By Natasha Lomas, 25 November 2008 12:05
ANALYSIS
Does the IT industry discriminate against women? It depends on who you're asking. According to the exclusive 2008 silicon.com Skills Survey, male and female tech workers have very different views on the topic.
While the majority (44 per cent) of respondents to the survey disagree or strongly disagree with the statement 'the IT industry discriminates against women', a tale of two sexes emerges when the results are broken down by gender.
Close to half (46 per cent) of male survey respondents disagree or strongly disagree there is discrimination against women in IT, however almost the same percentage - 41 per cent - of female respondents have the opposite view, believing there is a culture of discrimination against them.
IT sector skills body e-skills UK says only around one in five of the IT workforce is female - and only a fifth of those undertaking IT-related degree courses are women, so there is a risk that gender balance could get worse unless action is taken to attract more women.
Skills Survey 2008
Why are low paid IT jobs on the rise
Why CIO salaries are still growing
Has the IT skills crisis turned a corner? 
Karen Price, CEO of e-skills UK, told silicon.com: "The gender imbalance is a significant and worsening issue in the technology sector, with our research revealing that just 18 per cent of the one million IT and telecoms professionals in the UK last year were women."
The problem is not confined to the UK either. The lack of women in IT has been troubling the European Commission for years. The EC runs an IT work-shadowing programme for girls and is hoping to establish a European code of best practice for women in IT to combat what information society and media commissioner, Viviane Reding, describes as the 'leaky pipeline' phenomenon - whereby girls steadily lose interest in working in technology as they progress through education and choose a career.
Earlier this year Reding talked about the need to overcome geeky stereotypes that she said are putting women off a tech career. And the majority (52 per cent) of respondents to this year's silicon.com Skills Survey agreed or strongly agreed the image of IT is off-putting to women. Female respondents were slightly more likely to agree than male respondents (58 per cent to 51 per cent).
The survey also reveals broad consensus that the lack of women in IT is bad for the industry - with more than half (54 per cent) of all respondents in agreement or strong agreement it has a negative impact. Unsurprisingly, however, women were considerably more likely to support this view than men: 70 per cent of female respondents, compared to just over half (52 per cent) of men.
Comments
There are 8 comments. Join the discussion
1. Cassandra
So despite clear evidence of relative numbers, and salaries, opportunities and status still think the IT industry does not discriminate and some think it does.
There is a simple explanation for this - those that think women are doing as well as can be expected discriminate between women and men on the basis that they don't expect women to do very well.
2. Simon
In my experience I don't think it's that Women are discriminated against, but they suffer from being a minority in a male orientated industry. I've worked with several women during my career, and always found them as capable as anyone else.
But, and this is IMO an important point - some of them were "Tom boys" - taking on Men on their "home turf" as it were. I think this points to a situation where women have to be more resilient and prepared to fight hard for their status - something which is bound to put a lot of people off.
So an element of catch 22 - there aren't enough women attracted to IT because there aren't enough women in IT !
3. anonymous
Cassandra,
Maybe in the public sector. But in the private sector I think you'll find it's different in many cases. True there are fewer women than we'd like, but it's not for a lack of trying! That's not discrimination that's lack of supply.
As for salary, at least in my company the women are actually paid on average significantly more, so that one doesn't wash.
4. Anthony
Maybe they are, maybe they're not, I suspect it does go on in some places, but then most IT depts full of spotty men are screaming out for some female influence, I've seen it. As for the whole "shortage" thing, well of course more men are going to be in the IT industry, as boys grow up being into computers and techy stuff many of them naturally progress in this area. Girls, by and large (generalisation alert), couldn't care less about graphics cards and CPU's etc and theres nothing wrong with that, but there will never be an equilibrium in the workplace until its refelected in society first and I can't see that happening in the near future. This isn't discrimination, any more than theres more female hairdressers than male, men generally don't care as much about their hair as much as women do.
5. anonymous
Cassandra,
Maybe in the public sector. But in the private sector I think you'll find it's different in many cases. True there are fewer women than we'd like, but it's not for a lack of trying! That's not discrimination that's lack of supply.
As for salary, at least in my company the women are actually paid on average significantly more, so that one doesn't wash.
6. anonymous
I've worked in IT my entire career (10 years) and as a female found it hard to be taken as serious as men.
But isn't that the same in all the fields apart from the ones stereotyped as female jobs?!
It's hard but by "fighting" my way through the sometimes ignore male colleagues I have proved to many employees that I am as capable, if not more in most cases, as a male colleague.
Women suffer sometimes from feeling they are being discriminate against. I know I speak against my own sex here but I find that to be the case.
Whether you're male or female if you're a fighter whatever job you do you will succeed.
7. D. A. Purcell
I don't think that most people care if an IT professional is a woman or not. If there's an "imbalance" then maybe it's because women just don't have an interest in the IT industry.
8. anonymous
Think women could be discriminated against if they don't work well with a team of male techies.
The team of male techies might not want the female coworker to be a part of the team.
Which means.... who woman has to go cos she will not integrate !