WITsend

This is a guest blog from Dr Hannah Dee a lecturer in computer science at Aberystwyth University

The London Hopper Colloquium is one of the key events in the women-in-computing calendar. For 8 years it's provided a focus and an opportunity for women at the start of their research career, with a poster contest showcasing the work of early career (PhD and post-doctoral) researchers and talks from women on both academic research and careers options outside the academy. This year it was on May 15th, at BCS Southampton St, and about 85 women came along to see what the best new women researchers have to offer. It's organised by Queen Mary University of London with support from IBM, the BCS Academy, and various other organisations.

The posters were brilliant; it's great to see the range of work people are doing and the enthusiasm these researchers have for their field. Topics ranged from computer music through to robot navigation: there was a real mix of applied and theoretical computer science showing that women are working in every area of our discipline. The winning poster this year came from Gail Ollis of Bournemouth University, who's doing research into how psychological differences impact upon programming styles and software development. If you've ever looked at someone else's code and said to yourself "Why on earth did they do that?" (and who hasn't) you'll be interested in Gail's work. Second prize went to Shazia Akbar of Dundee, who's using digital microscope images to try and find breast cancer cells using computer vision.

For a lot of the students attending, this event is their first experience of presenting their work outside their own university. One student, Juan Cao, from my university said: "It was a great experience. I got valuable advice from the judges and other attendees who are also female researchers in the field of computers, in particular about preparing and presenting effective research posters."

This year the event organiser Caroline Wardle (of QMUL) made a couple of changes to the lineup; we had a wider range of talks and we also had an interactive exhibit on sound-mapping London's tea-houses. Another new thing this year was a poster spotlight where all 15 poster presenters got one slide and 1 minute 30 seconds to do a lightning talk on the topic of their work. Speaking to various people at the event it became obvious to me that this more varied approach was a real hit - I particularly enjoyed watching the lightning talks, even if some of the speakers were very very nervous.

I've been going to the Hopper for several years now and often help out (this time I acted as MC, in previous years I've been a contestant, a speaker, and a poster judge). I can honestly say that this was one of the best - the organisers have really done a great job. If you're a woman starting out in computing research, do come next year.

FDM's next Women in IT event is taking place next Thursday, near London Bridge. The event will include speeches from some very well-known ladies, in the women in IT arena: An introduction from Sheila Flavell, COO of FDM Group, followed by speeches from Gillian Arnold, Founder of Tectre, Maria Ingold, Head of Technology, FilmFlex Movies and Olga Chaidou, FDM Consultant, Placed at Betfair.

FDM's Women in IT Advantage Sessions are aimed at female undergraduates, graduates and industry professionals to inform, inspire and build valuable relationships.

The evening event takes place 6-8pm, with a networking session to follow. The FDM Recruitment Team will be on hand to discuss career opportunities, in addition to giving advice on how to succeed in the industry.

The event is free to attend, but booking is essential. You can secure your place by emailing events@fdmgroup.com with your full details.

This is a guest post from Sripriya Kalyanasundaram, VP of Cognizant and Head of Testing, who outlines the challenges facing women leaders in IT and shares her advice.

During the past two decades I have spent in the corporate world, I have realised that your gender, race or colour does not matter. What is required to succeed is a strong conviction to believe in yourself and your ability to overcome obstacles to make your vision a reality. That is what determines a true leader.

The journey so far has been eventful. There have been many hurdles and challenges over the years, some of which, upon reflection, I might not have handled it the way I wanted to, but those lessons have been invaluable and made me stronger. Successful leaders have always admitted their mistakes but also always learn from them to move forward, which is something we all should embrace.

As women, we have inherent qualities to be meticulous, organised and empathetic along with a strong will to face any hardships, which we need to channel to achieve our desired outcome.

Our Testing practice here at Cognizant used to be a business unit with just over 100 associates a few years ago - it now stands at over 20,000 associates and has become one of the largest testing practices in the world. Having created Testing as a profession, we are now embarking on a challenging journey to not only continuously improve our employees' skills but to transform the mindshare towards consulting and partnering to provide product solutions. What it comes down to, along with determination, is the team you surround yourself with and a willingness to empower them for greater success.

I truly believe that my passion for technology and drive to succeed have helped me get to where I am now. While technology might not have been an obvious career choice for women twenty years ago, it was still possible and should become increasingly more feasible to women to succeed.

You don't have to just look to success stories in the technology world, though. While I look to Steve Jobs for his innovation and attention to detail, I have also drawn inspiration from other leaders for what they have done and what they believed: Mother Theresa for her compassion, Angela Merkel for her leadership, Rosa Parks for her determination and many more. Just reading about their lives has helped me realise we are not alone.

While barriers still remain, I can say that one thing I have learned is that women who make it work share a set of foundation strengths that have fuelled their growth:

·         A strong work ethic

·         A focused and clear vision

·         A "Can Do" attitude

·         The ability to inspire, motivate and lead teams

As the saying goes, "Nothing worth having comes easy." We all have a tough road ahead, but, with the right attitude and clear vision, there's no reason why we can't all be successful, regardless of our gender.

