A new support group for Persian women in technology was launched in Montreal in April 2019: Persian Women in Tech Montreal (PWIT Montreal). I interviewed its founder to better understand why so many Persian women work in technology
It’s a nonprofit highlighting women from Iran, the Middle East and North Africa in STEM (science, technology, engineering and math). They organize monthly events in the form of conferences and panels. Their aim is to share experiences between members of the community and the Montreal public.
PWIT is already present in San Francisco, Los Angeles, Boston, London, Paris, Austin, Washington DC, Vancouver and Toronto.
The leader of the Montreal chapter is Bahar Partov, researcher and technologist. When she arrived in Montreal from Boston in 2018, the thing that surprised her most was the large number of Iranian women working or studying in technology. She says: “After I left Iran, I lived in several countries, but I never saw so many talented women in one place.” The young woman then turned to the Persian Women in Tech organization and asked to open a chapter in Montreal.
The Montreal chapter decided to focus on talent acquisition for companies. Indeed, since there is a significant shortage of IT talent in Canada, the organization decided to put forward these women’s profiles in order to promote networking between job seekers and the companies offering them.
There are already several groups of women in technology in Montreal, so what makes this one different? I put the question to Sepideh Nasiri, CEO and founder of Persian Women in Tech. According to her, their strength lies in their structure and their ability to open new chapters quickly. The scarcity of manpower and the strong presence of Persian women in the world are two essential components of the group’s growth. Finally, they work closely with universities and young girls to raise their awareness of technology as a career.
In Iran, 70% of computer science students are women. In North America, this figure averages around 20%. At first glance, this seems very impressive, and is mainly due to parents pushing their children to study to become doctors, engineers or lawyers.
However, the founder of PWIT Montreal adds a nuance. Even if this proportion of women seems exemplary, equity is far from being achieved. Discrimination against women persists in the workplace, in hiring and, above all, at home. It’s women who have to take care of the family, thus holding back their career growth. Women are obviously paid less than men, as they are almost everywhere in the world, and it’s harder for them to get a job -in 2017, women represented only 17% of the workforce- which pushes them to go back to school, in the hope of maybe landing a job. Sepideh explains that in Iran, having a doctorate, or even several doctorates, is quite common, but it doesn’t solve the gender gap.
A new event is planned for the near future, so visit the organization’s Facebook page to find out more.
