As the prime minister himself has said, the IT industry is
central to the UK economy. However as the government calls for more
investment in technology to boost the weak economy, the sector is
facing a looming talent crisis,writes Maggie Berry,
director ofwomenintechnology.co.uk.
The baby boom generation has begun to retire and the number of
people qualifying with IT related degrees is falling. Women are a
key pool of talent yet, according to research by Intellect, between
2001 and 2008 the number of female IT professionals fell by 12% as
the number of males increased by 10%.
In the same period, females in IT consistently earned less than
their male counterparts, perhaps due to the fact that only 19% of
IT managers are female, but almost two thirds of database
assistants are women.
So why do so few women hold senior positions in the IT industry?
There is no simple answer, but research that
womenintechnology.co.uk has undertaken, which surveyed hundreds of
female technologists, highlighted a few problems that many women
seemed to face in their IT careers.
When asked if they thought that being a woman has an impact on
their career, 60% believed that it makes it harder succeed, with
many commenting that women are judged more harshly and held to
higher standards.
Maternity leave and family responsibilities are also cited as
reasons for women leaving the industry or failing to achieve
promotion. 88% of women agreed that more should be done to
encourage women to return to their technology careers after a
maternity leave.
Due to the fast pace of the industry, confidence in their
abilities can be lost during the break: "I've got two kids but was
just 12 weeks not working. The nine months before - and even 12
months after - the birth, my company showed no interest in me and I
got only the jobs no other wanted. It took me three years to show
that I'm still 'in the game'" said one respondent.
There were many other issues brought up, like the importance of
mentoring and the stereotypes which often prove detrimental to
women and their role in the workplace.
Most of these problems are ones that are not easy to overcome
but things like support groups, mentoring and more visible female
role models are all ways in which the situation can be improved.
Other than by working hard, seeking training and supporting their
female colleagues, it can be hard for women to find ways to
overcome these challenges.
For this reason, womenintechnology.co.uk is holding a free one
day event called W-Tech
in association with the BCS as another way for women to empower
themselves and progress their careers. For women at all stages of
their IT careers, the event will hold workshops on issues like how
to behave in an all male team and political savvy and provide an
opportunity to network and question a panel of successful female
technologists.
It's a complex situation that cannot be solved overnight, both
in the technology sector and in the wider business world. But with
the new Equality Bill coming in soon and events like W-Tech, we're
moving in the right direction.
Find out more about
W-Tech >>