The London Hopper Colloquium is due to take place next week, at the BCS (The Chartered Institute for IT) London based office.

On May 15^th 2012 The London Hopper Colloquium, hosted by Women in Computing Research, will feature several women speakers who will share their own research, discuss the issues of starting your own company and will provide useful negotiations skills.

Ahead of her appearance at the event Laura James, Co-Founder and Director of Makespace, has stressed how women working in IT should consider the benefits of being more entrepreneurial.

James said: "In such a difficult economic climate, it is important that women consider all the different, innovative ways to succeed in business.

"I am really pleased to have been asked to speak at this year's London Hopper Colloquium about my own experiences in business and the challenges and benefits of being an entrepreneur."

Gillian Arnold, Chair of BCSWomen, said: "Having not long set up my own company, I now appreciate the hard work and energy that goes in to being your own boss and having that entrepreneurial flair.

"The London Hopper Colloquium provides a great opportunity for like-minded women to get together and share their ideas and achievements."

Speakers at the event will include:

• Caroline Wardle, Visiting Professor of Computer Science, Queen Mary, University of London
• Tijana Timotijevic, Research Fellow, School of Electronic Engineering and Computer Science, Queen Mary, University of London
• Nela Brown, Doctoral Student in Interaction, Media and Communication, Queen Mary, University of London
• Laura James, Co-Founder and Director, Makespace
• Nicole Kerrison, University of Leeds (London Hopper poster winner of 2011)
• Evelyn Welch, Vice-Principal for Research and International Affairs, Queen Mary, University of London
• Katherine Gunn, IBM

For more information on the event and to book a place, click here.

An event for women Free/Libre/Open Source Software (FLOSS) developers is taking place at the Queen Mary University of London, at the end of this month.

Flossie 2012, takes place 25-26th of May at the University's Mile End Campus, and is aimed at bring female FLOSS developers, entrepreneurs, researchers and policymakers, digital artists and social innovators together for a series of discussions and workshops.

The event is open to women who wish to use FLOSS for digital arts, social innovation, open data and knowledge management, research, education and open access, and open culture.

On Flossie's website the event is pitched as: "So whether you code, tinker, or just want to explore alternatives to 'big-tech' corporations, all women are welcome."

You can find out more about the event here.

A guest blog from Maggie Berry, managing director of WomeninTechnology.co.uk.

Why are women regularly asked how they manage to balance their professional and private lives? When a man applies for promotion, he doesn't get quizzed about his private life so why should a female be? And a recent article in the Financial Times discusses this very subject.

Some women, like Dragons Den star Deborah Meaden, do not want to reveal information about their personal lives. Rebecca Harding, on the other hand, has no problem talking about her personal experiences. The chief executive of Delta Economics says that other women frequently ask her about her domestic situation and she is happy to answer them. Her view is that personal experiences help to mould an individual and people have a right to be curious.

Heather Jackson, the chief executive of An Inspirational Journey, believes that until more women like Ms Harding open up about their personal lives, we'll continue to see few women executives.

Ms Jackson wants more women to become role models and talk honestly about how they balance their lives. Despite being a single mother with two children, she managed to start up what has now grown into a successful organisation.

She said a lot of women worry that they'll be judged on things concerning their professional life, but personality and chemistry are as important as skills when it comes to your professional identity.

Women can use questions about their personal life to their advantage as long as they realise that the interviewer may be subconsciously questioning their ability to do the role, she added.

Do you get offended when you're questioned about your personal life or are you more than happy to show the world how well you balance your professional and family life? And in your experience can opening up be detrimental to your career prospects or help propel you up the ladder?

It is all too easy to let the news of a double-dip recession to get to you, particularly if you are a woman attempting to get back into work after a maternity career break. Yet we live in the age of opportunity fuelled by demand for information and on-line services. In this climate, web and mobile technology combined with crowdsourcing offer would-be-entrepreneurs great start up channels. The challenge is to spot and seize the right opportunity.

Crowdsourcing is the concept of using the brain power and skills of the crowd to get specific tasks completed via web channels. It has taken firm roots in business with many large companies turning to it for innovation and insight. Among them is SAP which was one of the early adopters of co-innovation. It worked with Innocentive, the crowdsourcing broker web site, to have some specific design and technology requirements addressed. Another company is Starbucks that runs My Starbucks Idea to crowdsource innovation for new products and customer experiences. Others, such as TripAdvisor, rely on the public to rank hotels and restaurants around the world. Another is Ether Books which was set up by novelist Sophia Bartleet. The Ether Books' iPhone app allows users to download short stories to read while travelling. The crowdsourcing element comes from authors submitting stories for publication on-line. Published Ether Books authors include the Booker Prize winner Hilary Mantel, Sir Paul McCartney, and, my very own daughter, Jo Burnett.

