Hewlett-Packard, e-Bay, Lucent Technologies and Autodesk
have something in common. It is not just that they are leading,
multi-million-pound, global brands in the technology and
communications market. It is the fact that their chief executives -
Carly Fiorina, Meg Whitman, Pat Russo and Carol Bartz, respectively
- are women, who run male-dominated companies in a male-oriented
industry.
These professionals play down their gender as irrelevant to the job
at hand. In the case of running their own particular company,
perhaps they are right. However, there is a growing body of opinion
that considers gender to be of serious significance to the health
and wealth of the UK IT industry.
As Computer Weekly reported earlier this year, the long-term
decline of women in IT has accelerated. According to research
organisation E-Skills, women make up 20% of the workforce. The
proportion of women working in the industry has steadily declined
since 1997. This decline is the result of a failure of the industry
to recruit women, as well as to retain those already working in the
sector.
According to research carried out by the Women in IT Forum, women
are leaving the industry at a faster rate than it can recruit them.
The forum is dedicated to increasing the numbers of women in IT and
has representatives from public and private sector organisations.
It is an initiative that addresses the needs and aspirations of
women of all ages and backgrounds, from schoolgirls to those
returning to work later in life. It runs a research programme and
shares best practice across the IT industry.
It is the role of women in leadership positions in the IT industry
that is causing concern. "We believe the UK IT industry will suffer
from the knock-on effects of a female brain-drain if the problem is
not addressed now," said Wendy Hall, president of the British
Computer Society.
For this year's BCS IT Professional Awards, the society has
introduced a Women in IT Award. It recognises UK companies that are
promoting opportunities for women in the IT industry, including
leadership roles.
"This award is all about encouraging companies in the UK to foster
an atmosphere that enables women to develop their IT skills and
careers, and at the same time inspire more women to step forward
into the profession," said Hall. "It aims to applaud organisations
that have demonstrated enhanced opportunities for women in IT.
However, the fact remains that less than a fifth of the IT
workforce is female, despite the evidence of recent A-level
results, which shows that girls are twice as successful as boys in
IT."
At a time when women are making headway in other sectors, why is
the IT industry driving them away? Does it matter that the numbers
of women in IT are declining? What are the business benefits of
keeping a healthy gender balance?
Rebecca George, director of UK government business at IBM, and
chairwoman of the Women in IT Forum, said, "The business world is
changing fast globally and part of it is to do with geopolitics and
the rise of India and China. This means that many companies have to
adapt to the challenges and opportunities these changes
bring.
"For large companies to keep ahead of this changing external
environment, they have to be very flexible and adaptive to changing
markets. Being flexible means not having a one-dimensional view, as
companies that are populated and run by the same kinds of people
tend to be. Diversity is, therefore, imperative for
survival."
The fundamental problem seems to be that of retention: the IT
industry is losing more women than it is hiring, particularly at
senior levels. The result is a disquieting scarcity of women in
leadership roles.
Motherhood is an easy explanation, but the reason could be more
complex. Anecdotal evidence points to the fact that women may be
leaving the IT industry at a more mature phase in their career for
other, but not as well-researched, reasons. These reasons could
include work/life-balance issues.
"Women are not just leaving the industry to raise their families;
they are also leaving in their forties and fifties," said
George.
Research by the Women in IT Forum suggests that women in this age
group decide to leave because they are uncomfortable with what they
perceive as a "macho style of management" involving long hours at
work and inflexibility in working practices.
George highlights IBM's flexible working hours programme as an
example of how companies can introduce measures to meet this
challenge. The programme is not just for women, it is available to
any employee who requests to work in a flexible manner at the same
time as balancing business needs.
"If we had a multimillion-pound budget to reverse the decline of
women in IT, where would we start? Women do not see it as a place
to go for a good career and fall out of the industry because they
do not think that it is a friendly environment to work in," said
Hall.
It is Hall's belief that the future of computing is about pervasive
and collaborative networking, both in the way the technology works
and the way in which the IT industry conducts itself. Furthermore,
she believes collaborative working and networking are female
characteristics.
Hall predicted that in 10 years' time, when the current generation
of girls aged between 11 and 14 years old enters the workforce, the
way we build our systems will change and become more inherently
collaborative.
The BCS IT Professional Awards 2004 ceremony will take place
tonight (19 October) at the Hilton Park Lane, London. For more
information,
click here
>>
The BCS IT Professional Awards
The BCS IT Professional Awards celebrate excellence,
professionalism and innovation among UK IT companies. The awards
recognise the contribution of businesses and the individuals within
them to Britain's economic prosperity, business efficiency and
public services.
The awards are comprised of four categories: Business
Achievement, Technology, Individual Awards and Women in IT.
New this year, the Women in IT Award recognises UK companies
that are promoting opportunities for women to take leadership roles
within the IT industry. The judging process is undertaken by
panels of senior IT professionals. Winners will be announced at a
black tie dinner to be held at London's Hilton Park Lane at 6.30pm
tonight (19 October). For more
information click
here >>