Niche jobs board Bubble Jobs has refuted claims that just one quarter of employees in the digital sector are women – stating that the number is actually much higher.
A report released last week by the UK Commission for Employment and Skills claimed that 27 per cent of digital workers in the UK were female, but statistics released by the job board paint a different picture.
Bubble Jobs – the leading jobs board for the digital industry – found that 39 per cent of candidate sign ups to their site in 2015 were female, suggesting a higher interest in the sector than is being claimed by the report.
According to the UKCES report, just 27 per cent of employees in the sector are women, down from 33 per cent in 2002.
Bubble Jobs Digital Marketing Manager Amy Edwards said: “The UKCES report was disappointing because – as our statistics prove – the digital sector is a popular option for men and women.
“The digital sector is full of opportunities for people with a range of skills, and is not a male-dominated industry as some reports would have you believe.
“Every week we see a good mix of candidates applying for jobs across the sector, suggesting that women aren’t fleeing the sector as this new report claims.”
When asked to choose their key job area, of the female sign-ups; 23 per cent chose Web and Graphic Design, 16 per cent chose Online and Digital Marketing, 12 per cent chose Project and Product Management and 11 per cent chose Social Media and Online PR.
In terms of job-level, while 43 per cent said they were looking for graduate or junior-level roles, 28 per cent were looking for manager roles and 12 per cent chose senior/director-level vacancies.
Edwards added: “While some candidates may be graduates or at entry level, many are professionals who have worked in the industry for several years, so to say that only a quarter of digital workers are female doesn’t correlate to what we’re seeing.”