How to Narrow IT's Gender Gap

Computerworld - What do women want? Sigmund Freud asked this question a century ago; he never answered it. Unfortunately, IT managers are asking this same question today about women in the technology workforce, and they dont have an answer either.

Thats the bad news. The good news: The answer is hiding in plain sight for technology firms that care to look for it, because organizations in non-IT industries are already proving that taking the right actions can help in attracting the nations best and brightest women.

Conversely, IT managers who fail to recognize and apply these proven human resources techniques will never win the hearts and minds of their industrys top female talent -- and that puts them at a critical competitive disadvantage.

Women in tech

As recently as 20 years ago, the percentage of women in IT was a drop in the employment bucket compared with men -- roughly 15% of the total workforce.

But the emergence and growth of enterprise resource planning technology spawned a slew of new IT jobs. Demand soon outpaced supply, and hiring managers recognized women as a fresh pool of talent. They increasingly drew from it, accelerating womens entrance into the field.

However, womens presence in IT has hit a holding pattern. The 2005 Current Population Survey data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) reported that only three out of every 10 computer scientists, systems analysts, computer support specialists and operations research analysts are women.

Worse, fewer women are expected to enter IT. The BLS estimates that while the technology workforce is at an all-time high, the percentage of women in the field has dropped by more than 7%. In addition, the proportion of female undergraduates interested in computer science is at its lowest point since the 1970s, according to a recent study by the University of California, Los Angeles.

There are several reasons for the industrywide slump. One is that women who do join the technology ranks may start in technology but follow a different path that provides them with more flexibility later in their careers.

Another is that taking time away from the workforce, such as for maternity leave, puts workers on a steeper learning curve when they return and delays their advance up the career ladder. Consequently, women have lagged behind men in achieving high-level positions in IT.

In addition to a lack of tenure, many women have hit a glass ceiling when striving for directorships or CIO roles, according to Windy Warner, an executive coach specializing in working with IT executives and professionals.