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BCS Edinburgh – 11 th March 2009 Heather Jackson.

Women in technology… …what’s the problem?. BCS Edinburgh – 11 th March 2009 Heather Jackson. . contents . . . Problem . . . Why??? Actions. Problem. the problem… the absence of the IT Girl. 21% of computing graduates are female. 16% of the UK IT workforce are women.

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BCS Edinburgh – 11 th March 2009 Heather Jackson.

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  1. Women in technology… …what’s the problem? BCS Edinburgh – 11th March 2009 Heather Jackson.

  2. contents . . . • Problem . . . • Why??? • Actions

  3. Problem the problem…the absence of the IT Girl • 21% of computing graduates are female • 16% of the UK IT workforce are women • 9% of IT development jobs are held by women • 26% of the US IT workforce are women • 25% of computer science graduates were women in 2004 • 20% of the Australian IT workforce are women • 18% of all IT grads were women Trends show a worsening position . . .

  4. Problem • US - From 1990 to 2000 the number of women in the computing profession declined from 29% to 20% • 76,000 fewer women work in IT than in 2006 than in 2000 • 40% of all Computer Science graduates in the 1980s were women, this is now below 20% • Germany – From 1995 to 2000 the number of women embarking on an IT related degree declined from 16% to 10% the problem…the exodus of the IT Girl • UK - Since 2001, the number of female IT professionals has dropped 6% • Australia – From 2001 to 2007 the number of women enrolling in undergraduate studies in IT has declined from 24% to 18%

  5. the problem…the exodus is industry wide Problem Finding of a 2007 study conducted by CIO Insight on statistics provided by the Bureau of Labor, US.

  6. the problem…the headlines Problem “What is it about - girls and IT?” Despite women being heavy users of IT why do they avoid studying it?” Financial Times, May 2008 “Women in IT paid 20 percent less than men” Zdnet.com, February 2008 Lack of women in IT is bad news for business performance Computing.com, May 2008 “Less ‘geek’ more chic is the way forward” Lindsey  Armstrong of salesforce.com gives her prescription for raising the number of women in the industry.” Financial Times, May 2008 “Women must ask for pay rises to fight IT gender gap” Male IT staff currently earn an average of £720 a week, while female staff earn around £500. Computer Weekly, January 2009 “Women falling out of love with IT” Since 2001, the number of female IT professionals has dropped 6%. Computer Weekly, November 2008

  7. Problem the emerging economies . . . • Since 1991, Women have consistently constituted at least 50% of the student population in computer science at most universities, and a substantial part of the teaching faculty are women. • The Malaysian software industry is comprised of 30% women Malaysia • Women now account for close to 30% of the total workforce in India’s IT industry – this figure is set to increase to 45% within the next two years India • 80-90% of the ICT faculty staff at Thai universities are female • Since 1996, there has been more women embarking on IT related degrees than men. Thailand • The Brazilian software industry is comprised of 20% women Brazil

  8. Problem problem summary . . . • Women are under represented in the IT workplace in the UK, Europe and North America • More women are leaving IT than joining • Many emerging nations have much higher proportion of women in IT and the trend is for this to increase rapidly So why has the western world experience a decline in female participation in IT in contrast to emerging countries??

  9. Why male dominated . . . • IT perceived and portrayed as very ‘masculine’ in the Western World. • Computer related advertisements – male orientated • “Old boys’ network” • Social perception - “women and computers don’t mix. Men and computers do” • The growth of this masculine perception over the past two decades has mirrored a decline in female participation • In emerging countries such as Malaysia, there is a clear absence of the ‘male-association’ to computing. New, exiting and non-gender specific Hackers (1995) IT and Computer culture has become synonymous with masculinity in Western Nations… The ‘IT Crowd’ (Channel 4)

  10. lack of role models and impact of self image . . . Why Female IT Role Models Women studying and building a career in IT • “All the heads of departments as well as the Dean were women in the Computer Science department at the University of Malaya, this means there are a variety of role models for the women students”. Dr. Vivian A. Lagesan, Women attracted to IT in Malaysia • Vicious Circle – without female role models, fewer women will be attracted to IT. With few women being attracted to IT, fewer IT role models will be established. • Do recruiting IT managers recruit and attract according to their self image?

  11. Why pay gap and lack of flexibility . . . • Women in IT are paid on average 12% less than men in the US • Salaries for men increased by 2.4% in 2007 but stayed flat for women • Women in IT on average are paid 20% less than men in IT in the UK • Male IT staff currently earn an average of £720 a week, while female staff earn around £500 IT industry does not do enough to support women and in their roles as mothers • Women who want to have families may struggle to get back into IT following a career break • Rapid advances in IT over a relatively short time period may deter women from resuming their career as they may feel ‘out of their depth’ given the huge level of change IT simply is not an attractive proposition for many women

  12. Why women have different skills . . . Women Men • Aggressive • Score highly in complex mental visualisation & pattern spotting tasks • Have better spatial awareness • More inclined to take risk which contributes to innovation & competitiveness • More focused • Think linear • Focus on rules and the short-term - "step thinking" • Confidence – men excel at telling how great they are • Visibility – promote themselves • Take risks • Plan careers • Play politics • Men have long established networks • Better at verbal fluency - speak twice as many words as men • Better bilateral brain involvement in listening, combining left brain thinking with right brain thinking simultaneously • Women gather more data • Consider the context • Are intuitive • Have a sympathising mind • Think more long-term • Lack confidence – don’t discuss their on merits and broadcast their limitations • Visibility – have lower profiles than their male counterparts • Are risk averse • Tend to let their careers happen • Don’t play politics • Women don’t have long established networks to tap in to Initially these skills may not seem well aligned to IT . . .

  13. …theway forward Action Buddying for women who take a career break ‘what matters is that work gets done – where or at what time it gets done doesn’t matter. ‘Maternity Matters’ to retain female employees embarking on motherhood. 98% of new mothers return to work at Citi. has introduced Group Crèches to counter the cost of childcare offered parenting classes at lunchtime developed the FTSE 100 cross-mentoring programme have a global partnership with the Women’s Forum for the Economy and Society to promote women’s contribution to society and encourage diversity in the business world. This action does not feel enough…

  14. …theway forward Action The Solution The Challenge • Encouraging girls at school that a career in IT is an option • Remove the perception that a career in IT is ‘geeky’ • Prevent males recruiting their self-image • Education using IT as ‘mainstream’ in more subjects Attracting • Support from the top (both men and women) • Successful women actively mentoring females. • Targeted development for women in IT • Work closely with organisations such as ‘Women in Technology’ which provide a useful support mechanism Developing • Flexible working hours, encouraging women to return to work • The more women in IT – the more ‘female’ orientated the environment should become Retaining

  15. …this has to be addressed Action • The Future landscape • Diverse organisations have proven that they are more successful: • A report by the European Commission showed that diversity programmes have had a positive impact on employee motivation for 58% of companies that have implemented them. • A recent Mckinsey report – Women Matter showed that companies with most gender diverse management teams have better financial performance in terms of ROE and Stock Price growth. • The shifting needs for great IT in a business require greater innovation and creativity • India and the developing economies don’t have our historic ‘drag’ • The younger generation of women in India is expected to achieve educational parity with men by 2016 • In 2010, women are likely to claim 45 per cent of the total workforce for the IT Industry in India. What is the price for IT in the developed world if we don’t address this?

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