Analysis: Women in IT still hit glass ceiling

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Much has been spoken and written about the role of gender in the ongoing IT skills gap. And on first impressions, a recent survey has revealed women in IT are, on the whole, positive about their careers.

In fact, the survey carried out by the career development and networking portal womenintechnology.co.uk found the pace of change, opportunity and working with cutting edge technology emerged as the top three most positive aspects for women working in IT.

One respondent said: “I like being at the forefront of new development and feeling like I’m making a difference that affects many people.” Another commented: “I get to influence technology focused individuals who may not consider the softer or more creative side of the process.”

Out of the 167 women questioned, one even pointed to the quirkier advantage of “empty ladies’ toilets at technical conferences.”

Glass ceiling

At the same time, there are also signs that a glass ceiling remains in place for women looking to climb the career ladder. Nearly two thirds (58 per cent) believed that being women made it harder to succeed in an IT career. And 55 per cent believed they did not earn as much as their male colleagues in similar roles.

Indeed, anecdotal responses suggested that women are held to much higher standards than their male counterparts. One respondent suggested: “What would be ‘fabulous’ skills in a man seemed to be considered as ‘only to be expected, nothing special’ in a woman.”

This pressure to overachieve also extended into women’s work-life balance, where around a third said they would be put off taking a career break or maternity leave.

These viewpoints are nothing new, and echo the findings of Intellect’s third annual Perceptions of Equal Pay Survey, published in November 2008. It also found the majority of women in the IT industry did not feel as though they are not getting the same pay as their male counterparts.

A report published only earlier this month by the National Skills Forum (NSF) called on industry to find new ways of encouraging young women into science, engineering and IT roles to fill the ever-present UK IT skills gap.

Suw Charman-Anderson, former executive director of the Open Rights Group and social software consultant, told IT PRO that the problems highlighted by the research were well known.

“As I’ve got more involved in the technology scene, it has been striking how few women present at technical conferences and how few women in IT are high profile,” she said.

Another survey, commissioned last spring by Research in Motion (RIM), the creator of the BlackBerry Women and Technology Awards, backed Charman-Anderson’s observation.

While most girls aged 11-16 thought technology was cool, the RIM research suggested just 28 per cent had thought about IT-related careers, compared to 52 per cent of boys.

Time for some role models

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