Closing the Digital Divide: The coming tech revolution will open immense opportunities for women in STEM positions

In a world on the brink of a new Industrial Revolution, Tami Erwin wonders, “Are we dreaming big enough?”

That question was at the heart of her remarks at the recent Women Tech Awards event in Salt Lake City. Erwin, executive vice president and group CEO of Verizon Business, said the development of super-fast 5G technology will open up vast opportunities for women in the tech industry and worldwide.

“I am convinced we are entering a revolutionary era for technology, for business and for society,” she said at the event’s keynote presentation. “Like any revolution, this will scramble and offend a lot of our traditional notions of who belongs at the table. This is going to open up immense opportunities for women across the industry and in STEM positions, specifically.”

That would be a massive shift from the current environment. Erwin said that for women, “the opportunity has never been bigger, our participation has never been less in the tech space.” For example, only one in four STEM jobs is held by women, she said.

The general-purpose technology spearheading the new revolution is 5G, the same way that the steam engine, electricity and the personal computer drove the last three revolutions. The speed, reliability and other attributes of 5G will enable a new era of virtual reality, augmented reality, the Internet of Things, artificial intelligence, autonomous vehicles, advanced robotics, 3D and wearable tech.

“What these and other fourth-Industrial-Revolution innovations have in common is an unprecedented level of connectivity — between people and people, between people and devices, and between devices and devices. It’s the blending of the physical and the visceral in whole new ways. After all, in an era that’s all about fast, clear connections, the network that makes those connections possible is the key to everything else.”

People may have heard about 5G but not everyone understands just how revolutionary it is, Erwin said.

“I want all of you to get it because you’re innovators and leaders, and this is going to have a huge impact on almost everything you do in the years to come,” she told the crowd. “The main thing to get about 5G is it’s not just another ‘G.’ It’s not a sequel to 4G. It’s not just the same thing done slightly better. 5G is so powerful that the best way to think about it is a wholly new technology.”

Among 5G’s characteristics is a peak data transmission rate 10 times faster than 4G and its potential to connect 1 million devices per square kilometer, compared to today’s 100,000 devices.

5G technology will allow, for instance, a person to tell their house that they’re on the way home so that a thermostat can be turned on, or a medical implant to relay vital information to family members, patients or doctors or even call 9-1-1.

Salt Lake City is at the forefront of 5G development. Verizon has chosen 30 cities — Salt Lake City is among them — to unveil its 5G Ultra Wideband technology by the end of the year. And in September, the Federal Communications Commission announced the creation of its first two Innovation Zones — in New York City and Salt Lake City — that will be city-scale test beds for advanced wireless communications and network research, including 5G networks.

The revolutionary changes allowed by 5G will require businesses to maximize their employees’ potential, according to Erwin.

“The nature of the change that’s happening in our industry means that no company — no company — can afford to lose the best talent over something as trivial as whether or not you possess a Y chromosome,” she said.

To get the best ideas, she said, companies will need the best people, regardless of their gender identity, their ethnicity, their nationality, their disability status or their sexual orientation.

“But it’s more than just having a diverse-looking workforce,” Erwin said. “If you really want to realize the full potential of that diversity and get the best ideas out of people, you must actively encourage them to be true to themselves and within their organization. Along with diversity comes inclusion and authenticity.”

Erwin acknowledged that the voices, talents and perspectives of women inside companies have been overlooked and marginalized. “Such marginalization may not always be conscious. In fact, I would argue it’s often unintentional.  But it still does real damage, not only to female employees but to companies themselves, because by holding their female employees back, these companies are settling for using way less than 100 percent of their best resources,” she said.

A Pew Research Center study in 2018 indicated that female representation in computer occupations is actually shrinking. It was 32 percent in 1990 but now accounts for 25 percent.

“People talk about a digital divide,” Erwin said. “That divide has a very strong gender element, and this country is not going to thrive in the fourth Industrial Revolution if we allow that kind of divide to continue to persist.”

To thwart that persistence, programs have been put in place to help young girls and boys understand “the possibility and power” of their talent and potential in STEM fields, she said.

“We shouldn’t forget about it today, however, the female engineers and executives that we have. Our industry needs to get far more serious about accelerating the progress right now, doing what is necessary to bring more highly qualified women into the very top of the industry.”

She called for more women to be CEOs, serve on company boards, be in leadership positions and be involved in the community. “For this to happen, we cannot see women’s advancement as solely a woman’s issue,” Erwin said. “It is a leadership issue. It is an economic issue.”

Erwin encouraged women to be fearless and for everyone to provide them with more opportunities to succeed.

“I would tell you that as we sit here today, on the cusp of the fourth Industrial Revolution, we have an opportunity to dream big. I look around this room and I wonder, ‘Who will be the next female CEO?’ I wonder if, in this room, sits the first female president of the United States. I think we have nothing but opportunity, and I would argue that now is the time. We must seize the moment, dream big and realize our full potential.”