Whatever women do they must do twice as well as men to be thought half as good. Luckily, this is not difficult. ~Charlotte Whitton
When I chose to venture into IT I googled ‘business’, ‘IT’, ‘courses’ because I wanted a course that focused more on utilising my soft skills. During the course at City University we had discussions on the changing sphere of the IT market. Our guest lecturer who had previously worked in different roles of the project lifecycle stated that we are in times in which we need to collaborate and communicate more to create successful systems. The core concept is to build the system around the business processes and not the business processes around the system…which ultimately means getting to know your stakeholders. It is argued that women are better than men at doing this. On my course there were only around nine women in a class of almost forty.
I had the The Financial Times thrown on my desk today because their section on Digital Business is about the role of women in IT. Articles included ‘Less ‘geek’, more chic is the way forward’ , ‘What is it about girls and IT?’ and ‘What IT means to me: No longer a member of any boys’ clubs’.
(http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/d74e0298-1fc3-11dd-9216-000077b07658.html)
Issues addressed are the pay gap, male perceptions of female colleagues and education. The most interesting article in my opinion was Kate Craig Wood’s interview ( www.ft.com/dbpodcast), originally a female born in a male body as she has experienced IT both sides of the gender divide. It is mentioned that women in IT seem to think they need to act like a ‘ladette’ to be accepted by the male majority and this is what deters women from entering the field. I think this could be true in corporate companies.
Over the last few years the recruiters have worked towards improving the gender balance in the IT sector, Womenintechnology.com was only born in 2005 but they
‘recognise the immense importance of encouraging more young women into technology careers and passionately believe in promoting the vast array of opportunities that are available to women in the IT profession in the UK. We hope that the work we’re doing will highlight to more women just how rewarding a career in IT can be.’
The only psychological block that prevented me from applying to corporations such as Accenture and IBM is something that probably needs to be looked at across all industries. How does someone balance their career with having a family? I am a family oriented individual and I am not ashamed to admit it. I like to work hard and play hard. Building a home is important to me. Thankfully having a fulfilling life outside of work is part of our company policy and I am surrounded by young professional fathers. Talking nappies and first teeth is normal in our office- just as it is normal for us to all compete on C4s fantasy football.
My neighbour, an editor for a financial publication, is due to have her baby soon. We sat next to each other on the commute to work, I looked at her bump and said ‘aren’t you due in two weeks? Can’t you work from home?’ She answered that she did not want her boss or colleagues to think she is not interested in returning or is losing interest in her job. It was her way of securing her return. IT is a fast paced industry and the thought of getting left behind because of a period out is what I find extremely daunting. Do employers still value you as an asset or do you become a burden?
Only last year I visited IBM’s ‘Women In Technology’ day and watched presentations by women who had managed to balance raising a family with a successful career at IBM. It was inspirational but I still had my doubts- doubts which I am starting to overcome as I think if you really want to achieve a balance anything is possible.
What are your thoughts?