Even governments have started to tap into crowdsourcing; in 2010 the UK government ran a campaign to get feedback from members of the public on public issues.

In all these cases, content is king; content for entertainment and leisure, content in the form of information for business competitiveness and optimisation, and content for forming government policy upon.

I had several interesting conversations with IT security experts, at InfoSec Europe on Tuesday, about whether women are better suited in IT security then in any other area of IT.

Despite being told that the number of women working in IT security appears to be on the rise, some would still describe the average security specialist as male with either a military or enforcement background.  

Steve Laskowski, vice president of sales at security services specialist IOActive, said that security might be well suited for women in IT as sometimes bad news need to be delivered: "Women are better at delivering bad news and massaging that message."

"You have to be technical savvy in the security arena though. This sector does not have much tolerance for people who do not know their stuff, whether they're male or female. So if you're female and you're not sharp, then you won't be allowed to stay just for the hell of it," he added.

John Vecchi, vice president of marketing at security vendor Solera Networks, told me that he has travelled to many places in the world and has seen many successful women in high up security roles:  "They do a fantastic job, not because they were put there for being a woman, but because they were put there for being incredible business women."

Are women better suited for leadership roles?

For a successful project strong leadership is required and project management is not always about managing the task at hand, but about managing the people assigned to the project team. The role of a team leader can be compared to that of parent, who is dealing with a teenager reluctant to comply with the house rules. Both parents and project managers need to be adept at fulfilling the roles of mentor, problem-finder, facilitator and communicator.

According to research published in Harvard Business Review, women out did men in seven out of ten key leadership competencies: Energising, designing and aligning, rewarding and feedback, team building, outside orientation, tenacity and emotional intelligence. Men scored higher only in envisioning, global mind set and empowering.

Vecchi feels that women bring a different aspect to a business and it's one that many businesses can't do without nowadays. So, what exactly is it that a woman brings to leadership that's different? Many women prefer to lead rather than rule, which means they will have more of an interactive relationship with their team. A woman will have more of an open dialogue, so she doesn't feel the need to rule over her team to get results. She is accepting of others ideas, even if she doesn't always agree, but recognises the ideas are more beneficial to the bigger picture and will listen to others concerns and viewpoints in order to address issues that may arise.

Natural born female leaders seem to be flexible, persuasive, good mentors, empathetic and assertive when they need to be.

Down to science: The difference between the male and female brain

According to Oliwenstein's study of the brain in 2009, the female brain is better at networking, communication and interpersonal skills. Apparently female brains have more space between the neurons, meaning more connections are created. Laskowski would agree here as he told me in the security arena there is a real community feel and that women are better at communicating that community message. In addition the research found that the left side of the female brain can stay more alert then that of a male, so a female brain is better suited for overseeing internal and interpersonal issues.

Whether you are male or female there can be an upside to working in an industry where you have to prove yourself; it can light an internal fire. Any woman trying to gain footing in a male-dominated industry will find it easier if she is technically and academically equal to her male counterparts. A female project leader should refrain from trying to act like a man and instead be herself.

Personally, no matter what IT industry sector you work in, I think the best route to take is to see yourself as an individual not as a woman.

This is a guest blog from Dr Hannah Dee a lecturer in computer science at Aberystwyth University

On Thursday 12th April about 110 people descended on the University of Bath for the 5th BCSWomen Lovelace Colloquium. The Lovelace is one of the biggest events in the BCSWomen calendar and the aim of the day is to bring together women students of computing and related subjects from across the UK for a day of inspiring talks, networking, and careers advice. We also have a poster contest for students to talk about and display their own work. The day is run by a team of local organisers (this year headed up by John Power at Bath) and by BCSWomen volunteers (headed up by me).

This year we accepted 45 posters in the contests, making it the biggest yet, and the quality of student work was amazing. Topics ranged from quantum computing through to ipad applications for editing UML diagrams. The poster contest judges had a terribly difficult job trying to decide winners, but after much deliberation the prizes went to the following people:

• Google Excellence award for best poster by a first year (£500): Laura Deeley, University of Bath "AI in physical and emotional support for the elderly"
• Thoughtworks best open choice poster, first prize (£300) Eleanor Mitchell, University of Bath "Quantum Computing: What is achievable?"; second prize (£200) to Catherine de Roure & Sophie Drake, also of Bath, for "Computational Computation"
• Bloomberg best project work poster, first prize (£300) Francesca Day of Cambridge University for "The fidelity of the Ising model"; second prize (£200) to Zoe Benedict of Bath for "The analysis of public perception towards users Facebook profiles"
• FDM Group best Masters student (£200): Wuraola Jinadu, Robert Gordon University (Aberdeen) "iPad UML Class diagram application"

We also have a people's choice award where attendees vote for their favourite poster, this year sponsored by Interface3 (£100). This went to Sarah Murfett of Sheffield Hallam university for "UK/US Extradition treaties: who owns the internet?".

