How difficult is it for a woman to work in communications?

It is well known that the number of women working in the communications industry is very low. So, what is this proportion?

I don't have accurate industry data, but here are some data for reference.

First of all, in 2019, Huawei Honor executives revealed that female employees accounted for 21% of Huawei Group’s total employees.

Second, according to ZTE’s 2018 Sustainability Report, as of December 31, 2018, female employees accounted for 24% of ZTE’s total employees.

Third, according to the background data of Xianzao Classroom, the number of female followers of our official account accounts for 23.87%.

As a public account in the vertical communications industry, this data is also of certain reference value.

The above three data are so close that we can roughly infer that the total number of female practitioners in the communications industry is between 20% and 25%. In other words, only about 1 out of 4 communications professionals is a woman.

There are many reasons for this situation, the most important one, of course, is the special industry attributes of the communications industry.

As an engineering industry, communications is far less attractive to female job seekers than finance, education, healthcare, and even IT and the Internet. Moreover, the communications industry has been declining over the years, with declining profits and a shattered reputation. It no longer has the glory and respectability it had more than a decade ago, and has discouraged many young girls (of course, including men).

On the other hand, even if girls don’t dislike this industry and insist on entering it, few companies are willing to recruit them.

There is a famous saying in the communications industry: "Women are used like men, and men are used like animals." Although it sounds ridiculous, it is indeed true.

After so many years of industry competition, the communications industry is no longer a high-profit technology-intensive industry, but a labor-intensive industry where everyone is "earning money". For bosses and HR, since it is labor-intensive, of course "livestock" is more useful!

When female college students majoring in communications are looking for jobs, if they are from a good school (985/211, Double First-Class) or have a high degree (graduate or above), they will choose to work in large companies for R&D. This is especially true for large state-owned enterprises such as operators or the State Grid, or foreign-funded enterprises, which are relatively stable.

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Some girls, pursuing more extreme stability, may choose to take the civil service exam, or devote themselves to scientific exploration, continue their studies and engage in scientific research (stay in universities or research institutes).

A small number of people who are courageous, have strong communication skills, are extroverted, and like dealing with people will choose to enter companies and work in marketing or even sales positions.

If your school is average or poor, it is very difficult to find a job in the communications industry, no matter how good your grades are. Big companies are unwilling to hire you, and small companies dare not hire you, which is a very embarrassing situation.

When small and medium-sized communication companies recruit people, they mainly recruit two types of people: sales and technology. Sales people need no introduction. Technology people are basically hired to work on engineering and projects, product launches or network optimization.

As we all know, this kind of work is really off-limits for women.

This is not gender discrimination. The reason why it is a forbidden zone is not because women are not capable enough, but because of the environment and external factors.

Communications people have "two mores and two lesses": more business trips, more overtime, less income, and less hair.

When working on engineering projects, there are more long-term business trips, and they are often to faraway places. Faced with this situation, girls are obviously not as convenient as boys. Not only are the security risks higher, but there are also more restrictions, especially when going to some Islamic countries (Saudi Arabia, Iran) or countries with a high incidence of rape such as India.

If you work overtime in an engineering position, it is usually for upgrades, cutovers or capacity expansions.

These major operations are basically carried out in the late night, which is very hard. It is also a relatively risky thing for girls to go back and forth to the computer room to work overtime late at night. Sometimes boys will feel scared when they squat in the cold computer room to work, let alone girls.

Most importantly, staying up late to work overtime is very detrimental to your health. Mental weakness and endocrine disorders are common symptoms. For girls who love beauty, it means dark circles under the eyes, aging skin, deformed body, gray hair and hair loss. The price is too high, and no amount of money spent on cosmetics can make up for it.

Moreover, engineering-related work often requires physical lifting, equipment installation, electrical wiring, etc., and girls will be at a disadvantage.

Therefore, it is usually not recommended for girls to work in engineering and technical positions. Priority should be given to R&D, followed by marketing or sales.

As mentioned before, as long as the ability meets the requirements, the probability of girls entering the R&D department will be relatively high. Whether it is the development department or the testing department, the proportion of female employees is significantly higher than that of engineering and after-sales. In fact, overtime in R&D positions is also very serious, but it is mainly overtime in the headquarters or research institutes, so it is much better than engineering in terms of safety and other aspects.

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Marketing and sales positions, like engineering positions, involve more interaction with clients. Although there are many business trips, they are rarely solo. Although there is a lot of overtime, there is less overtime in the client's room late at night.

Marketing and sales positions require a high level of comprehensive quality. On the one hand, you need to understand basic technology, and on the other hand, you need stronger communication and expression skills. In this regard, women have certain advantages.

In addition to R&D, marketing and engineering, there are some positions in communications companies that are suitable for girls, such as documentation engineers, training instructors, project assistants, etc. Girls account for a large proportion of other non-business positions, such as administration, human resources, legal affairs, public relations, finance, etc., but they are beyond the scope of this article.

After a girl successfully gets a job, is everything all right?

No.

We often say that modern society is so progressive and women's rights have been improved, but in fact, the workplace is still very harsh on women. For the same position, women's salary is significantly lower than men's. To get the same recognition, women often pay more than twice as much as men.

I once read an article saying that condoms are one of the greatest inventions of mankind. They free women from the task of childbearing and allow them to become more complete people who can have their own careers and their own lives.

In fact, this is not 100% liberation. Due to physiological reasons, women still bear the responsibility of childbearing and make great sacrifices for it.

After 3-5 years of employment, female employees are at the age of marriage and childbearing, just when their careers are starting to accelerate. In most cases, women will choose to interrupt their careers to get married, have children, and breastfeed. When they return to the workplace several years later, the opportunities have already slipped away, and the focus of their lives has been shifted to family and children and cannot be shifted back.

In the past, under the one-child policy, women who returned had a chance to try again. Now that the second-child policy has been relaxed, not only have companies become more vigilant, but the workplace environment has become worse. If you really want to have a second child, it means you have to give up another 2-4 years.

Years just pass by in the midst of all the hard work. Most women think about their children's exams and further education, buying cosmetics, clothes and bags, and Versailles and internal competition. Work has become a routine, and they don't seek promotion or salary increase, but only stability and leisure.

Of course, there are also a very small number of women who can stand out and become strong women in communications. They either have outstanding business capabilities or perform well in project organization, team management, engineering promotion and other aspects, and move up to higher positions.

But this proportion is indeed too small. Let’s quote Huawei’s data source above. The proportion of female managers in Huawei Group (2019) is only 7%, which can be said to be rare.

The communications industry, like other industries, still has gender discrimination. It is impossible to achieve true gender equality. Family and career need to be balanced, and it is often women who make the sacrifice.

The traditional concept is that a girl only needs to have a stable job, and the main thing is to marry a good husband and take care of the children. Many girls also think so, so they don’t pay attention to their career development.

Xiaozaojun strongly disagrees with this. The times are no longer the same as before. Even women should pay attention to their career development and work achievements. Apart from anything else, economic ability now largely affects family status and autonomy. Giving up a career is also taking a risk with one's own happiness in life. Moreover, those who always want to get into their comfort zone are basically the first to be kicked out of their comfort zone.

In short, the improvement of the workplace environment for women in the communications industry and even in the whole society cannot be separated from the understanding and care of the external environment, but also from the transformation of their own concepts and consciousness. Whether it is a man or a woman, everyone has only one life. In this only life, it is most important to bloom the greatest brilliance and play the greatest value.

I hope that gender will no longer be a shackle, and I also hope that the working environment for women in the communications industry can be improved.