Women in IT Research from 2007

This Note presents the results of a short survey of the views of women BCS members about IT in the investment banking sector. The survey was prepared with the assistance of the BCSWomen group of the British Computer Society (BCS). Also summarised is the response of London-based HR managers who are responsible for IT people in London-based investment banks.

The most interesting finding is that many women in IT do not consider applying to investment banks NOT because they think they are macho and possibly sexist (though they do!) but because they think such banks only recruit from other investment banks. Some banks are thus losing valuable applications because of a misconception about the sector, and some women in IT are losing out on interesting well-paid careers...

"Women Matter" is a study conducted by McKinsey & Company as part of its global partnership with the Women's Forum for the Economy & Society.

The study suggested that the companies where women are most strongly represented at board or top-management level are also the companies that perform best. Confirming the existence of the gender gap - most notably in the composition of corporate management bodies - the McKinsey study offers fact-based insights into the importance for companies of fostering the development of women in the business arena, so that a greater number attain positions of high responsibility. Finally, building on these insights and observations, and highlighting the main barriers to female representation on management bodies, this study seeks to bring the practical debate of how to make the transition from awareness of the situation to the implementation of change.

The current state of gender in society can best be described as conflicting. On the one hand gender seems to have changed a lot but on the other hand it seems to have changed little. One area where changes in gender relations are visible is women’s increased presence in
information communication technology (ICT) work. However, women still constitute a minority in this sector. In this article, a discourse analysis is used to illustrate the resources to which ICT workers have access when explaining the scarcity of women in ICT work. The different discursive strategies discussed include attributing the scarcity of women in ICT work to factors over which the company has no control such as socialisation, biology and women’s disinterest in technology. It is argued that the use of ‘I don’t know’ segments reflects the confusing nature gender takes today. The article thus contributes towards an understanding of the discursive resources on which people draw to talk about gender and how fluid, shifting and partly conflicting these resources are.

Fewer than one in five Information Technology, Electronics and Computing (ITEC) professionals and managers are women and female representation in ITEC is decreasing. Yet, there is a strong business case for increasing the proportion of women employed in this sector. By not making use of all available human capital resources, employers are narrowing the pool of talent they can choose from. Underutilising a valuable section of the labour market is ineffective, especially when jobs are hard to fill or during times of skills shortages. The implications of this are wider if women are working in lower skilled roles and in occupations that do not fully use their actual or potential skills. The effect is that the economy is operating below its productive potential, thus slowing its rate of growth. Furthermore, it is easier to understand and meet customer and client expectations if the people creating the products and services are as diverse as the people who buy or use the products and services. And, of course, most managers are now committed, from an ethical standpoint, to ensuring that women and men have the same opportunities to develop their careers.

Women working in the technology industry could be facing a glass ceiling; some certainly think so. Almost 39% of our respondents had more than 10 years’ industry experience, yet only 16% had achieved senior management level. Employers may wish to compare the survey’s results with their own workforce figures for men.

Maternity is a key concern. Many women who report few or no barriers to their advancement caveat their perception by saying “…but I haven’t had children yet.” The vast majority of our sample had not taken and did not intend a career break, despite the survey’s demographic skew in favour of women with more than five years’ experience in the industry.

Most think that technology careers are no more detrimental to family life than other careers in other industries. Indeed, many women cite examples of employers offering flexible and part-time work for returners. Some also pointed to remote working, clean and safe environments as making the technology industry ideal for returners. However, it’s clear that women think maternity will damage their careers - though the technology industry is no worse than other fields of work. Women who return to the same employer after maternity leave say they have a better chance of obtaining flexible hours and other benefits, while those who search for part-time or flexible jobs say they are thin on the ground.

This directory gives details of sponsorships, awards, competitions, courses, visits, company family friendly policies and other initiatives designed to encourage girls and women to consider careers in science, engineering, technology (SET) and construction.

WISE aims to attract more girls into SET and construction, to support other organisations that enable girls and women to advance their careers and to ensure that they are retained in the SET and construction sector.