By MOTIFE Insights, 16 July 2024
Agnieszka Majeran: Cisco is the worldwide technology leader that securely connects everything to make anything possible. Our purpose is to power an inclusive future for all by helping our customers reimagine their applications, power hybrid work, secure their enterprise, transform their infrastructure, and meet their sustainability goals.
We have been present in Krakow for 12 years, and over that period, we have grown to become the largest site for Cisco in all of EMEA, with 2500 people currently, 1800 of which are in tech roles. Our key focus areas in Krakow are Customer Experience, Cybersecurity and Software Engineering.
One of the things we have always been most proud at Cisco Krakow, is the diversity of our teams. We are very proud of the fact that we ranked as the 3rd largest female IT specialists employer in Krakow in the latest Krakow IT Market Map report by MOTIFE, with 35% of our engineer population being female.
As a leader in collaboration technology, Cisco has always been a hybrid work organization, and after the pandemic we made hybrid work our global policy, which means that it’s up to the employees and their teams to decide whether they work from home or from the office. We want the office to be a magnet, not a mandate. This benefits women in their careers, as it gives them more flexibility in balancing between work and life.
Agnieszka Majeran: One of the biggest challenges for women in the workforce is being able to return to work after a career break. From starting or raising a family to caring for a loved one or focusing on one’s own personal health, there are a variety of reasons why women may take a career break. There is incredible talent in this demographic, and to tap into that Cisco has launched a program for technical professionals who are looking to return to the workforce after a career break. Our engineering function, in particular, has significantly engaged with the program and is finding great benefit from the talent reentering the workforce through the program.
Additionally, we have various other programs and initiatives which support and help develop the careers of female IT specialists at Cisco: Women of Impact, Women in Science and Engineering (WISE), or various mentoring programs. In order to ensure that pathways to success are opened for all, particularly for underrepresented groups, we’ve put great emphasis on sponsorship. Through our Multiplier Effect initiative, leaders are asked to sponsor someone in the company who is different from them, spending time to get to know them and the unique talents they bring to the company.
We also continue focusing on the retention of top talent. At Cisco, this includes offering a care concierge service, expanding back-up childcare resources, increasing our critical time off and regularly reviewing pay parity across the organization. Combining these resources with a culture of connection and proximity that focuses on listening and engagement helps ensure that our talent, including our Cisco women, feel like their leaders know them well which leads to greater satisfaction.
Check out also: Krakow IT Market Report 2024
Despite the evolving landscape of the IT job market, it remains a male-dominated industry, however, there is a growing recognition of the need for gender diversity. An important perspective is seeing that diversity is not only about the share of women. It is also about understanding the value that female team members bring into the IT teams. It is also about noticing that a key metric is also a share of women in the leadership roles in the IT companies. Community initiatives and campaigns are increasingly spotlighting the role of women in IT, encouraging more inclusive practices. Large organizations are particularly visible in these efforts, often showcasing their female IT leaders to promote gender diversity within leadership roles. While such promotional efforts are important for raising awareness, they may not fully represent the actual gender diversity within the industry. Ultimately, the true measure of gender diversity in IT is reflected in the hard data—the share of women in the IT headcount.
Check out also: Krakow IT Market Report 2024
Check out also: Krakow IT Market Report 2024
Learn more about what international companies have achieved with their Krakow tech labs by downloading the Krakow IT Market Report 2024.
If you are interested in setting up your own engineering hub in Poland, contact us at MOTIFE to learn more.
If you are looking for interesting job opportunities in tech companies in Krakow and remote, check out open roles at motife.com/jobs.
It is difficult to assess a precise share of women who work in IT sector across in Poland. According to Eurostat, women make up 15.5% of the IT workforce nationally. LinkedIn Insights provides a more optimistic figure, estimating 27% in Poland and 29% in Krakow, however we are quite convinced these numbers don’t reflect reality.
In November 2023 and January 2024, we surveyed companies employing IT specialists in Krakow, with some questions regarding the percentage of female IT specialists in their IT headcount in the city. Out of 121 respondents, 92 companies voluntarily shared their data. These companies represent approximately a third of Krakow’s total IT talent pool and reported an average of 27% female IT specialists, totaling 5 081 women.
According to our dataset, women in IT in Krakow are more prevalent in non-core IT industries, holding 30% in Finance and 26% in Telecommunications / Networking, versus 21% in IT Consulting and Services and 19% in Software, indicating potentially a sector-specific cultural or hiring practice differences.
This data, however, represents only a fraction of the market and primarily includes companies that agreed to share their information. Consequently, the results may present a somewhat optimistic perspective, highlighting best-in-class companies rather than offering a comprehensive market snapshot.
Nevertheless, the trend is positive. We estimate the overall share of women in IT in Krakow at about 19%, corroborated by the growing number of female ICT students in the city. Moreover, a significant rise in the number of women holding leadership positions within major IT firms like Google, Backbase and Akamai is evident, suggesting a broader shift towards greater gender diversity in the sector.
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