A report published by AVIXA called 'Are Women Welcome in Pro AV?' has shown that women are hugely underrepresented in the AV industry, lower even than other tech sectors.
Women made up 13% of InfoComm attendees in 2022, but in AVIXA's global salary survey, that number was even lower, women represented just 9% of the respondent pool (6% outside the U.S. and 11% in the U.S.—see Figure 1). Part of the skew is a broader tech phenomenon, as roughly 15% of all U.S. engineers are women. But pro AV is shy even of that low bar.
The technical roles are all below the industry average, with percentages ranging from 5 to 8% for engineers (6 to 10% in the U.S. alone). The overall industry percentage is propped up by the least technical categories, Sales/Marketing, and Business Support (Figure 2). All the representation data adds up to one inescapable conclusion: Women are not as represented in pro AV as they are in other industries.
The data on gender by job category suggests one reason why women might be so dramatically underrepresented in pro-AV. When it comes to advancement in pro-AV, the glass ceiling appears to be a reality. No category has a lower percentage of women than senior leadership (though it is close to the technician category).
READ THE FULL REPORT HERE
pic: shutterstock/Gorodenkoff