If Europe doesn't get more women into ICT, it will face
a 300,000 shortfall in qualified ICT staff by 2010, the European
Commission has warned.
The Commission said that the proportion of women graduates in
ICT across Europe was falling, especially compared with other
regions of the world.
"Getting more women into ICT careers would be a force for change
and a major boost for this key economic sector in Europe," said
Viviane Reding, EU commissioner for information society and
media.
"With Europe facing a skills shortage in this sector, we must
encourage more women to study ICT subjects and to take up a career
in this field, so as to increase capacity of the workforce and to
tap into women's creative potential," she said.
The ICT sector accounts for 5.3% of the EU's GDP and 4% of its
jobs. The Commission said the sector continued to register
above-average growth, and was still the EU’s “most innovative and
research-intensive sector”.
However, by 2010 there will be an expected shortfall of 300,000
qualified ICT staff.
Although computer studies graduates across the EU's 27 member
states grew by 133% from 1998 to 2004, Europe is actually falling
behind compared with other regions.
In 1998, computing graduates accounted for 2.3% of all graduates
in the EU 27, and by 2004, it had increased to 4%. In the US, it
rose from 2.3% to 5%, and in South Korea from 1% to 6%.
For women, the statistics are even worse. The proportion of
women computer graduates working in IT fell from 25% in 1998 to 22%
in 2006. In other regions of the world the percentage is higher:
Canada (27%), the US (28%), and South Korea (38%).
The proportion of women working in ICT varies widely across the
EU, from 6% in Luxembourg to 41% in Lithuania. But those who enter
ICT careers often drop out or move to a different career.
Also, fewer women make it to senior management positions,
particularly in the ICT sector. About 66% of telecoms companies
have no women on their board of directors. According to the
Commission, less than 10% of board members in "14 major ICT"
companies are women; in telecoms, the figure is about 6%.
BT, Cisco, Infineon, Motorola and Nokia have been working with
the Commission on “shadowing” exercises, where potential women
recruits follow in the day-to-day footsteps of existing ICT
workers.
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Related article:
Women still under-represented in IT
Related site:
EU Women and Equality Unit