionals
At ACS, we create pathways to guide you on your career journey and ensure that Australia has a pipeline of tech talent with the right skills and knowledge to build a brighter future.
Recently, we asked our LinkedIn audience a question: what’s been the biggest factor in advancing your tech career? The answers have given us an insight into how technology professionals approach their professional development and journey along their career pathways.
The importance of networking and building connections
The most popular response to our poll question was networking and social connections, with 42% of respondents indicating that this was the most significant factor in advancing their tech careers.
Building a strong professional network is essential for your career growth. Networking helps cultivate relationships, keeps you informed about industry trends, and, importantly, maintains your visibility in a crowded and highly competitive tech sector. Without networking, you may find it more difficult to expand your professional circle, access new job opportunities, or stay updated on trends and developments.
Put simply, what do you think is the easier interview – one with a stranger or one with somebody you have met before or heard talk at an event?
The lack of networks and why it's a problem
Networking and professional connections can be cultivated within the workplace or through external events but often women face additional barriers.
Women represent just 29% of Australia’s tech workforce and experience higher reported levels of harassment and bullying in the workplace, so establishing a supportive and reliable professional network can be extremely challenging. You can only connect with those you see.
Overcoming these obstacles is critical to empowering women so that they can thrive on an equal footing throughout their careers.
International Women’s Day and what it teaches us about networks
As International Women’s Day approaches, it is important to stop and take stock of the environment the tech sector provides for women. The UN has set the intention for International Women’s Day 2025 to be ‘For ALL women and girls: Rights. Equality. Empowerment.’
At ACS, we believe it is time to shine the brightest light on the challenges women face in the tech sector. Our goal is to increase the representation of women in tech from 29% to 50%.
ACS Conversation Circles is a networking event series hosted by Jo Stewart-Rattray and Sabina Gruetzner, ACS Vice President of Communities and ACS Strategic Initiative Executive, respectively.
The nationwide series brings together women in tech to discuss the challenges and triumphs of their careers. Jo and Sabina are using the meetings as research, listening to women’s experiences before making recommendations to the ACS Management Committee.
We are also advocating for educational support in classrooms to encourage more female students to study STEM, while our schools’ programs are designed to inspire school students through industry connections and endless possibilities.
We are working towards gender parity and hope that, by increasing the awareness of not only women’s issues but also their solutions, we can work together to create a more inclusive and more beneficial workforce for all.