Women in IT: Current legislation 'lacks teeth'

The industry comments on the lack of women in senior IT positions, and discusses what organisations must do to improve the situation

Just nine per cent of senior IT leaders in the UK are women, according to a recent report from KPMG, whilst other research puts that figure even lower.

Computing has launched its Women in IT Excellence Awards, designed to champion today's successes, and inspire the next generation of female senior IT leaders.

But what else must organisations do to encourage more women to embark on a career in IT, and receive equal promotion prospects?

Computing put this question to the industry. Here is their response.

CTG: What should organisations be doing to encourage greater diversity in senior IT positions?

Laurie Anstis - Senior - Associate Solicitor, Employment Boyes Turner: To encourage greater diversity businesses need to recognise that there is a problem and want to solve it. They will only do that if they recognise the benefits of diversity and the risks posed to them. The benefits include different ways of thinking and approaching problems with people with different backgrounds and experiences, and this helps to retain top talent. Greater diversity means more opportunity to progress.

In order to do this, businesses need to make sure that hidden biases are uncovered. Firms must not accept recruitment simply on the basis of fitting in, they must ensure that maintaining diversity is a core belief, and expand the talent pool that is recruited from. Companies can write down goals and challenge themselves to achieve them.

Therese Stowell, principal product manager, Pivotal: Culture is key in retaining women in these tech roles. Coding culture is changing, and the industry must change too. Coding is now a team game - we work hand in hand in multi-discipline teams to share knowledge, skills and expertise. I was drawn to Pivotal's culture of empathy and collaboration; the healthy, ‘no blame' culture is remarkable in the tech industry and makes for a highly inclusive working environment. Of course, culture doesn't just happen. It needs direction from top, as well as encouragement and nurture to be maintained.

To get more women into senior management, and to retain women in tech, we need more of a sponsorship model where a senior leader helps to plan and promote the careers of women. It's well established that women self-promote less than men so to get more women in leadership we all need to work together. Research has also found that women leave technology roles because of a lack of opportunity for advancement, and recommends that women interested in leadership roles have sponsors - people who are actively looking for advancement opportunities on behalf of the woman.

Women in IT: Current legislation 'lacks teeth'

The industry comments on the lack of women in senior IT positions, and discusses what organisations must do to improve the situation

Emma Maslen, Senior Regional Director at SAP-owned Concur: Unconscious bias is seen in every sphere of our lives. It influences the decisions we make and the people we hire. Companies must do more to tackle this deep-rooted issue head on. I firmly believe unconscious bias training should be made mandatory at board level. This would ensure the practice filters through to all levels of a business, making people more aware and able to make more considered decisions. This is one simple, yet effective, way of doing more to encourage greater diversity.

Claire Vyvyan, Senior Vice President and General Manager, UK&I at Dell EMC Commercial: We must tackle the stereotypes associated with the IT industry from a young age and let girls know that IT and the technology industry is no longer just about men sitting in dark rooms coding, but is shaping societies, cultures and people. Parents also have a duty to overcome the same unconscious biases. There is still more to be done and it is the collective responsibility of tech organisations, schools and extra-curricular organisations to actively show the benefits of working in IT.

There are a few things that need addressing in order to help retain more women in STEM careers. One example is that there needs to be more equality in maternity and paternity pay and also better child care arrangements for working women. Better flexible working arrangements will allow both parents to balance parental responsibilities with their passion for work.

And it's not just women who need to advocate this change - men need to help too. Communities like MARC (Men Advocating Real Change) are helping to achieve fairer opportunities in the workplace. Dell supports female entrepreneurs in the workplace through Dell Women's Entrepreneur Network (DWEN) - a community helping to connect female entrepreneurs across the globe with networks, sources of capital, knowledge and technology, giving them the power to do more.

Claire Stead, Online Safety Expert and Head of Marketing at Smoothwall: Once you have the right women for the job, you need to think about retaining them. A lot of organisations are still archaic in their thinking and don't allow flexible working, which is often vital for working mothers to see future success in their careers. Boards would actually be much better off with women on them, who can often offer a more compassionate or risk averse view point, but some view those who take flexible working or bring emotion to the role as less capable - but this is simply not the case. I think we need a combination of more women training in IT, or more female-friendly IT work places, to bring the numbers up, and then we need the right attitudes and culture from the Board down to encourage women to break through the glass ceiling.

Women in IT: Current legislation 'lacks teeth'

The industry comments on the lack of women in senior IT positions, and discusses what organisations must do to improve the situation

Leigh-Anne Galloway, of Positive Technologies: Whilst we are used to hearing that women are under-represented in IT, the issue is far broader and more complex than it first appears.

There is a lack of diversity in all STEM areas, meaning that many groups are under-represented, not just women. Studies have shown that organisations with greater gender and ethnicity diversity financially out-perform those that don't. From experience we often can't find the talent to fill the roles, in addition to this some of the brightest minds come from a diverse range of educational backgrounds. We need to change the way in which we foster minds, attract talent and hire people.

Hiring processes also need to change. Focus on attracting individuals with a mind-set that aligns with the job role and the culture of the organisation, rather than paper sifting based on education. Create jobs that support modern lifestyles, offer flexible and remote working.

Daniel Kroening, Professor of Computer Science at the University of Oxford: Though diversity is improving in many areas of computer science, there is still a dramatic gender disparity at PhD level. At the University of Oxford, female PhD Computer Science candidates represent just over a quarter (26 per cent) of applications. The data for artificial intelligence PhDs is even worse - just 10 per cent of applications come from women.

This is concerning for not just universities but for the wider technology industry, which is increasingly hungry for AI engineers. High-paying AI roles may end up being dominated by men, and the risks of algorithmic-bias have been well-publicised. There's clearly a need for companies to champion their female AI computer scientists as role models for the next generation, which should help plug the talent shortages that are plaguing the industry.