The Real Deal About Women and IT Careers
The ages-old debate on whether women and men are equal can be put to rest, in terms of careers, that is.
It is undeniable that women have overcome work barriers which relegated them to household work. Women are now visible in almost all industries and sectors—from traditional careers in health care, law, and teaching to nontraditional jobs in construction, engineering, and politics. In fact, a woman became one of the leading contenders for the U.S. presidential candidacy this election year.
The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) reports that women comprised 46% of the 2006 workforce. More women are also entering the workforce at rate faster than men’s participation, reaching up to 50%. However, they only make up 26% of the huge IT workforce.
Dr. Stephen Bloch, a professor at Adelphi University, has observed the decline in the number of female students enrolling for college IT degree programs. In his major class in 2008, for instance, there was only one girl in his class. "They seemed to be edging back up in the last year or so, but when people stopped taking these majors, it seemed that the women stopped harder," Block said.
Even Blackberry, one of the biggest IT companies, noticed the lack of interest of women in technology. In its survey of American girls between 11 and 16 years old, 30% of the respondents deemed IT as too “geeky” and a number of them (.72%) have not considered any career choice in technology.
It's time to take a closer look at the career opportunities presented by the IT industry to women. Consider the following:
- BLS predicts that careers in computers and mathematical and science fields will have growth rates as high as 16%, compared to other careers.
- Career opportunities in IT are diverse. Women can become computer system analysts, database administrators, network analyts, computer software engineers and designers. Contrary to what most people think, this doesn’t mean one would be just stuck with the computer eight hours a day. These jobs also entail public relations, administrative tasks, and field work.
- IT professionals have commanding career salaries that range from $91,000 to as high as $200,000. And since almost all industries are highly reliant on computers, career opportunities in IT are endless!
So girls, its time to step up and join the IT workforce. Bring your female touch to a highly technical world. As Lucy Sanders of the Center for Women and Information Technology says about the contributions of women in IT: “It’s all about diversity of thought and how diversity leads to a better product. Anything created by a homogenous group isn’t as robust."
