For the past two years, the epic tech boom has driven the stock market with huge profits, powered by the pandemic that has pushed much of the world online. The growing size, commanding high pay, flexible working model, as well as unlimited learning opportunities of the lucrative tech career field have attracted many workers. Will the tech industry continue to thrive in the future? This blog will take a look at how the tech industry will develop in 2022 and beyond.
Tech Market: Slowdown of the market, OR Not?
Since late April, the term “hiring freeze” has become more and more pervasive online, with household tech companies such as Meta and Uber as well as smaller startups all announcing a slow down in the number of new employees. On LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter, we read news about big tech companies rescinding their offers to new grads. In May, almost 17,000 workers were laid off, according to The Financial Times. Yes, it is true that hiring comes with a slowdown and deep lay-offs have swept parts of the tech sector. And the hiring freeze trends take place in both household tech names and smaller-sized startups. According to Investing.com senior analyst Haris Anwar, factors at play include the downsized demands of the tech market from pandemic recovery and supply chain problems accelerated by the war in Ukraine, concluded by the Investing.com senior analyst Haris Anwar.
Still, there are signs for temporary relief. Data from Indeed.com, ZipRecruiter, and some other job listings sites, show that the number of openings in the tech sector is still strong. At present, data from ZipRecruiter shows that active online job postings for the tech sector outpaces the wider job market. ZipRecruiter’s leading economist, Sinem Buber, argues that “There are way more jobs than people who are chasing these jobs.” Also, tech companies (i.e. Netflix and Zoom) that benefited from a pandemic-related increase in demand for their products and services were among the first to reduce staffing. Therefore, it remains unclear whether hiring freeze signals a total collapse or a temporary deviation from a longer term in the tech industry.
Tech People: Strong signs for further promoting diversity?
June 3 - Sheryl Sandberg, the longtime chief operating officer of Meta, said she would leave the company this fall. The critical reality is that her exit would leave few women tech leaders in her wake. The tech industry has been regarded as a white, male dominated field. In recent years, even as tech begins to impact our life more powerfully, women and minority people have not made notable gains in the higher tier of big tech companies. According to the New York Times, men continue to dominate venture capital firms, with female founders receiving only a small share of funding. And throughout Silicon Valley, stories of hazardous environments, discrimination, and harassment continue to circulate.
Another trending issue is the fact that female leaders are more often appointed during a time of crisis, “forced” to clean up others’ mess. The term “glass cliff” was coined by Michelle Ryan and Alex Haslam of the University of Exeter in England in 2004, to describe the phenomenon in which women CEOs are more likely to be offered the top job in struggling or in crisis organizations. This happens because males view the job as too dangerous to take, or because women understand that the best way to demonstrate their mettle is to take on the most difficult projects. Thus, inequality still pervades. While there have been signs of progress as more and more tech companies’ annual diversity reports underscore gender and racial diversity, a long way lies before creating a more diverse, and inclusive tech industry.
The tech field changes rapidly. It is not easy to predict what will happen in the future. For the bigger market, the slowdown might be a temporary blip or not. For its people, whether tech diversity can be greatly achieved in future remains unknown. Here, at Sedna, we are willing to help you navigate your path in the tech field. And, as a minority-owned woman company, we are here to enrich the diverseness of the tech field. We would like to hear from you your opinions on the future of the tech market. Leave your comments below!
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