The keynote talk was presented by Gillian Arnold, BCSWomen chair, who gave an inspiring presentation about the wealth of careers open to women in computing, and the reasons why it's important for women to go into IT careers. The McKinsey report on women in boards (and how companies with diverse boards perform better) made quite a few of the audience sit up and listen; women aren't important in computing just for political reasons - we're also important for the bottom line.

The other speakers were made up of two from industry, two from academia - we like to present the students with a range of role models and the speakers are an important part of this. Joanna Smith of Takeda R&D spoke about her career doing IT management within the pharmaceutical industry, and what it is like managing large interntational IT systems, and Monica Podsiadlo of Google spoke about text-to-speech synthesis. Amanda Clare of Aberystwyth University talked about DNA matching and computational biology, and Julie McCann from Imperial College London talked about wireless sensor networks and algorithms for coordinating hundreds of tiny computers.

The day finished with a networking social, featuring smoothies and cake (can't have a BCSWomen do without cake) and then we all went our own way back to our home universities and towns, a little bit tired, a little more enthusiastic and a little more confident about women in computing. If the poster presenters are representative of the future of women in computing, then we're going to be fine - they're brilliant.

This is a guest post from Felicity Wohltman, VP of Solutions at Mindjet, who discusses why are we so reluctant to share? Felicity explores why women should be leading the charge when it comes to embracing more collaborative ways of working.

That phrase 'a problem shared is a problem halved' couldn't ring truer. Male or female, young or old we've all experienced one of those manic days at the office when the sheer amount of emails, calls and meetings feels overwhelming. Some choose to pound out their frustrations on the treadmill. Others indulge in a bottle of wine. But I'd be willing to bet a majority of us talk it through with a sympathetic ear at home. So why is it that so often we choose to look outside the workplace for a solution?

Science shows that women are more effective communicators than men. Research conducted last year by Jack Zenger and Joseph Folkman revealed women out-scored men in all but one of the 16 leadership competencies examined. Results showed we outpace men most highly in 'taking initiative and 'driving for results' and at every level, we're perceived as 'better overall leaders' than our male counterparts. So does this make us better collaborators in the workforce? Maybe, but a recent Mindjet survey suggests that our increasing communications might be doing more harm than good. Research of over 1,000 female office workers in the UK by Mindjet last year found that in a typical working day, participants spent on average 23% of their time looking for information they'd seen or received but wasn't immediately accessible to them. Alongside this, just over 18% claimed they'd got so much information to deal with, they never got round to reading through everything they were supposed to. I'd bet this struggle to navigate, organise and digest the flow of information is echoed in offices thorough out the globe. If you're sitting here thinking that's me - rest assured you're not alone. So what can we all learn in 2012 to ensure we don't feel like we're drowning in the deluge? 

With a job in the IT industry, in a company that has grown to a market leading position in visualisation software, I'm a great believer in the growing need for more collaborative working in businesses today. With an increased focus on networking and the social capabilities of IT, identifying information that's relevant to us and digesting it should be simpler than ever right? The answer is yes - but only with the help of tools to locate that which is relevant to us and our willingness to share the discovery process with one another.

Embracing sharing and collaborating more openly at work is an empowering prospect. If Zenger and Folkman's research proves anything, it's that women are naturally possessed with the skills to lead. Very few issues in business are solved by one person alone. Let's make 2012 the year we use our innate ability to communicate effectively to share more and truly work together.

Recently IT service provider the FDM Group hosted a 'Women in IT Advantage Session' aimed at females considering a career in IT.

Held in Manchester the event was led by FDM's chief operating officer Sheila Flavell who opened the session by saying: "It's no secret that this is an extremely male dominated industry, with women only making up 18 percent of the workforce in this sector."

Attendees included students, graduates and career advisors, who watched presentations from representatives of Salford University, RECLAIM and Manchester Girl Geeks. Topics such as the importance of networking, mentoring and being persistent and positive, where covered.

Flavell commented: "I am delighted that so many women have taken an active approach towards pursuing an IT career by coming along to our networking event."

She said the speakers are a real inspiration in their own right: "I can honestly say I enjoyed the presentations enormously."

The FDM Group held its first 'Women in IT Advantage Session' in August last year and the company has said it plans to continue with more as part of its ongoing "Women in IT" campaign.

Facebook's all-male board of directors has been the recent target of women's group Ultraviolet, which last week launched an anti-sexism campaign against the social media giant. The group, which describes itself as "a new women's group fighting to expand women's rights and combat sexism everywhere" is pressuring Facebook to place at least one woman on its board of directors before its initial public offering. 

Ultraviolet argues that the majority of Facebook users (58%) are women and therefore at least one woman should have a seat on the board. The most prominent and obvious choice for this role would be Facebook's Chief Operating Officer Sheryl Sandberg.

