The Future Of Women In IT
Maggie Berry, 19/03/2010, posted in "Analysis"
Maggie Berry runs Womenintechnology, a leading online job board and networking forum for women working in the technology profession in the UK. She has been involved since Womenintechnology's inception ...more info
Maggie Berry runs Womenintechnology, a leading online job board and networking forum for women working in the technology profession in the UK. She has been involved since Womenintechnology's inception in the autumn of 2004 and manages all aspects of the Web site and the networking activities Womenintechnology organises. ...less info
There is some great technology out there but unfortunately we don’t have a crystal ball to see into the future (hopefully a female technologist will invent one!) However if we did have one, we’d use it to see where women in IT would be in the future.
A report by the Government Equalities Office says that almost two thirds of UK businesses are missing out on female talent and suffering as a consequence. It also revealed that if we continue at the current rate of progress it will take 60 years for there to be an equal number of men and women in senior roles! If the government has recognised that this needs to change (which it seems it has with Gordon Brown saying there are too few women in Britain’s boardrooms), then shouldn’t we be doing more about it?
In our recent survey we asked our female technologists what they thought would happen to women in IT over the next five years – we got some interesting and different answers:
- Shortage of new entrants because Science and Technology is not popular in schools, not seen as a girl-thing.
- More women in very senior roles.
- I think the number of women will increase as the younger generation is very much the digital native generation; however the level to which it increases relies on our intervention now.
- They will continue to lead & be innovative but will not always get credit for it or equality of pay.
- There will be more in the industry, more start up IT businesses with women CEOs.
- One respondent simply said “not much”.
Which crystal ball prediction do you agree with? And what would you like to see done to give women in IT a boost?
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