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Thursday 9th February 2012

Below research conducted last year relating to women in IT. Click on the titles to download the full reports.

Women In IT - The Facts
Author: National Center for Women & Information Technology (NCWIT)
Date: October 2009
The technology industry is one of the fastest-growing industries in the U.S. The United States Department of Labor estimates that by 2016 there will be more than 1.5 million computer-related jobs available. Technology job opportunities are predicted to grow at a faster rate than jobs in all other professional sectors, or up to 25 percent over the next decade.

The goals of the report are to: Tell a “coherent story” about the current state of affairs for technical women, synthesizing the best available data into one, easy-to-access resource; Provide an overall summary of the key barriers to women’s participation in technology and promising practices for addressing these barriers; Serve as a benchmark for measuring the future effects of national industry efforts to increase women’s participation; Serve as a benchmark for companies who wish to use the report to gauge their own internal progress; Serve as a resource for advocates and change agents.



her code: Engendering Change in the Silicon Valley
Author: Orange Labs, Pascale Diaine and Natalie Quizon
Date: July 2009
The dearth of women in technology-related fields has been an enduring challenge. One
traditionally explored via predictable frameworks - educational, governmental, and cultural. Less considered, and for some reason less obvious, is the technological dimension. We began our research into the under-representation of women in the Sciences, Technology, Engineering, & Math (STEM) fields with these frameworks. Guided by a historical perspective, enriched by interviews with high-profile women executives and journalists in tech, supplemented by interviews with young girls, and complemented by literature review and secondary research, we came to a surprising path of inquiry. What role does technology itself play in the evolution of women’s career trajectories in the tech field?

The genesis of our inquiry into “women in tech” began in 2009, but it had in fact been building for a long time before that. Orange Labs San Francisco (OLSF) researchers and managers had been seeing more and more activity in the Silicon Valley ecosystem being headed up by women. Activity in the broadest sense: events, startups, influential blogs, and keynote presentations at major conferences by venture capitalists, CIOs and CTOs at companies like Cisco and Adobe, Sun and Agilent. A core group met to discuss what would be involved in a focused study examining the history, current status, and future of women in the cradle of high-tech, Silicon Valley.


Women and ICT: Why are girls still not attracted to ICT studies and careers?
Author: Commissioned by Cisco Networking Academy
Date: June 2009
ICT is the major driver of growth in productivity in the European Union. The ICT sector not only drives innovation, but fuels competitiveness in the global economy. Jobs in information and communication technologies (ICT) sectors like telecoms and the Internet are therefore key sources of growth and crucial for the growth of the economy. However, the EU's competitiveness depends on attracting and keeping skilled workers, especially in the high-tech sector, including women. But while a shortage of around 300,000 qualified engineers is expected in the EU by 2010, fewer than 1 in 5 computer scientists are women.

In short, Europe needs more "cyberellas" – women equipped with the e-Skills needed for the future. These skills are key to ensuring Europe retains a major role in the ICT sector of tomorrow. To tap this vast pool of talent, special attention must be paid to raising the participation of women in this field. I therefore warmly welcome collaboration with industry to ensure we open girls’ minds to the opportunities that are there for
them within the ICT sector. It is fundamental not only that no one is left behind but that the sector benefits from increased diversity and productivity gains that have been demonstrated to come from a better balance of women in top jobs and technical jobs

This report shows why gender differences exist in the ICT industry and makes recommendations on how this might be addressed. In particular, it is crucial that we work together to address misguided perceptions of the ICT industry; we must help young people to see the excitement of this dynamic and fast-evolving sector.



Women in science and technology - creating sustainable careers
Author: European Commision
Date: May 2009
Flexible time is one of the classic examples of a WLB policy. But what the Corporate Leadership Council extensive survey and the subsequent researches show, is that if S&T companies and universities do not manage the relationship between flexible time, workload and career, it is not going to work. If we don’t manage it, flexible time will become a negative factor for the career of those who use it – so far, mostly women. If we do not control workload, flexible time will not contribute to work life balance.

