IT industry's 'macho culture' drives women away

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NEWS
Long hours and a macho culture are driving women out of the IT profession, according to research from the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) and IT trade body Intellect.

The Women in IT industry research was commissioned on the back of figures from the Office of National Statistics showing a six per cent decline in the number of women employed in the IT industry between 1997 and 2005.

More than half of the 42 women surveyed had already left the IT industry and another 13 said they were thinking of leaving. The women were mainly over 45-years-old and in senior roles ranging from software developers, programmers and analysts to IT consultants, managers and directors.

The women all said the work-life balance, 'old-boys' male-dominated environment and industry culture are the core reasons why the IT sector is unattractive to women. The research found few opportunities for part-time work in IT and many of the women said they had to work harder than male colleagues to achieve success and break through the glass ceiling.

The report concluded that the first priority to make the sector more attractive for women is to retain those working in it now to act as role models and mentors.

"The UK IT industry is world leading but it won't stay that way for long if we continue to haemorrhage valuable, skilled women professionals from the sector," said John Higgins, director general at Intellect, in a statement.

We must take action to ensure that we are doing all that we can to recruit, motivate and retain women within our industry."

Talkback

Strange headline, as my experience has shown that IT has the least 'macho' people of any business I've worked in. What about sales or procurement, where the 'old boys' approach seems to be far more rife?

Perhaps we should focus in the bigger picture, especially when this story links to one of overall shortages due to the unappealing nature of IT to many people these days (http://news.zdnet.co.uk/business/management/0,39020654,39186953,00.htm)?

To shine in this industry takes a real investment in personal time, especially at the lower levels where excelling at your job means living, eating and breathing the code you're developing or the technology you're supporting.

How many IT people have been in the office late at night, or over the weekend (while the 'normal' staff are safely at home), to do system upgrades or new software installations? How many are then expected to be contactable at home in case of problems?

This seems to be the norm, which means it's definitely not a 9-5 job, so maybe that's why so many people, including women, are leaving or are reluctant to start in the first place.

via Facebook 12 September, 2005 12:59
Reply

I went for an interview last Wednesday as an IT Support Team Leader. I have 6 years experience in a similar role and have over 10 years IT experience.
The interview went really well, I thought I answered the questions well, I really liked the sound of the job, liked the interviewers, could really see myself working there. Perfect interview really.

The company was a women's high street fashion group - from what I could gather waiting in reception, most employees are female and the manager who interviewed me confirmed this.

The next stage was shortlisting for an interview with HR to check background, health etc.

When I received the feedback on Friday I was told that they thought I would be uncomfortable in a predominantly male IT department ( I am female, BTW ).

I was totally gutted and couldn't believe this. I hadn't said anything that might even lead this to be believed - the opposite in fact - assertive, strong-willed, believe I showed I was more than capable of handling myself and definitely demonstrated I was more than capable of doing the job.

If I had been passed over for skills or experience, fair enough, but to get the excuse I was given disgusted me.

I have struggled in a male dominated industry, GCSE Computer Studies classes at the level I was were all male. I did a Computer Science degree in a male dominated university (only about 2% female on my course). I have worked in and managed male dominated teams. I love working in IT and have been extremely keen on computers for 23 years since I was 9 years old. I am pretty much a female techie.

This really knocked me for six. I have been out of work for 2 months. I have an excellent CV (know this from application feedback), a good skill set in IT, man-management and project management and business awareness.

via Facebook 12 September, 2005 17:46
Reply

why is the male sex always the one to blame? It is contradictary to say this and at the same time show evidence that women are making more than men in the IT field and women are younger too!! Why are we to feel bad for women but scream at men? Those self serving pop feminists are behind all these hatred. Women are still women, they complain at work, and they complain at home. Listen to all those married men, they all at one time or another express that their wives always complain! It comes from being a woman! Problem is, in the work place, it is nonsense and unprofessional.

via Facebook 26 October, 2005 03:07
Reply

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