Ultraviolet Co-Founder Nita Chaudhary said: "The fact that a company as large as Facebook with a massive global reach does not have a single woman on its board is nothing short of shameful. Facebook owes it success to and makes a ton of money off of its women users. Women are responsible for nearly two-thirds of the sharing that happens on the site. In addition, women account for more than 70% of daily fan activity on the site, which is a huge source of revenue for the company.

"Facebook has a problem, and it needs to solve it before it goes public. Mark Zuckerberg should live up to his company's mission statement and appoint at least one woman to the board today."

Last week Ultraviolet sent an email to its 300,000 members encouraging them to sign a petition for the appointment of at least one woman on its board. Since the launch of the campaign 50,000 people have signed it.

In an email starting Dear Friend Ultraviolet explained:

Not having a single woman on Facebook's board makes no sense.

Here's why: Companies with women on the board make more money. Studies have shown that there is a correlation between boards with female representation and increased returns on sales, investments and equity. [5] And companies with women on the board function better. Studies have also indicated that women improve the ways that boards function and make decisions.

Women are also widely seen as the future of the tech industry. Take Pinterest as an example, they've only been around for a year and are already one of the ten largest social network services. They credit their meteoric growth to their 97% female users.

With a white, male board, Facebook is behind the curve.

This problem is easily solvable--there are countless qualified women, and it's smart business to have women on Facebook's board. But Facebook isn't going to act unless there's an outcry.

We're organizing a big delivery of these petitions next week and a major media campaign to go with it. But we need your voice with us for this to work. Please sign today: http://act.weareultraviolet.org/sign/facebook/

Thanks for speaking out,

--Nita and Shaunna, UltraViolet

Recently Shaunna Thomas, co-founder of Ultraviolet added: "Facebook makes a ton of money off women users who drive the majority of activity on the site. And studies show that companies with women on the board perform better than companies that exclude women from those positions."

Do you agree with Ultraviolet? And would you/have you signed the campaign?

A guest blog by Sheila Flavell, COO of FDM Group, and winner of Cisco 2012 everywoman in Technology Awards Leader of the Year.

If someone was to ask you 'who are the most influential people in technology,' who would spring to mind? Steve Jobs? Bill Gates? Eric Schmidt perhaps? There is no doubting that they have all contributed hugely to the technology industry, exceeding expectations and creating platforms that were deemed impossible. They are inventors, developers, entrepreneurs and... male.

I'm sure many people would be shocked to know that the first ever computer programmer was female. Ada Lovelace, known for her work on Charles Babbage's early mechanical general-purpose computer, recognised the first algorithm processed by a machine, the very algorithms Google uses today. This breakthrough has made her one of the most inspirational females in technology and yet her name has strayed in favour of those more recent.

Another influential woman in IT is Grace Hopper. She is best known for coining the term "computer bug" and her work behind software coding, in fact her findings still dictate application development today. Hopper conceptualised structured language, which led to the development of COBOL and led the way to other such programmes. The chances are that if you have written a line of code then you owe a debt to Hopper.

Know your history

I believe that to be truly successful in any business, one must know the ins and outs of its operations including an understanding of the history on which the industry is built. Women like Lovelace and Hopper are the technology industry's history; their discoveries lay the foundations for computers and applications as we see them today. Moreover, they pushed boundaries for females, as said by Iain Thomson of V3, the UK technology news website, "[Ada Lovelace] was the world's first computer programmer, which is remarkable in itself, but even more so considering she was a woman in a time when most of her sex were considered only useful for producing children, preferably male ones."

Both of these extraordinary women grew up in a time when men still dominated the workforce. Fast-forward to 2012 and women now accommodate 47 percent of the UK workforce, but men hold a staggering 82 percent majority within the IT industry, according to a recent report by e-skills. These statistics in addition to Lovelace and Hopper, amongst other 21^st Century female role models within the technology industry have inspired me to encourage and support more women to launch careers in IT. They have been instrumental to the progression of IT, which is why we launched our worldwide Women in IT campaign last year on Ada Lovelace Day.

This ongoing campaign is our way of actively encouraging and supporting more women to pursue a career in IT, and we are proud to be leading by example with a female majority across our management team. With only 18 percent of the IT industry occupied by women, it is our vision to tackle the stereotypical 'geeky' persona to promote the diverse roles available within IT.

I wouldn't say that my previous experiences naturally led me into the IT industry rather it has been a career I fell into, and I have been lucky enough to enjoy a 20 year career within the sector, and I would like to share that experience with women considering IT. After all, if we don't look after each other, then who will? I say, go for IT ladies!

This is a guest blog from Jamuna Ravi, Vice President and Head, Business IT Services, Energy, Utilities, Communications and Service at Infosys

Here is an interesting statistic for you: according to e-skills UK, the country will need around half a million people to take on careers in technology within the next five years. While such statistics usually contain some room for error, even if only partially correct this represents a major challenge for the UK's technology sector in coming years. Luckily, e-skills also revealed a potential solution with its findings that women make up just 18 per cent of the current telecoms and IT workforce. It seems something of a 'no-brainer' to suggest that creating an environment which encourages women to take up a career technology may go a long way towards solving the UK's skills gap. So how can this be done?

