IT 'needs women'

The UK's technology industry is wasting more than £70 billion (AU$169 billion) worth of trained personnel by failing to bring more women into the workforce, according to a major scientific research organisation.

Qinetiq, a former arm of the Ministry of Defence that now provides scientific and technological research and solutions to private industry, said this week that scientifically trained women are choosing not to pursue careers in science and technology, which is a situation putting the UK's science and technology industries at risk.

Three-quarters of the 290,000 UK women of working age with degrees in subjects related to science, engineering and technology (SET) do not take up careers in those areas, according to Qinetiq's research. Among those who don't pursue technology careers, 50,000 already have SET-related work experience.

In the IT, electronics, telecommunications and broadcasting sectors, women make up only 28 percent of the work force, Qinetiq said, lower than in other advanced countries such as the US, Canada and Taiwan. The proportion of women in those sectors involved in jobs specifically related to developing and producing technology is even lower -- just 9 percent, compared with more than 20 percent in the US.

In the mean time, girls continue to outperform boys at GCSE-level science, and the proportion of girls taking science-related A Levels has grown 8.7 percent in the last five years. The proportion of boys taking science-related A Levels has dropped 1.6 percent in the same period.

"Science and technology companies need to take a long hard look at why women are not entering careers in this sector," said Qinetiq chairman Dame Pauline Neville-Jones in a statement. "Collectively we need to help make this area more attractive to girls at school, then ensure that they capitalise on their qualifications rather than embark on unrelated careers."

Qinetiq said that only 10 percent of its own leadership team is female, although two female scientists head the company's two largest business units.

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What jobs are available for wo ...Cassandra Outlaw -- 07/11/03

What jobs are available for women in the IT field?
Can someone with an accounting major work in the IT field and if so what fields?
Thank you for your response.
24recep@mendes.com

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Women can work in any field in ...Anonymous -- 12/11/03

Women can work in any field in IT that they want to, assuming they are qualified for the job.

And you might be able to get a job in IT with accounting qualifications, but I doubt it these days. You'd have much more chance of getting one if you had IT quals instead. Kind of like asking "I'm an accountant, can I get a job as a doctor?"

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Prejudice is deeply ingrained ...ZELDA JONES -- 02/01/04

Prejudice is deeply ingrained in IT

I am a woman who has been in the IT industry for 25 years. Yes, women want IT however what women don't want is the discrimination (which is always there) and constant criticism (called performance review)which our colleagues have readily available. Somehow, there seems to be a general consensus that as we are senior women, we should be able to be manupilated and readily accept junior roles. Indeed it came as a big surprise to a colleague of mine when one day, when I applied for a Senior role. My collegue went out of their way to ensure that I did not get the role. This colleague was surprised that I did not apply for the IT project assisant role !

It is indeed sad when may organisations pay lip service to Equal Employment Opportunity policies and not attempt to promote ambitious women in the IT sector. Somehow, being ambitious and female is a hard fact to accept by organisations. I recall one day when a junior male member of my team told me that he would not take orders from a woman when I requested him to complete a task.

In my opinion, senior women in the IT sector pay a big price for who they are. You are constantly in the spot light and everything you do is subjet to constant scrutiny. This constant scrutiny can result in the loss of a job.

Yes, women want IT but not the prejudice that is deeply ingrained in the attitudes of many IT workers.

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Stereotyping is deeply entrenc ...ZELDA JONES -- 03/01/04

Stereotyping is deeply entrenched in IT.

Stereotypes that differentiate masculinity and femininity, and degrade that which is deemed as feminine are deeply entrenched in culture, social structure, personality and IT.

Women in the senior levels of IT often encounter 'poisoned work-environments, where they feel unwanted, isolated and unsupported.

Senior women experience the 'Glass Celing' in IT the further they try to advance in contrast to men who experience the 'Glass Escalator'.

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wow this is news to me!!! im i ...Anonymous -- 11/01/04

wow this is news to me!!! im in the IT field but with no experience no one wants me!! if you know someone somewhere who fits the desctiption of "want to hire an IT woman, with no experience!!" please let me know

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Zelda I ****ume you sacked tha ...Anonymous -- 20/03/05

Zelda I ****ume you sacked that man who won't do his job and won't do what he is told by his boss (****uming u were in a position to tell him what to do).

Also I ****ume you competed/fought/politiked (yuck!) with your collegue who was gunning for a promotion (or was he just trying to look good at a collegues expense?).

Otherwise your posting here has just contributed to the sterotypical damsel-in-distress.

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