Where Have All the Good Women Gone? Tackling the Gender Imbalance in the it Industry.

According to a recent survey, carried out by Research in Motion (RIM), almost 90 per cent of girls aged between 11 and 16 think that using technology is ‘cool’ and is a regular topic of conversation with friends. In addition, 38 per cent of girls talk about technology, including mobile downloads and social networking, on a daily basis. Great news for an industry experiencing both a chronic shortage in skills and dramatic decline in female workers I hear you cry? Not so. The survey also highlighted that, despite the vast interest as consumers and end users, technology is only considered as a career choice by 28 per cent of girls – compared with 52 per cent of boys.

So, where have all the good women gone? What steps need to be taken to help address this gender imbalance? And what are the implications for the skills shortage in the UK?

From computer geek to computer chic

The IT industry has a serious image problem. For many young women, the idea of working in IT doesn’t top their list of career choices. Thanks to the social stereotype of IT professionals, including their portrayal in mainstream television shows like the BBC’s The IT Crowd, the perception of working in IT is often viewed as dull and uninspiring.

Women are dramatically underrepresented within the IT industry with numbers of female IT professionals declining year on year. In 2007, only 18 per cent of IT and telecoms professionals were female – a four per cent drop since 2001(1).

The negative perception of IT obviously has a role to play in acting as a deterrent for women considering entering the profession. IT is widely acknowledged to be a male dominated industry, which also acts as a barrier for women who can feel intimidated by being out numbered so drastically. Tackling IT’s image problem and promoting the benefits of the industry to women is essential in order to move away from the stereotype ‘computer geek’ to the more realistic ‘computer chic’.

What’s in IT for the ladies?

In reality IT has a lot to offer women and, equally, women have a lot to offer IT. Although the industry is male dominated and associated with skill sets traditionally linked with men, such as a logical, methodical and practical outlook, this is a generalised and outdated view. In fact, many roles within the industry, including web design and help desk technical support, require creativity, communication, team working and problem solving skills – attributes traditionally linked with women.

A large proportion of roles within IT are either project or shift based and are compatible with working from home. This level of flexibility should act as a major incentive for single mothers or women with existing commitments. In addition, the salary on offer to IT professionals is increasing substantially. According to recent research carried out by Salary Services Ltd, the average salary on offer to the IT professional in the fourth quarter of last year rose by over two and a half per cent, the same as in the second quarter and up from just under two per cent a year earlier(2).

Why we need to encourage more women into IT

The Government has openly recognised the skills shortage impacting on the IT sector but has so far only offered generalised solutions to the problem. The Blue Card scheme, for example, was a Government recommendation aimed at plugging the skills gap by using skilled foreign workers. But what about exploiting the existing capabilities at home? What about recognising the problem, offering tangible solutions and giving people, especially underrepresented groups, the support and funding they need to train for a rewarding IT career in an industry experiencing a skills shortage?

It’s essential that we begin to address the gender imbalance as a means of plugging the skills gap and sustaining the UK’s industry and economy. Through portraying an accurate image of the industry, and challenging the way training is funded, this can become a reality. Having more women working in technology sectors, with a diverse range of skills, backgrounds and outlooks, will move the industry forward into the 21st century and put the UK back at the forefront of IT innovation.

Moving forward

Currently, only 15 per cent of applicants to computing degrees, and 10 per cent of A-level computing students, are female(3). This imbalance is mirrored throughout the industry and has a significant role to play in the skills shortage. Women have so much to offer an industry in desperate need of rejuvenation but to make moving into IT a feasible option for women the financial support has to be available.

At the moment access to grants in England and Wales is limited and much of the Government’s budget for adult learning is channelled through employers. This means that women, perhaps single mothers working in one sector but wishing to retrain to improve their prospects in another, are unable to make the move through the lack of financial support. Yet, if this was readily available, many women would be in a position to become career changers and enter the IT industry with the skills and qualifications needed to reduce the impact of the skills shortage – saving the Government goodness knows how much in the long term!

We’re in major need of new talent, fresh ideas and approaches – through encouraging women into the field we can ensure that the UK’s technology sector can compete in a global market and address the skills gap. Challenging traditional stereotypes of IT professionals, and of the industry itself, through positioning the sector as one of choice for women is a sure fire way to make this a reality.

(1) - e-Skills UK, Technology counts: IT and Telecoms insights, January 2008
(2) - According to Salary Services IT salary survey, March 2008: salaryservices.co.uk
(3) - e-Skills UK, Technology counts: IT and Telecoms insights, January 2008