Our research also brings to light a more serious concern: the underlying culture in S&T companies and universities tends to marginalize those who use WLB policies. In other words, there is resistance to a healthy implementation of WLB policies. Ideally, these policies should address the needs of men and women at the time where personal life and work requirements conflict, typically when individuals start families. Too often it seems that we do not manage the transition into career breaks – or the transition back to work – with a sincere desire to protect the individual’s career, or indeed the investment made by the company in that person’s professional development.

Click here for part one (pages 1-69)
Click here for part two (pages 70-130)




New Image for Computing - Report on Market Research
Author: WGBH Educational Foundation and the Association for Computing Machinery (ACM)
Date: April 2009
New Image for Computing (NIC) is managed by WGBH, a leading producer of television and non-broadcast educational media, and the Association for Computing Machinery (ACM), the world’s oldest and largest educational and scientifi c computing society. Supported by a grant from the National Science Foundation (Grant No. CNS-0753686), NIC is currently in the first stage of what is planned as a multi-phase project that aims to improve the image of computer science among high school students (with a special focus on gender and ethnic disparities) and encourage greater participation in computer science at the postsecondary level.



Women's Enterprise and SET
Author: Dr Rebecca Harding, Delta Economics
Date: March 2009

Women are still under-respresented in Science, Tehcnology, Engineering and Mathmatics (STEM). Even though there is evidence that there are differences in women's participation in STEM by discipline and sector, there is an issue of very high attrition between the stage of engagement with STEM subjects. Although there has been an increase in the number of girls taking STEM subjects at "A" level, there has been a greater increase amongst boys. The reasons for this are:
1. General factors that affect women's participation in the labour force.
2. Specific practices in relation to STEM subjects and employmenr paths. As a result, some 76% of women with SET training are not working in SET sectors compared with 51% of men.
2. The "gendered nature" of specific science disciplines which tend to be self-perpetuating and lead to a decline in participation as women progress up the STEM professional ladder.
4. Structural reasons why women are less engaged in STEM-relation self-development including the lack of information targeted at science disciplines to highlight commercialisation funds to promote women technology entrepreneurs.



Women in IT Scorecard
Author: BCS, e-skills UK and Intellect with support from BERR
Date: March 2009
A definitive up to date evidence base for data and commentary on women in IT employment and education.

BCS, e-skills UK and Intellect, with support from BERR, have worked in partnership to produce a ‘Women in IT scorecard.’ The report starts with an analysis of the low female representation levels in the IT workforce and then follows this issue back to the apparent reluctance of females to take Computer Science / IT related subjects at higher and secondary education levels.

The purpose of this document is to provide a robust evidence base for the facts behind the trends, to demonstrate differences in the participation rates between the genders and to present an analysis of these trends and the current situation to inform policy debate and future action by the partners and their communities.



GridBriefings: Grid computing in five minutes
Author: Grid Talk
Date: March 2009
Facing the skills shortage: Attracting more women to ICT Information and communication technology (ICT) is one of Europe’s most dynamic and productive sectors, key to Europe’s capacity to recover from he global economic crisis. However by 2010, the European Union expects the ICT industry will be short of 300,000 additional qualified staff. Several studies have examined means of addressing this shortage, each drawing the conclusion that Europe must encourage more women into ICT careers if we are to meet the recruitment needs of this growing industry. The grid computing industry is no different, with women representing just 20% of the Enabling Grids for E-sciencE workforce, as a typical example.



GridBriefings: Grid computing in five minutes
Author: Grid Talk
Date: March 2009
New Image for Computing (NIC) is managed by WGBH, a leading producer of television and non-broadcast educational media, and the Association for Computing Machinery (ACM), the world’s oldest and largest educational and scientifi c computing society. Supported by a grant from the National Science Foundation (Grant No. CNS-0753686), NIC is currently in the first stage of what is planned as a multi-phase project that aims to improve the image of computer science among high school students (with a special focus on gender and ethnic disparities) and encourage greater participation in computer science at the postsecondary level.




