New research by online recruitment specialist, www.theitjobboard.com, finds that 48.3 percent of female IT professionals said their decision not to have children had been influenced by work-related choices. Of the 31 percent of women respondents with children, 70.4 percent of these believed this had adversely affected their career. Almost two fifths (38.1 percent) would take a lower paid role that offered childcare facilities, although only 12.2 percent of people surveyed worked at organisations providing childcare.
ìMany women clearly feel itís a situation of ëeither orí - choosing a career in the IT sector restricts their freedom to have a family. In todayís supposedly egalitarian society this is unacceptable,î says Ray Duggins, managing director of www.theitjobboard.com.
The number of women working in the technology sector has been falling steadily - UK IT industry trade body, Intellect, recently reported the proportion of female IT employees as 16 percent, down from 27 percent in 1997. www.theitjobboard.com undertook its research among IT professionals to better understand the issues behind this trend in order that employers know the steps that need to be taken to reverse it.
Other key findings of the www.theitjobboard.com research include:
65.5 percent of women feel there is ëmachoí culture in the IT workplace, while 69.6 percent of men do not
65.7 percent of men do not think women are discriminated against, but 78.2 percent of women believe they are
54 percent of women believe that being female has worked against them (with the key perceived disadvantages being lack of recognition by male bosses, reduced earnings and lack of career prospects)
Although men responding to the survey were aware of the issues facing females in the IT workplace, they did not attach the same significance to them. For example: 28 percent of women believed that being female resulted in lack of recognition by male bosses compared to 13.5 percent of men; 27 percent of women felt they had fewer career prospects than male counterparts, 10 percent of men recognised this as a problem; and 21 percent of women said they earned less, 8.5 percent of men believed this to be the case.
Duggins continues: ìIT organisations have got to get to grips with this issue. Aside from their moral duty to do so, the industry is facing a serious skills shortage so alienating half the potential workforce is incredibly short-sighted. In addition, women bring a diversity to the workforce, the importance of which cannot be underestimated.î
Despite the worrying results of the survey, it appears that the IT industry does offer senior opportunities for women - 86.3 percent of men and 74.7 percent of women had worked for a female boss.
Workplace pressures deter nearly half of female techies from having children
And over two-thirds of those with children believe this has adversely affected their career
