Women account for less than one in 10 UK IT chiefs, a new study from recruitment firm Harvey Nash has revealed.

According to the firm’s annual CIO survey, more IT chiefs have a seat on the board this year compared to last, and more are taking on a strategic role within the organisation. However, Harvey Nash pointed out that the gender gap in the industry remains unchanged. Only 8 percent of the 500 CIO respondents were female.

Chris Bartlett, director at recruitment firm GCS, agreed that men tended to account for a high percentage of IT managers. “Men start off in IT and have an unbroken career, whereas women often take career breaks to raise children. Maybe that’s a factor in females not getting senior positions,” he added.

New figures from recruitment firms suggest that the shortfall in women is reflected at all levels of technology roles.

According to IT graduate recruitment specialist FDM, 16 percent of last year’s 800 applicants were female, while women account for only 8 percent of placements so far this year. GCS said that 17 percent of its placements are female, up from only 12 percent a year ago.

Another recruitment firm, Computer People, revealed that only 10 percent of the 300,000 people registered to its database are female.

Dr Elizabeth Pollitzer of the Equalitec: Advancing Women in ITEC project argued that firms are missing out on a “substantial talent pool” by not recruiting more women to their IT departments.

“Most companies are recruiting for specific current job roles and are looking for specific technical skills,” Pollitzer said. “They are missing talented individuals who have the right attitudes, aptitudes and aspirations, who may not have chosen to study computing or IT but could easily catch up if suitable training and support was provided.”

Firms need to take a more flexible approach to their working practices to draw more women to IT careers, argued Susan Lazareff, UK managing director at financial management software provider Intuit.

“We need different schemes like remote working opportunities to get women back to the workplace,” Lazareff said. “I’d much rather have an energetic and committed employee for a four-day week, than turn them down because they can’t do five days.”