Code of Best Practices for Women and ICT
Author: The European Centre for Women and Technology (ECWT)
Date: March 2009
Attracting more women into ICT jobs will not just help to address a problem that risks
damaging the whole economy, but also contributes to realising equal opportunities goals andempowers women by enhancing their capacity to participate fully in the information society and shape its development.

Stakeholders in the Information Technology and Telecommunications sectors are developinnational and corporate initiatives to ensure greater participation of women in all areas of the sector.
Signatory European and International stakeholders now propose together a Code of Best Practices for Women in ICT that reflects recent positive developments and seeks to be a rallying point for other stakeholders wishing to support and promote the greater participation of women in the sector. The Code aims not only to ensure that more women choose careers in the sector but also that they are encouraged and supported to remain and progress in their chosen area of work. This code will be subject to national and international practices.



Women in Computing - Take 2
Author: ACM (Association for Computing Machinery)
Date: February 2009
“WOMEN IN COMPUTING: Where Are We Now?”—an article by Maria Klawe and Nancy Leveson in the January 1995 issue of Communications—addressed women’s representation at the time, as undergraduate and graduate students and in the work force, in computing fields. That article, part of the issue’s special section on Women and Computing, described successful activities and offered recommendations for future programs.In this article, 14 years later, we assess the changes that have since occurred, including both positive and negative trends; we present strategies shown to be successful for the recruitment, retention, and advancement of women in computing; and we explore promising new initiatives for further increasing women’s participation.

 

Closing the Gender Sills Gap
Author: The National Skills Forum
Date: February 2009
This report proposes ways to close the gender skills gap and remove the barriers faced by many women who wish to develop or fully utilise their skills. Increasing the range and level of women’s skills will help combat the UK skills deficit, improve UK productivity and reduce the pay and opportunity gap between men and women. In bringing together the skills agenda and the equalities agenda, this report seeks to throw fresh light on both and explore how decisions taken in one area may impact on the other.



Women Matter 2 - Female leadership, a competitive edge for the future
Author: McKinsey
Date: January 2009
Some leadership behaviours, which are more frequently applied by women than by men in management teams, prove to enhance corporate performance and will be a key factor in meeting tomorrow's business challenges. Hence, promoting gender diversity and leadership variety is of strategic importance for companies.




Inspiring Women Engineers
Author: The Royal Academy of Engineering
Date: January 2009

Inspiring people to become engineers and to maximise their potential within engineering is vital to the continuing health of the UK economy. However the UK is failing to keep pace with the demand for engineers; while total university admissions rose by 40% from 1994 to 2004, the annual number of students starting engineering degrees in that period remained static. Retention is another problem; with just over half of engineering graduates subsequently choosing to enter the profession.

We must recognise that the UK is undergoing rapid demographic change – by 2011, only 20% of the workforce will be white, able bodied men under 45 years old . This group has been the traditional source of engineers, so in order for the UK to maintain a skilled workforce, the engineering community must attract engineers from different  backgrounds.



Making the Most of a Lost Talent Pool
Author: The British Computer Society
Date: January 2009

Some of the biggest challenges for returners and re-entrants that compound low confidence are not being taken seriously because of CV gaps, negative perceptions about commitment and willingness to learn and be flexible, and ageism.
As the war for talent hots up, some employers have recognised an untapped pool waiting to be accessed. The BCS and Intellect are working with organisations and agencies to encourage the IT sector to wake up to the potential of both male and female returners and re-entrants.
This booklet, aimed at HR directors and their teams, has been produced as a partner to their Taking a Break guide for IT professionals. Containing examples and tips on innovative policies and programmes, we hope that it will help boost the opportunities for more IT professionals to manage their careers effectively in dialogue with employers.