SUSTAINABILITY
The topic of diversity , equity and inclusion ( DE & I ) is top of mind for pretty much all socially-aware companies at the moment , and those in the data centre industry are no different .
When it comes to the technology sector as a whole , the statistics paint a rather worrying picture . According to a recent report published by TechNation , just 26 % of tech workers in the UK are women , compared to 50 % of the overall labour market . Meanwhile , female minorities make up just 3-7 % of IT employees .
While less research exists in relation to the data centre industry specifically , the workforce is widely accepted as being even more imbalanced . In 2021 , more than threequarters of data centre operators surveyed by the Uptime Institute said under 10 % of their staff members were women .
Improving DE & I from the inside Marientina Laina was determined to take a leap of faith when she joined NTT Global Data Centers ( GDC ) to become Director of Sustainability , despite warnings from those around her . Part of her motivation was to do something about the lack of diversity from within .
“ When I made the decision to join the tech sector , a lot of friends and colleagues asked ‘ are you really sure ? This is a really male-dominated industry ’,” recalls Laina .
“ At NTT GDC , increasing these kinds of figures [ in favour of female representation ] is a commitment and very meaningful priority for our DE & I programme . We are quite pleased that , since FY21 , we have managed to increase female representation from 11 % to 28 % in executive leadership positions .
“ We ’ re still trying to improve our inclusivity so we can really benefit from having a much more rounded team ”
SOPHIA FLUCKER TECHNICAL DIRECTOR , MICIM LTD
86 August 2023