Female IT workers thinking about becoming contractors have some food for thought after the MD of Women in Technology, Maggie Berry, commented that the sector was still very much male dominated.
Ms Berry pointed out that the move to equality is progressing, albeit slowly. But in the IT sector, men still outnumber women by four to one.
She also said that the UK has the most unequal system of parental leave in Europe and this ‘motherhood penalty’ is one of the things that stops women obtaining senior positions. Ms Berry made her comments earlier this week during International Women’s Day.
Tuesday marked the 100th anniversary of International Women’s Day and the ICAEW/Robert Half Career Benchmarking Survey published that day showed that gender pay equality is still far away, at least in the accountancy profession. In fact the disparity is getting worse, at least for younger accountants.
In 2010, male accountants under the age of 30 received an average £8,000 a year more than females in the same age bracket. In 2009, the difference was only £2,000. The average salary for a male accountant now stands at £89,500. whilst for a female it is just £62,300.
However, the results of the survey showed that many women are now working part-time. In fact 24% of female accountants aged between 30 and 45 just work part-time compared to only 3% of their male counterparts. Men are also more likely to work in the private sector, or overseas, where salaries tend to be higher.
The MD of Robert Half, Phil Sheridan, said the survey results are cause for concern as they indicate that there are gender inconsistencies in the accountancy profession.
Also this week, the business network, Interim Women, announced its plans to attract more women into interim management. Its new campaign aims to double the size of its business network in the coming year.
The chair of Interim Women, Rachel Youngman, said that interim management is an excellent career choice for senior women wanting to work independently at a senior level. Men and women are paid the same rates and have the same opportunities to operate at the top level in a business.
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