Women are better in tech than men, says a report

By Erin Carson.  Source: CNET.

Think men’s brains are better suited for tech jobs? Think again.

A report from the Metropolitan Policy Program at the Brookings Institution measured men’s and women’s digital scores, and found that women had stronger skills than men do.

The Brookings report, called “Digitalization and the American Workforce,” looked at “information about the knowledge, skills, tools and technology; education and training; work context; and work activities required” for high tech jobs, and it gave women a digital score of 48 versus 45 for men.

But despite that higher aptitude, the report says, more men than women are filling the highest-level digital jobs in “computer, engineering and management fields, as well as lower-digital occupations such as transportation, construction, natural resources, and building and grounds occupations.”

It’s a familiar issue given tech’s annual parade of diversity reports that show women’s share of the employment pie falling below 30 percent in technical roles and thinning out even further in management and leadership positions.

“While digitalization holds out significant opportunities for less-educated or historically marginalized workers or groups to move up the employment ladder, too few of them appear to be making that progress,” the report said.