Rebecca George is approaching the problem of the
gender imbalance
in the IT industry in a new way. It is not just women who are
alienated by IT's traditional working culture, she says, but young
men too, and something needs to change if the sector is to
thrive.
The new chair of the
British Computer
SocietyWomen's Forum
is also a partner at Deloitte.She wants ideas from IT professionals
on how they would entice more women and young people into the
sector.
"I suspect that part of the problem is to do with the culture of
organisations in which people are working," George says. "I donot
think it hits just women - I have a feeling that bright, creative,
interesting men are leaving the industry as well."
George has been working to increase IT's female contingent since
the early 1990s, and says she has tried everything.
"We have been to schools and universities, we have targeted
people returning from maternity leave and career breaks, we have
looked at why senior women leave the industry, and we have tried to
improve IT's image. In that time, the number of women has dropped
from 23% of the total workforce to 16%. It is fairly
disheartening."
She wants some new ideas, and is hoping a wide-ranging
consultation will provide them.
Although the same gender-balance problem exists in other
sectors, it seems particularly potent in IT. George says, "My
concern is that we need a real mixture of people - attitudes,
backgrounds and skills - to maximise the use of IT in an
organisation."
And while she doesnot expect a definitive answer, she is hoping
that by consulting widely a few new innovative ideas will
surface.
"We have tried lots of things to stop it, and we havenot made
any progress," George says. "We really need to work out if there is
anything we can do."
If you have ideas for increasingly diversity in IT, or
for changing workplace cultures, you can e-mail Rebecca George at
regeorge@deloitte.co.uk .