Technology, a male dominated industry?

We all know that people vaguely understand IT unless they’re in it. For some reason, everyone assumes that if you’re in IT that must mean you fix computers. We need to inform people on the different roles that are available to both men and women in IT. Society still remains very much uninformed when coming to the opportunities available in the field.

When you were a young girl growing up did you picture yourself as a .Net developer in a cubicle? Probably not. Many times we see “the IT guys” with white lab coats being placed far off in the company at a little corner with many screens full of numbers and letters and lots of pizza. The reason there aren’t many women in technology is possibly because of some of the stereotypes that are associated with the industry. This generally takes away the female attraction to the field. Just as pink is no longer only for females, tech is no longer only for males and for those of you who have not heard Geek is the new cool.

The blame can’t entirely be placed on companies for not hiring women if women are not taking interest in the field to begin with. The fear of going into the unknown because of its perceived male dominance could be holding back the entire industry. There are some places you can learn more from through failing than you would through other places succeeding. Catch 22. Women need to realise this.

A question that may arise is whether or not it’s true that there aren’t many women in IT. Are they just underreported? Companies are actively hiring more people regardless of gender and both men and women have taken a greater interest in technology over recent years. This is not just a service industry, we are shaping the world to come and by disadvantaging women we are disregarding 50% of intellectual and creative potential. What should be considered is not only hiring women, but also men who are able to work with women in such an industry.

The rate of employment of women in the Information technology field is steadily increasing at an impressive rate. The male-to-female ratio is declining as more women confidently walk into IT and companies gain confidence in their ability to produce the same results as their male counterparts. The feeling of being a female in a male world is slowly coming to an end as the IT sector becomes more diversified in both gender and nationality. Organisations are realising the importance of having a balanced workforce.  Although there is still the issue of salary differences, which is not only unique to the technology field, they (women) are certainly filling up the positions.

There has been a positive shift. For the first time in 10 years, women are the popular tech hires. It is not only in executive positions that there is an imbalance in female positions, but all levels of technology.  60% of the hires for this year went to women and although on the whole women still account for only 31% of the technology force, this is a giant leap. Goodbye Male domination. Hello woman power!