Is IT unfriendly to women?
In many ways, IT is unfriendly because of the nature of the job. IT is a 24/7 job. Achieving any significant position in IT often means putting your career before many other aspects of your life. You will find yourself putting in 70- or 80-hour weeks, becoming deeply committed to both the short-term and long-term needs of your career, and this will result in the loss of time spent with family or in personal activities.
When asked in a recent survey if their IT jobs were meeting expectations, 52 percent of women said they worked more hours than expected. The same survey stated that 40 percent of the men felt the same way. It is hard work, and most people, especially those who want to participate in a significant family life, are not willing to make the sacrifice.
What Is IT losing when women leave the IT workforce?
Many studies show that women excel at collaboration, juggling multiple tasks, and prioritisation. Women have a very different way of looking at problems. Research suggests that women see more nuances and have a more holistic approach than men, who are more linear thinkers. Without both kinds of thinking, you lose the breadth of perspective that can approach a problem from multiple directions, resulting in creative solutions otherwise unavailable.
Women managers who possess the inherent skills required of a good manager often add compassion, nurturance, and sensitivity to the role. While this is not vital to success, it does help to build teams that work well together.
Women look to maximise, not necessarily to win, in competitive situations. Often, it is not as important to win as it is to achieve the maximum gain.
Another loss is that of sheer talent. The more people you have in the talent pool, the better your chances of success. Getting and keeping good talent is expensive; replacing a valued worker can cost a company two to three times said worker's annual salary.
Diversity also adds to the overall health of a profession. Individuals and organisations need to work on creative ways to attract this diversity, not only in gender but in all other ways as well. We would be no healthier if current balances were reversed.
Talkback
RE the statement "Moving into the new millennium, companies that can learn to recruit, develop, and retain women CIOs and managers will be far ahead of the others."
Why? Are you saying that Females in these roles are superior to Men of the equivelant education and experience?
Surely with any job these days, and certainly in any company I've worked in, the best person gets it regardless of Gender. I've worked under a female IT manager, and I'm related to one, so perhaps it's more about a lack of female desire to be a CIO than any perceived barriers.
Regardless, the statement made by the author is ridiculous.
I can't help thinking the reason IT is dominated by men is juts simply because computers and the like are just more attractive to men (generally). It has been said that women are more social beings than men and IT can, in some sectors, be very unsociable work.
I am sure it is a point that has been raised already but in trying to attract women to *certain* roles in IT we may, in certain cases, be trying to push square pegs into round holes.
There are many roles in IT which benefit from female input but let's not try to force an issue on misguided notions of sexism when it could really be a simple matter of people gravitating to roles/jobs they enjoy and are more suited to.