Firstly, technology businesses need to work with the Government and local authorities to promote the industry as an attractive option for women. Some good work in this area is already taking place. One such example is the Computer Club's for Girls (CC4G) scheme, which we are proud to support. Set up by e-skills, the Government initiative established to encourage children to study IT, it aims to inspire girls aged 10-14 to consider a life in technology, using after-school clubs to bring technology to life. The Government initiative is there and the onus is now on the technology industry to help ensure that such schemes are adequately funded (after all, it is ultimately the business community that stands to benefit).

Beyond funding, technology companies should offer advice and support to the Government as it forms its ICT strategy, ensuring relevant and useful gender-specific activities are included in its approach, and that the overall programme will meet the employment requirements of the future.

By getting girls interested in IT from a young age, the currently low uptake of technology-based GSCE and A-level qualifications by women will begin to be tackled. Changes in education are only part of the picture, however. Businesses must also look to make their corporate culture more appealing for women if they are to attract and maintain a strong female workforce.

Technology and engineering companies are still all too often regarded as boys clubs, and this image needs to change dramatically if the skills gap is to be addressed. For example, businesses could have at least one woman on recruitment panels to ensure both genders are represented in all hiring or promotion decisions. When dealing with internal promotions, these panels can also be beneficial as female staff can feel more confident that any promotions or pay increases will be based on skills and experience.

In addition, they also provide a forum where any confusion over parity in wages can be discussed in an independent and safe environment. By establishing these kinds of practices, businesses can help create an atmosphere of equality in the workplace, where success is determined by performance.

The skills gap in the UK is a real issue and will take some work to overcome. By generating interest in IT at school and then making workplaces more appealing to women, however, this skills gap can quickly be plugged and will increase the pool of talent in Britain's technology industry.

I had the pleasure of attending the Cisco everywoman in Technology Awards today, which Computer Weekly is a media sponsor for. Now in its second year the awards celebrate the most inspirational women working in technology.

In association with womenintechnology.co.uk, the awards were opened by Everywoman co-founders Maxine Benson MBE and Karen Gill MBE. Benson said the awards are about inspiring the next generation of girls to look and say 'That's what I want to do.'

The awards, which took place at the Savoy Hotel this afternoon, was filled with inspiring females from a variety of backgrounds and a whole range of ages. My table alone sported motivating females from the BBC, Digital UK and finalist Pat Ryan, CEO of Information Technology for Children in Hospital.

Showing his support for the younger generation of females entering into non-stereotypical roles was Rt Hon Dr Vince Cable MP who said: "Gender equality needs to be judged on talent and not on political correctness."

Hosted by 'gadget goddess' Suzi Perry, from the Gadget Show the winners were as follows:

·         Entrepreneur of the year: Olga Kubassova, founder and CEO, Image Analysis Ltd

·         Innovator of the year: Mandy Chessell, IBM distinguished engineer, master inventor, chief architect for InfoSphere Solutions, IBM

·         Inspiration of the year: Gillian Arnold, director, Tectre

·         Rising star of the year: Laura Earle, Executive communication manager, services, EMEAR, Cisco

·         Team leader of the year: Kirstin Duffield, CEO, morning Data Limited

·         Leader of the year: Sheila Flavell, chief operating officer, FDM Group

·         2012 Woman of the year: Vin Murria, chief executive officer, Advanced Computer Software Group plc

Vin Murria, who won 2012 woman of the year, gave a sincere acceptance speech where she encouraged women not to let the glass ceiling get in their way: "Break it, burn it, drive your car through it, just get through it and get on. If the glass ceiling doesn't want to be broken go another way around. Just don't sit below it."

Murria explained her 'mentor' which she met when starting out in the industry told her that there were three things wrong with her - she was young, Asian and female. "This meant that there was always going to be someone telling me, that there was something I couldn't do. There isn't anything you can't do; you just have to believe that you have the right to be there."

Annemie Ress, global head of people innovation, at eBay presented the Inspiration of the year award (which eBay sponsored) and summed up why women are perfect for working in technology by saying "Women are motivated by the ability to inspire and to be inspired."

Sheila Flavell said at FDM the team are 80% ladies "And without you ladies we wouldn't be experiencing the success we are," she added.

Despite being at an awards which celebrated the success of women, two ladies who didn't forget to thank their male partners were Gillian Arnold who thanked "My fella for always being there" and Kirstin Duffield who said she is lucky to have a house-husband to support her: "I'm sure you would all agree that we couldn't do it without the support of those behind us."

Tim Skinner, director UK enterprise, at Cisco let the audience know  how important women are in the technology arena and that he had found the event incredibly useful as he had learnt what 'spanks' are.

More coverage of the winners and their inspiring stories to follow.

A guest blog from Maggie Berry, managing director of WomeninTechnology.co.uk.

