You are here:  Home  News  News Article

Monday 21st May 2012

SEARCH NEWS ARTICLES

View All News
Open the calendar
Open the calendar

News Article

News Archive

Achieving Success in IT jobs: Are Women Bad at Self-Promotion?

05/12/2011 Achieving Success in IT jobs: Are Women Bad at Self-Promotion?...Women could be holding back their careers in technology by an inability to promote themselves, it has been suggested.

A recent article in the Daily Mail has raised the issue at why self-promotion can be so important to getting where you want to be in business, particularly for women who can be culprits for putting themselves down.

"Women are more likely to tell you three good reasons why they're not ready for promotion, whereas a man will give you ten good reasons why you should promote him, even if they are of equal ability," Peninah Thomson, chief executive of the Mentoring Foundation, told the news provider.

She explained that when told how good they are, some women can actually thrive.

Women 'failing to be proactive' in the workplace

Research by Catalyst published last month, shows that women are not as good as men as being proactive in their career strategies. This, it found, was closely linked to the gender pay gap as men outpace women in the rate of career advancement and compensation growth.

Indeed, women were found to be paid for their proven performance, while men were paid for potential and were more likely to reach senior executive positions.

"[Women] should understand that self-promotion is not about puffing yourself up, but stating the truth about your achievements with poise and confidence," Ms Thomson remarked, adding that they must work to "assume authority" rather than wait to be given responsibility if they are to climb up the career ladder.

Proven performance in jobs valued over showing potential

The Catalyst report found that women do negotiate pay when changing jobs, but are paid more over the years if they stay in the same job having proved their performance.

The issue has become increasingly important as major FTSE 100 businesses have raised difficulties in meeting Lord Davies' recommendations to appoint more women to their boards as there are not enough female candidates out there.

Through self-promotion, more women could find themselves in senior IT jobs and other roles rather than remain stuck further down the chain.

The importance of professional networking and receiving support

Another recommendation from the Catalyst report was for women to network, as this was found to advance women in their chosen career.

It is not the only organisation to urge people to network. Speaking at the recent Silicon Valley Comes to The UK event, Reid Hoffman, co-founder of LinkedIn, said that young people starting their career in technology jobs should take advantage of networking.

Seeking out a mentor could also help women advance in their career. Women's and equalities minister Theresa May has supported this idea with the announcement that she will recruit 5,000 mentors to help female entrepreneurs through a women's business council.

Find out about IT jobs and other Technology Careers at the next womenintechnology networking event or register to receive our event invitations.

 
Delicious
Submit

Latest Jobs

  • #.Net Developer

    Bank of America is one of the world's largest financial institutions, serving individual consumers, small- and middle-market businesses and large corporations with a full range of banking, investing... More

  • Apps Prog Cnslt

    Bank of America Merrill Lynch provides comprehensive market, industry, product and advisory expertise to more than 140,000 businesses around the globe.   With unrivalled insight and access delivered by... More

  • Application Programming Consultant

    Overview Bank of America is one of the world's largest financial institutions, serving individual consumers, small- and middle-market businesses and large corporations with a full range of banking, investing... More

  • Senior Java Developer

    Bank of America Merrill Lynch is one of the world's largest financial institutions, serving individual consumers, small- and middle-market businesses and large corporations with a full range of banking, investing... More

  • Project Manager

    Bank of America is one of the world's largest financial institutions, serving individual consumers, small- and middle-market businesses and large corporations with a full range of banking, investing... More