The fact that the tech industry is uneven is as well-known as problematic. We, like many other tech companies, value skills over all other factors when it comes to recruitment. Therefore, the imbalance is particularly worrying: that such a small proportion of the 50 percent of the population of women who are looking for the technology industry reduces our selection of competent individuals.

So how bad is that? According to figures from IT and telecom companies, the industry has only 28 percent of women employed . A review of Di Digital has shown that less than one percent of Sweden’s venture capital goes to women . At KTH only 35 percent of applicants for the MSc program were women, and in computer science, the numbers were even worse – only 20 percent . At the same time, the Employment Service expects a total of 60,000 people with IT skills by 2020 .

So what’s up for this? There are a number of good initiatives, but at the same time it reflects the wide commitment and business power of its absence.

Even we are self-critical – we are far from perfect. This is largely due to the small number of female applicants for technology-oriented jobs. KTH lecturer Robert Lagerström believes that more female role models are required , which we can sign on. Initiatives such as KTH and Robyn’s technology festival TEKLA, where girls between 11 and 15 are allowed to participate in technology-related workshops, have been successful in gaining support from Ericsson and Spotify, among others. However, more minor initiatives, which do not have the backing of a royal college or one of our premier artists today, also need financial support to think long-term and gain more impact.

Our first contribution to contributing to a change is therefore to target the many smaller initiatives that exist, and provide them with financial backing to continue, develop and reach more. Therefore, we introduce the Leo Regulus Tech Award prize of $ 100,000, free to seek for anyone who works to promote and increase interest in tech and AI among women.

However, one or two initiatives are not enough, real change requires much more power, both of us and others. The industry must not be comfortable in the current situation, where we are far behind the way society is developing. Therefore, we call on the tech industry to see how best to make a difference and influence, both in the small and the big, based on their own situation. The fact that a whole industry loses so much potential, perspective and power is nothing more than a failure.