A third of female IT researchers aspire to top posts but
few get them.
An initiative to get more women into top IT research posts in
industry and universities has been launched with backing from the
BCS, Microsoft, Intel and the Engineering and Physical Sciences
Research Council.
According to the group behind the women@CL initiative, 33% of
female IT researchers aspire to research management jobs, compared
with only 22% of men, but account for just 5% of computing
professors, 12.5% of researchers and 25% of PhD students.
"We aim to shatter the frosted glass ceiling that prevents many
women reaching the top of the IT research profession," said
campaign director Ursula Martin, computer science professor at
London University's Queen Mary College. "We call it frosted glass
because it is not unbreakable but we have historically had
difficulty seeing through it.
"Computing research is an exciting, important and social activity,
and transforms the world we live in. The business case for having
diverse teams to tackle these challenges is clear: diverse teams
make better progress. But the opportunities for effective, diverse
teams decrease when there are too few women in leadership
positions."
Much of this was underlined by Chris Bishop, assistant director at
sponsor Microsoft Research Cambridge. "Microsoft Research Cambridge
recognises the skills that women bring to all aspects of computing
research, particularly those where interdisciplinary skills are
prevalent," he said. "We are pleased to see this launch and are
proud to be sponsors of the women@CL project."
women@CL is running career development activities, including
regional and national workshops, mentoring services and networking
events, to bring together people in industry and
universities.
Practical help includes grants for child care while mothers attend
research conferences and meetings.
More information
www.cl.cam.ac.uk/women
