Being a woman in IT - a blessing or a curse?

Maggie Berry: Changing the nation's attitudes won't happen overnight

There are always stories and reports telling us that there are not enough women working in technology. The UK's technology trade association, Intellect, reports that, although women comprise almost half of the UK workforce, only one in five IT professionals is female, and the sector has lost nearly three times more women than men since 2001.

But what about the women that do work in IT? What effect does being a part of this minority group have on their IT careers?

Women In Technology recently surveyed 167 female technologists and found that only a mere three per cent believed that their gender makes it easier for them to succeed. A quarter stated that being a woman was irrelevant to their success, with views like: "There will always be stumbling blocks, but it's more your own determination and motivation that contributes to your success."

Many of the women commented that being a female in a male dominated environment meant that they stood out. "I am more likely to be remembered. I am often the only woman in a meeting of 30 men and, while I forget them, they do not forget me," said one respondent. Another observed: "I think it sometimes gets your CV noticed in a sea of male applicants, so for some roles it sets you apart."

Unfortunately, though, the majority of respondents (58 per cent) believed that being a woman makes it harder to have a successful IT career. Many comments concerned maternity, pay, promotion opportunities and the way in which women are treated by men in the workplace.

Being judged more harshly than their male colleagues was a complaint made by many of the women. "I've found in my own experience that technical types (often men) are much more willing to acknowledge expertise than the non-technical gatekeepers (HR and senior management)," said one.

"They judge by how well you fit the stereotype (I'm always going to lose that one) because they don't possess the ability to judge technical skill. With non-technical types, being a woman can sometimes be a huge disadvantage.

"I had considerably more people management experience than male colleagues in one post, but was held to much higher standards. What would be fabulous people skills in a man seemed to be considered as 'only to be expected and nothing special' in a woman."

Over half of the women surveyed also believed that they did not earn as much as their male colleagues. Some had first-hand experience of this. "I was on a much lower wage than male colleagues in my previous company - over 30 per cent less - and also left out of pay gap evaluation," said one respondent.

"I think I'm probably roughly on par for my official role now with my new employer, but I think I'll have to job hop aggressively to keep from becoming a taken-for-granted girl."

Promotion was another area in which many women felt that their gender was a setback. One woman said that a previous boss told her off the record that the firm had not promoted her because she was a woman, and that her manager told her colleague that the reason she was not promoted was because she didn't dress like a senior programmer, specifically because she didn't wear a skirt.

Another respondent said: "From my 20 years of experience working in IT I have found that most bosses are men who tend to 'promote in their image'. Women don't fit this: they tend to talk and act differently, they don't use jargon and aren't as confrontational. This confuses male bosses, and it's easier for them to promote men as they relate to them more easily."

Similarly maternity, or the 'motherhood penalty' as it's often referred to, was also an issue that many felt impeded their career success.

"I've never seen any man have a career-stopping problem because he happened to work on a legacy project for more than six months," commented one respondent. "But for some women it seems that six months off to have a baby is too long for some employers. Double standards rule again."

Another told us that, after two short maternity breaks, she was warned by her boss that she would lose her job if she had another baby.

Obviously, this kind of discrimination is not representative of all female technologists' experiences, but it does highlight the fact that many women do face challenges in the workplace.

So how can this be rectified? Changing the nation's attitudes, stereotypes and traditional gender roles is something that can't and won't happen overnight, but we are slowly making progress.

We need to keep encouraging women into the IT sector and fuel an interest in IT among young girls to ensure that we have more visible female talent in the sector now and in the years to come. In addition, we need to keep educating women about the opportunities in IT, and educate the business world about the great qualities that women can bring to a team.

Women can also help themselves to reach their full potential by taking advantage of mentoring schemes, support groups and any available training.

Female technologists face a variety of challenges, but there are also many positives about being a woman in this industry. IT is a great place to be, and we're working to make it even better.

Maggie Berry is the director of the Women In Technology career portal and networking web site.