David Cameron recently said that companies must increase female board representation and hinted that he would not rule out quotas as a way of achieving this.

It's admirable to see the PM doing his bit for gender equality, but would women be happy with the idea of quotas? Theresa May, the Home Secretary, recently said "I've never wanted to get anywhere because I was part of a quota. I've wanted to get there because I'd worked hard for a job and because I deserved it." And I'm sure most women would agree wholeheartedly with that sentiment.

Mrs May, who also happens to be the Minister for Women and Equality, made her comment at the launch of a new report on boardroom gender. She pointed out that progress was being made; the number of FTSE 100 companies with no female board representation had nearly halved and the majority of FTSE 250 boards now have at least one female member.

She went on to say that quotas can provide a quick fix, but we are already seeing some progress without them.

Lord Davies recommended that FTSE 100 companies should have 25% female board representation by 2015. Currently, women hold 15.6% of the board seats. In the past year, 47 out of the 190 new board appointments went to women, which strangely enough is virtually bang on 25%! So we're getting there. And all without the need for quotas.

Surely it's better for companies to take the lead and appoint based on merit rather than a quota system that would lead to the sort of comment - she's not really suitable but the Government forced us to promote women.

And looking at it from a woman's perspective, would you feel truly happy to be promoted to the board if you felt you were just there to make up the numbers? Let us know what you think.

This is a guest blog from Sheryl Newman, who is the operations director at Appetite for Learning

I was lucky enough to be selected as a finalist in the 2012 everywoman in Technology awards which celebrates successful women in the technology industry.  No one was more surprised than me to find myself not only in the running for 'Inspiration of the Year' category but also to be working within this industry.  

I am such a strong advocate of encouraging women to strive in this field, so you would therefore think my career began with IT firmly on the map. I did not grow up obsessed by computers or with dreams of becoming the next female Steve Jobs (who in later years actually became one of my tech hero's and inspirations). I literally had no idea what I wanted to be.  But what I do remember is that I wanted to do something with people. If asked today, I would describe myself as both an accidental technologist and an accidental entrepreneur.

Where are we losing them?

The ICT industry in Scotland is growing faster than any other sector, with 40,000 new professionals needed in the next five years.  However school pupils and university students, in particular girls are failing to sit up and take note of the choice and rewards working within the technology field offers. This led me to question: At what point are we losing girls from considering entering into this rewarding, fast moving and highly engaging sector?  A white paper sponsored by Cisco on why girls are still not attracted to ICT studies, and careers, made for some interesting reading and offered some quite depressing statistics.

Analysis of the data shows that at age 15, both sexes have the same preferences and abilities but as they progress towards adulthood girls generally drop out of SET studies to pursue other subject choices.  90% of girls responded that they would be interested in jobs that helped others and improved the world but did not believe that ICT roles could help them to achieve this.  In three out of the five countries surveyed the majority of girls intended to study a foreign language, as it offered opportunities to travel the world.  Just over 60% of girls and less than half their parents and teachers saw ICT as a viable role which offered this. 

More than 50% cite female relatives and teachers as having the greatest influence in selecting study and career options. Worryingly these role models see the sector as more appropriate for men.

I'm a language graduate but my love affair with technology began whilst working on an R&D project to investigate IT technology and how people could use it to work to their advantage.  I had the opportunity to work and help people from every corner of the globe, I was able to travel and I got to play with leading edge technology every day. It was thrilling and motivating and still excites me to this day. But it seems I too have fallen into this female stereotype.

The glamour of ICT

Our organisation was invited to attend a schools careers day and I was optimistic that social media like Facebook, Twitter as well as smartphones and the multitude of applications would be the catalyst for changing the ratio in the technical fields.  It appeared however, that despite experiencing this technology on a daily basis the girls who attended could not correlate this media as being aligned to the ICT world. They spoke about pursing roles which they deemed as  'creative' 'exciting', 'glamorous' - PR still remains the number one choice. 

Following on from this careers day I surveyed the 15 girls in the Information Technology Class that my 14 year old niece attends to understand what technical learning skills were on offer. Frankly I was bored when I heard spreadsheets, databases, and internet safety mentioned as the top three.  No wonder the findings also demonstrated that most of the girls who took ICT during secondary education, and who were competent users, did not choose to continue on with it into further education.

An Anita Borg Institute Report "Addressing Core Equity Issues in K-12 Computer Science Education: Identifying barriers and sharing strategies" suggests that in many instances both teachers and parents are poorly educated about what a career in ICT really entails.  ICT needs to reflect the realities of the outside world and teachers need more support to provide guidance on and showcase the breadth of roles that are available within our industry. We are a long way from the social inept nerds coding in the background however, this perception still seems to exist and we need to do a better job of communicating what we actually do. One thing is clear the parents and guidance teachers are the catalyst from which the change will stem. If they remain misinformed or unaware of the choices available for both girls and boys, they are unlikely to encourage the children to pursue them.

