Number of women in IT industry falls by almost half in four years
- Posted:
- 15:49 01 Oct 2004
- Topics:
- IT Profession
The number of female IT professionals in the UK has
fallen from 100,000 to just over 53,700 in four years, despite
government-backed initiatives to encourage more women into
IT.
Between 1999 and 2003, the proportion of women in the UK IT
workforce fell by almost 50% from 21% to 12.5%, following years of
steady growth, an international research project led by the
University of Cambridge has revealed.
The project's findings raise concerns that employers in the UK are
failing to attract half the potential workforce at a time when the
market for skilled IT workers is becoming increasingly
competitive.
"There is nothing intrinsic in IT work that should say it is a male
domain. It is intellectual work, not physical work or the type of
work that demands male-only skills. It would appear there are
substantial obstacles for women working in IT," said Kerry Platman
of the faculty for social and political sciences at the University
of Cambridge.
The study revealed that the lack of part-time work available for
women in the IT profession is one of the main reasons why they are
deterred from the profession.
The proportion of part-time IT workers in the UK, at 5.3%, is lower
than the proportion in Germany (8.6%) and the Netherlands
(16%).
Only 16.9% of female IT professionals work part time, compared with
37% in the Netherlands and 19% in Germany.
The research found that most women in the IT profession are aged
between 24 and 44, suggesting that older women may be leaving the
profession.
"We have a lot to learn from our colleagues in the Netherlands,
where they have a lot more part-time working, and even in Germany
there is much more part-time IT work than in the UK. For some
reason the UK industry is male dominated and full-time," said
Platman.
The research revealed that there was a steady growth in the number
of women working in the IT profession until the dotcom bubble
burst. From that point numbers began to decline. Further work is
needed to determine the causes, said Platman.