The number of women choosing careers in IT is worryingly
low. The number who elect toturn their backs on the industryprematurely is also cause for concern.
Estimates now put the amount of women working in IT at around 10
to 15 per cent of the total workforce. This needs to be addressed
and quickly not for equality's sake or to meet quotas, but for the
sake of UK business.
It is straightforward common sense. If a business only gets to
pick staff from half of the working population, then it is
recruiting from a pretty stagnant talent pool.
More
women need to be encouraged into IT careers so the industry can
pick from the best of both genders and a broader mix of skills and
personalities.
Of course, a
level of sexism still exists in the dustier corners of the IT
industry, and those who would cry "foul" about women starting
families. But those attitudes are present across many sectors and
are due for wider redress.
Puzzle-solving
Solving IT's problems, however, is a more specific, three-part
puzzle.
In order to make this happen, schools and colleges need to make
all students aware of their career prospects and what jobs in IT
involve and what they can offer. They must also ensure that the
curriculum is relevant to the technologies students will be using
tomorrow, not the technologies their parents used yesterday. IT can
be exciting and schools have a responsibility to show that.
This year's GCSE and A-Level results showed the number of
girls opting for technical courses is still falling relative to
boys, so the situation is only going to get worse. If this
situation is not changed, then not only are young women being
denied real opportunities by an education system that appears to
favour drama and media studies courses over computing, but the
industry will be failing to draw in enough talent.
Image improvement
The IT industry must also do more to improve its image and
educate people about the opportunity and reality of a career in
IT.
There are currently very well-paid jobs available in technology
positions across the industry. At
Salesforce.com
we cannot hire fast enough right now, and I know we are not
alone. How many other sectors or industries can say the same in the
current economic climate?
Businesses still need talented techies because they can make a
genuine difference and drive the business forward. So even when
other sectors and industries make lay-offs there will still be very
lucrative positions available in IT for the right candidate.
Female role models must also emerge and inspire generations of
young female students to aspire to a career in IT. Is it any wonder
few intelligent women want to work in an industry where Bill Gates
is perceived as a role model?
And that problem sits at the heart of the matter. Technology has
changed, but the stereotypes have not.
Advances in areas such as
cloud computing and Web
2.0 mean the technical nature of IT is more interesting.
Development cycles are shorter, results seen more quickly and the
resulting user experience is more enjoyable. Everything is more
dynamic and immediate yet the image is still of lonely men, keeping
suitably unsociable hours, coding in the dark for years on end in
front of their monitors only to see minor tweaks and
improvements.
Business function
Most importantly, IT has a far greater role to play in business
success than ever before. No other department carries the same
power to change and innovate as IT. Look at how industries such as
travel and tourism, gaming and retail have been turned on their
heads through the use of IT.
Despite this, women still remain drawn more commonly to roles
such as marketing and HR. But why not aspire to work in a
department that makes a difference to the business?
Women can add real value to the talent pool of IT and help make
it even more indispensable to business - and drive those businesses
forward.
For that reason it is in everybody's interest to
redress the balance.
Organisations and initiatives such as
The British
Computer Society Women's Forum, the
Women In
Technology group and
Computer Clubs for
Girls do a reasonable job, but they need greater support and
greater results.
The shared responsibility for making this happen falls across
individuals, businesses, government and the IT industry.
Lindsey Armstrong is EMEA president of
Salesforce.com
EVENT: W-Tech
2009