There is growing concern about the incoming pipeline of technical talent, especially when it comes to diversity. But there are ways we can start to slowly change the situation.

IT is creative

Those of us who are lucky to work in this industry (I stress the world lucky because I truly believe I am) know that it can be one of the most creative places to work and at a time when technology skills are becoming more and more vital to our economy, we should be introducing our young women to exciting leading edge skills like multimedia, gaming, and graphic design. This should be done through establishing a more creative use of ICT in schools and helping girls explore IT in a less formal situation, with IT female experts to support them.  Plus increased and regular exposure to industry initiatives, such as shadowing, clubs etc. Offer better support to teachers and career advisors so they can provide a more informed balanced view of IT career options, and access for these advisors to our industry.  If we can harness the enthusiasm so clearly demonstrated at an early age, this can make all the difference. Only then will we start to see a much needed influx of bright young women in the industry.

The number one most important thing we can do to increase the number of women in technology is to show how diverse the different roles are within this industry. Help them to identify with the breath of these roles and say yes this is something I can and want to be involved with.  The awareness and realisation that their inherent strong technical skills, collaboration and communication skills, persistence, humility, tolerance, nurturing skills, negotiation, willingness to learn and ability to multitask are more suited to this industry than any other.

More role models needed

We also need to provide strong, visible UK role models.   Throughout my career I've benefited in countless ways from the advice and support of female colleagues and mentors. Let's showcase the bright spots of our economy who are currently working in achievable positions and are accessible to the common man or women! The everywoman awards are leading the way and play an invaluable role by showcasing these role models, recognising success and inspiring other women to venture into this field of business.

That's the beauty of working in the ICT industry, there is real choice. There is power in choice and many ways of contributing, experiencing success and "helping people."  Let's make 2012 the year we work towards change.  We have all the tools to help ourselves and to help each other. The one thing we can do to grow the economy is to encourage these young women into the technology field.   In doing so, we also realise this valuable untapped talent into our industry and allow them to release their "inner geek". I for one will be supporting and cheering them on all the way.

This is a guest blog from Hazel Moore Chairman of FirstCapital and Finalist for the 'Inspiration of the Year' category for the 2012 everywoman in technology awards.

According to a recent report by Thompson Reuters the global technology industry lags behind all other industries in the proportion of women employed at managerial level, with only 15% female managers in 2010.

Source: Thompson Reuters

Encouragingly a recent annual study of boardroom gender, from the Cranfield School of Management, revealed that the amount of women on top UK boards of FTSE 100 companies has increased to a record 15.6%. Out of 190 new board appointments made last year, 47 of these went to women.

Although impressive that this figure was previously just 6.9% in 1999 and stood at 12.5% last March, we are still a long way from the target set by Lord Davies in his review and recommendations, last year. The former Labour minister and ex-chairman of Standard Charter had recommended that the proportion of women on the top 100 FTSE boards should reach 25% by 2015.

Liz Field, CEO of the Financial Skills Partnership said despite making progress here, there is still a lot more work that could be done to adjust the gender balance. More importantly she feels this needs to be addressed at the level just below the one highlighted by the report.  

"Recent research indicates that female participation at this level is actually declining rather than rising, a trend that needs to be reversed if we are to ensure a continuous pipeline of female talent," she said.

Field suggests that more businesses introduce diversity monitoring, tailored development and mentoring programmes for women.

The danger here though is that woman who have done the hard work, and are next in line for the boardroom, could find that their male peers see them as someone who is only there to meet government targets. If women are offered tailored programmes and support, to achieve the same position as their male peers, how are they supposed to be respected and treated as a valid member of the board?

She added that the most progressive companies are those that are also "trying to tackle the most deep-seated causes such as unconscious bias."

Happy International Women's Day everyone! In conjunction with today's theme The IT Job Board is calling on all women to consider a career in technology. A survey from the online recruitment website recently revealed that less than a fifth (19%) of IT candidates are women.

Despite this being a 3% rise from the same survey last year, it is still concerning to see the very low proportion of women working within the sector.

Alexandra Farrell, managing director of The IT Job Board, commented: "Schools and universities have a role to play in encouraging girls to train in courses which will support and persuade them to pursue a career in IT."

Farrell is clearly on the same page as internationalwomensday.com today, which is promoting the theme of "Connecting Girls, Inspiring Futures" for the 101^st annual International Women's Day. Today is not just about celebrating the achievements of women so far, but it's also about teaching younger generations why a career in the technology sector might be an attractive option for them.

Farrell added: "We need to do more to attract young people into IT careers, and I believe nurturing female talent at this early stage is vital."

In addition to younger women entering the industry, many ladies already in the working world may be put off by the thought of having to work longer hours, without the option of flexible working and working from home. According to The IT Job Board's survey one third of respondents claimed to be working longer hours this year when compared to last year.

These figures would obviously be a turn off for women who have to juggle both work and childcare, however by utilising the right technologies, and by companies offering more flexible working opportunities, it can be possible to experience the best of both worlds.