More Research Highlights "Massive" Lack Of Women In IT

When it comes to IT jobs, a pitifully low amount of those applying are women, at least according to many employers in the technology sector.

A new piece of research from Technojobs.co.uk has shown that according to 52 per cent of tech firms, women account for only one in twenty (5 per cent) of applicants for IT roles.

And 91 per cent of employers said that less than 20 per cent of their applications were from women.

The survey went on to ask said employers what they felt the main barriers were in terms of women and IT, with 62 per cent indicating that the image of a male-dominated work environment was a definite off-putting aspect. 30 per cent felt a lack of decent career advice at school was also to blame, and that females aren’t encouraged to set their sights on the IT sector.

Drilling down to specific IT sectors, the area where women were least likely to find employment is IT support, with only 10 per cent of such staff being female. And as for IT security, it might be a burgeoning area, but only 14 per cent of women are employed in these roles.

Anthony Sherick, Managing Director of Technojobs, commented: “Technology is one of the most rapidly developing industries globally, with an increasing number of specialised jobs becoming available, yet the lack of female representation is worrying.”

“It’s not just the question of a skills shortage, but a lack of choosing IT as a profession in the first place, as women hesitate to take their place in what the results reveal to be a male-dominated domain. In order to rectify this problem, we need to change the image of tech by making it more accessible to women.”