Time for women to look past IT's geek image

By ADAM GIFFORD

Women are given the message early that technology is not for them - the boy gets the new computer game in the Christmas stocking, the girl receives the book.

There is no reason why women can't take an equal share of the well-paid jobs in information and communications technology, but the sad fact is the percentage of women in the industry has dropped sharply in recent years.

That's one of the reasons industry high-flyers have thrown their weight behind a new networking and lobbying group, Women in Technology, which was started a year ago by Oracle national technology manager Carol Davidson.

In its first year the group has attracted more than 1000 members and organised networking events at which successful technologists such as Xenecom director Heather McEwen, CallPlus founder Annette Presley and Vodafone director of technology Jeni Mundy shared their experiences.

It also organises courses and is working on school visits.

Board member Jeannie Bathgate, general manager of health payments, agreements and compliance for the Health Ministry's HealthPAC subsidiary, and formerly head of Electronic Data Services New Zealand's data centre business, says technology can be a lonely industry for women.

"But there are women available for support and mentoring, and we are looking at ensuring we have mechanisms in place to form networks," Bathgate says.

"There was nearly a 5 per cent decline in women in technology between 1996 and 2001, from 29 per cent to just over 24 per cent. That indicates we must be doing something wrong."

She says women could be put off by type-casting, such as that they need to be programmers.

"There is a wide range of jobs - sales and marketing, communications networking jobs, computer operator jobs, where you work as a team. And there are other emerging fields like biotechnology and engineering.

"Information and communications technology is a fundamental tool in manufacturing, in health, in education.

"The only limitations we have are the limitations we put on ourselves."

Bathgate says Women in Technology wants to reach not only young people but women re-entering the workforce who can bring skills learned in other occupations and in raising families.

Dr Sally Cunningham, a senior lecturer at Waikato University's Department of Computer Science, says the way women approach tertiary IT training could be a factor in the low numbers enrolled.

While Waikato's first-year programming courses start with about 30 per cent women, more women than men drop out, meaning fewer with computing degrees.

Computer science courses have as few as 10 per cent women starting.

"One reason for the high attrition could be that when you are in a minority it is a bit harder - you are not part of the group so you don't get the informal support for studying," Cunningham says.

She says a Victoria University study identified a problem in the way women tend to view grades and studies.

"The course had a big test in the middle of the first semester, which a lot of students were expected to fail.

"When the guys failed, they felt it was not so bad, picked themselves up and set out to prove they could do it. Women seeing the results would say, 'I'm not good enough,' and drop out."

Cunningham is travelling to Korea this month for a programme hosted by the Korean Ministry of Gender Equality, looking at ways women in the 21 Apec (Asia Pacific Economic Co-operation) countries can be encouraged into IT jobs.

"Most of the studies we have about women in computing come from the developed world - the United States, Britain, Australia. I have a gut feeling there is a different set of problems in the developing world, and there are things I could learn and perhaps reproduce here," Cunningham says.

"In some parts of the world computers are not identified as geek toys, and in some places, particularly Eastern Europe, a much larger number of women work in technology."

Women in Technology general manager Tania Kearns says the group wants to show computing jobs aren't just for testosterone-fuelled propeller heads.

"It goes back to the schools. Boys cotton on to technology for games so they become very comfortable with it," Kearns says. "Girls don't want to be computer geeks, it doesn't appeal, but guys get hooked on playing games 24 hours a day.

"We try through role models to show there can be a lot of different ways to get into technology, not just the technical degrees."

She says Women in Technology is already hearing success stories.

"Women are walking away from sessions saying, 'I am going to start working on career goals,' rather than just letting things happen."

Women in Technology