FDM Group urges IT industry to take on more females

IT services provider FDM Group is urging the industry to attract more women into IT, claiming it will otherwise miss out on a large pool of talented young women with academic achievements that surpass those of young men.

The firm revealed that more than 50 per cent of its own senior management team is female and argues that, with 26 per cent of female GCSE pupils awarded A or A* across all subjects last week compared with just 19.8 per cent of males, IT firms should try to attract more females onto their staff.

"The IT industry is missing out on a huge talent pool of gifted young women who could help to reduce the threat of an IT skills shortage," said FDM chief operating officer Sheila Flavell.

"As an industry we need to nip this problem in the bud by encouraging more women to opt for IT-related A-levels, degrees and, ultimately, careers."

According to the e-skills 2011 report Technology Insights, only nine per cent of students studying A-level computing, and 15 per cent of those reading the subject at university, are female.