subject: Lack of female role models discouraging girls from IT [print this page] A lack of female role models could be discouraging girls from choosing a career in IT.
This is the view of Silka Patel, executive assistant at Cisco, who told Computer Weekly that currently there is a perception that people must be a computer programming geek to go down an IT career path.
New networking group launched
Her comments come on the launch of a new networking group for women in Scotland, called Scotland Women in Technology (SWiT), which aims to encourage more of the fairer sex to enter male-dominated careers.
In Scotland, women account for less than 20 per cent of the nation's science, engineering and technology workforce and fears have been raised by people in the industry that this could affect future advancements of technology and prevent businesses from fully optimising the talent pool.
Young female scientists 'perform better than boys'
Figures suggest that although there are few females taking IT courses in secondary education, be it at GCSE level or A-level, they perform better than boys.
August's A-level results revealed that while fewer girls took physics courses than boys, female physicists received more A* grades.
A 90 per cent pass mark will earn an A* and 11.6 per cent of young women achieved this result for their physics A-level compared to ten per cent of their male counterparts.
This could support industry fears and suggest that there is a major untapped pool of women who are not realising their talent for science.
IT offers flexible working
Polly Purvis, executive director at IT trade body ScotlandIS, told Computer Weekly that the industry should be an attractive career option for women as they can often work flexible hours to fit in with family obligations.
However, she noted that changes to the school IT curriculum could be needed to encourage more females to take up the career.
This week (September 7th) saw the launch of the first SWiT event, with the support of businesses including Cisco, Dell, IBM, HP, Scottish Enterprise and Oracle.
A boost to Scottish economy
As Ms Patel argued that there are not enough female role models to encourage girls to study technology-related subjects, Lena Wilson, chief executive of Scottish Enterprise lead the event with a meeting under the subject of 'inspiring role models'.
According to the group, its aim is to inspire and empower women through networking events held across Scotland, as well as reach out to girls in schools and universities.
Ms Wilson commented: "As a nation it's important that we encourage women to raise their aspirations and really grab the exciting opportunities that exist within IT and the wider technology sector."
"It's networks such as these that can help women build a successful career, think globally and really fly the flag for Scottish businesses," she added.
Ms Patel remarked: "This sector is a brilliant place for women to work and progress, yet we are very much in the minority."
Lack of female role models discouraging girls from IT
