JOVACO celebrates Women’s History Month
While IT was once the province of women, they now barely represent 20% of the IT sector workforce, according to an article published in La Presse in 2020. Moreover, the pandemic has exacerbated and brought to light existing inequalities. This is why JOVACO is proud to be the exception to the rule, and wants to recognize women’s exceptional contributions to the world of technologies on this Women’s History Month.
Women at JOVACO
Women represent half of JOVACO’s high management team, and 42% of our employees. They are present in all our teams, from programming to consulting services, not to mention finances, administration, sales, marketing, and human resources. Our firm is also headed by a woman: indeed, Valerie Coutu was named president in 2020, testament to the increasing presence of women in this sector.
“It’s very important to me to make sure JOVACO remains a leader on both the human and technological levels,” says Valerie Coutu. “This is why I try to encourage the next generation of women and reach out to young girls with conferences and campaigns, so they know they have their place in the world of science and technology.”
Encouraging the next generation of women
JOVACO is proud to provide our employees with a place where they can all grow and flourish. Humanism being at the center of our values, it’s important to us to ensure an adequate balance between their professional and personal lives. Mothers, young graduates, recent immigrants … the diverse experiences and profiles of our team members all contribute to its richness. All have the opportunity to fulfill their ambitions within our firm, and we have been reaping the benefits for decades now.
On this Women’s History Month, JOVACO wants to thank our employees for their contribution and recognize the female pioneers that have paved the way for us. We namely want to recognize the contributions of Simone Poirier, who was JOVACO’s first employee and spent her entire career with us until retiring in 2016, and Diane Coutu, who looked after our clients for 35 years before retiring in 2020. Thank you for everything!
Are you a woman in the IT sector or would like to start your career in this industry? Check out our career opportunities and don’t hesitate to submit your application. We’re looking forward to meeting you!
Some facts and statistics
- Only 26% of IT-related jobs are occupied by women.
- 70% of adult Canadian women say they didn’t have any female role model in the STEM sector while growing up.
- Six female programmers worked on ENIAC, the first general-purpose computer, namely Jean Bartik, Marlyn Wescoff Meltzer, Ruth Lichterman Teitelbaum, Kay McNulty Mauchly Antonelli, Frances Spence, and Frances Elizabeth « Betty » Holberton.
- Margaret Hamilton was responsible for the development of the on-board flight software for the Apollo space program, allowing the first man to walk on the moon.
- In 1952, Beatrice Helen Worsley was the first person to be awarded a Ph.D in what would come to be known as computer science, on top of contributing to the development of one of the first computers in the country.