BCS calls for culture change to keep women in IT

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Companies need to improve their working culture to include women if they want to stop the exodus of women from the IT sector, according to the British Computer Society.

Rebecca George, the new chair of the BCS Women’s Forum, noted that between 2001 and 2007, the number of female IT professionals fell by six per cent.

"The situation keeps on deteriorating. The IT industry is famous for its skill shortages, and I believe it's time to re-examine the problem of keeping and motivating female IT professionals,” she said.

"The onus is on organisations to look creatively at their cultures. I believe that if you strive to have the right culture for everyone, you will bring women along as well," George added.

She suggested that organisations need to recognise the differences between how men and women tend to behave at work – and that women need to try to understand corporate culture, too.

“We tend to think that if we put our heads down and get on with it we will be recognised for doing a good job. But it doesn't necessarily work like that. We all need to be cognisant of that," she said.

And she called on companies to consider the changes both men and women go through in their careers. “Organisations must work to keep employees - female and male - happy at different stages of their careers," George said. "People will become more or less involved at work as their life circumstances change. The challenge is getting employers to capitalise on such shifts."

The Women’s Forum will be holding W-Tech 2009, the UK’s first IT recruitment event targeted at women, in February.

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