There aren’t enough female IT contractors according to the Chartered Institute for IT, and that’s despite the sector being one of the fastest growing in the UK.
Gillian Arnold, the chair of BCSWomen, pointed out that virtually everyone relies on IT in their everyday lives and yet few women are involved in the design and development of the systems we use on a daily basis. However, some key IT employers are now moving in the right direction towards the recruitment and retention of women in the industry.
Currently women make up a mere 19% of the UK’s IT workforce, putting us well behind other European countries on gender representation. Furthermore, women in top IT roles get paid nearly 30% less than men holding comparable managerial positions.
BCSWomen says that more work must be done to promote the benefits of working in the IT sector and support should be made available to women who want to return to the workplace after taking a career break.
FTSE 100 boardrooms are still predominantly male dominated. The split is 85.8% male to just 14.2% female. Believe it or not, this is actually an improvement, but there are still plenty of talented women out there who could hold senior positions.
In order to be successful in today’s ever changing times, senior IT managers need to possess both technical and softer skills, but the right candidates can come from a diverse range of backgrounds, Ms Arnold added.
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