However, women are also investing in our sector, with success and determination. The example of LudoTIC, an SME based in Nice, created by a trio of women, is significant in this respect. Women are an opportunity for digital technology, and digital technology is an opportunity for women!
LudoTIC, a firm of experts in “user-centered” digital interface design
Founded by recognized experts in usability and cognitive ergonomics, LudoTIC specializes in the design of digital interfaces, notably using Eye-Tracking (eye movement analysis). LudoTIC’s main objective is to place the human being at the center of all projects, by studying and observing end-users in order to propose interfaces adapted to their needs, i.e. ergonomic (legibility, coherence, formatting…). These interfaces are adapted to the logic of the users, according to their profile, their profession, their needs and any other specificity linked to the project. LudoTIC works on projects dedicated to the professional world, the Web and e-commerce, new technologies and innovative uses (…). The company specializes in the ergonomics of video games and edutainment interfaces: Serious Games, gamification(…)
Three women, from the humanities to the digital age
LudoTIC is first and foremost the story of three women, Maeva Strahm, Aurore Russo and Teresa Colombi, who were doctoral students in a fundamental research laboratory at the University of Nice, in a world dominated by men – remember that women represent 27.4% of the sector, compared with 46.5% for the economy as a whole. What’s more, their backgrounds were unusual in that they were graduates in the humanities, psychology and cognitive engineering – disciplines that were not very widespread in France at the time, rather than in technical or hard-science fields.
The women’s entrepreneurial initiative began with an initial observation that there were few job opportunities for graduates in their chosen fields, and that academic posts were rare. Aware of this impasse, they seized the opportunity to take part in a competition in 2003-2004 organized jointly by the Université de Nice and Télécom Valley, aimed specifically at university graduates. Winners of the competition, they were able to benefit from assistance, training and special support to launch their structure and create LudoTIC in 2004. The company now has 7 employees on permanent contracts, with women still in the majority, and generated sales of 400 k€ in 2012.
A woman entrepreneur, efficiency and perseverance as assets
Far from the clichés of a potentially macho digital sector, Teresa Colombi, one of the company’s founders and current CEO, admits that she has never felt any particular resistance from her contacts to being a woman. She even notes that she has had more credibility problems with her young age and youthful appearance during her first professional meetings. In her opinion, there is no fundamental difference between the sexes when it comes to business: added value has no gender.
Ms Colombi even believes that being a woman in a predominantly male environment can be an asset. First of all, it raises questions and becomes an object of differentiation, which of course then needs to be validated by facts. It’s an opportunity to be seized.
Secondly, she believes that women entrepreneurs are gifted with greater adaptability and organizational skills than their male counterparts. Indeed, if we compare the entrepreneurial careers of men and women, we see that the female entrepreneur, unlike many men, is not relieved of her family obligations and household management. She must therefore be unfailingly organized to reconcile all her activities. These qualities are very useful and valued when they are employed in a professional environment.
Equal opportunity, without denying differences
Given the low number of women in corporate management and in the digital sector, Ms. Colombi believes it is important to take action from an early age, targeting the female public. This involves education and teaching. Women need to be taught to assume their ambitions, which are just as legitimate as those of men, and to break certain patterns that relegate women to subordinate roles and secondary courses of study. Ms. Colombi particularly welcomes the actions of Syntec Numérique and its Women in the Digital Sector Commission: the Route des Femmes du Numérique (…).
At the same time, according to Ms Colombi, it’s important not to deny gender differences, and the particular implications that motherhood can have on a woman’s professional life. We need to raise awareness of the difficulties and sacrifices involved in a demanding job, which are, after all, equally valid for men. Ms Colombi is also sceptical about the whole range of positive discrimination measures. It’s important to promote women without asking for quotas. Women need to find the sources of their success within themselves, and benefit from an environment that enables them to reconcile their personal and professional lives. They are perfectly capable of taking on both, in a complementary way, and they prove it every day.