Why women leave IT in the U.K.

Long hours and a macho culture are driving women out of the IT profession, according to research from the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) and IT trade body Intellect.

The "Women in IT" industry study was commissioned on the back of figures from the Office of National Statistics showing a 6 percent decline in the number of women employed in the IT industry between 1997 and 2005.

Many of the women said they had to work harder than male colleagues to achieve success and break through the glass ceiling. More than half of the 42 women surveyed had already left the IT industry and another 13 said they were thinking of leaving. Most of the women were 45 or older and in senior roles as software developers, programmers and analysts for IT consultants, managers and directors.

The women all said the work-life balance, the "old boy" male-dominated environment and industry culture are the core reasons why the IT sector is unattractive to women. The research found few opportunities for part-time work in IT and many of the women said they had to work harder than male colleagues to achieve success and break through the glass ceiling.

The report concluded that the first priority in making the sector more attractive for women is to retain those working in it now to act as role models and mentors.

John Higgins, director general at Intellect, said in a statement: "The UK IT industry is world-leading software developers, programmers and analysts for IT consultants, managers and directors but it won't stay that way for long if we continue to hemorrhage valuable, skilled women professionals from the sector. We must take action to ensure that we are doing all that we can to recruit, motivate and retain women within our industry."

Andy McCue of Silicon.com reported from London.

[David Arbogast]

What's the difference?

"...and many of the women said they had to work harder than male colleagues to achieve success and break through the glass ceiling."

"...Most of the women were 45 or older and in senior roles as software developers, programmers and analysts for IT consultants, managers and directors."

Senior roles? Just what kind of ceiling ar they trying to break through? The vast majority of male IT workers never go beyond these positions either. Just because you have the skills doesn't mean you should get to be CEO or even a VP. Anybody wanting this type of position needs to work harder than ALL their coworkers to achieve their goals. Perhaps the field is male-dominated because the male workers simply continue working instead of leaving the IT industry when they don't get promoted to senior-level positions.

[David Arbogast]

What's the difference?

"...and many of the women said they had to work harder than male colleagues to achieve success and break through the glass ceiling."

"...Most of the women were 45 or older and in senior roles as software developers, programmers and analysts for IT consultants, managers and directors."

Senior roles? Just what kind of ceiling ar they trying to break through? The vast majority of male IT workers never go beyond these positions either. Just because you have the skills doesn't mean you should get to be CEO or even a VP. Anybody wanting this type of position needs to work harder than ALL their coworkers to achieve their goals. Perhaps the field is male-dominated because the male workers simply continue working instead of leaving the IT industry when they don't get promoted to senior-level positions.

[David Arbogast]

What's the difference?

"...and many of the women said they had to work harder than male colleagues to achieve success and break through the glass ceiling."

"...Most of the women were 45 or older and in senior roles as software developers, programmers and analysts for IT consultants, managers and directors."

Senior roles? Just what kind of ceiling ar they trying to break through? The vast majority of male IT workers never go beyond these positions either. Just because you have the skills doesn't mean you should get to be CEO or even a VP. Anybody wanting this type of position needs to work harder than ALL their coworkers to achieve their goals. Perhaps the field is male-dominated because the male workers simply continue working instead of leaving the IT industry when they don't get promoted to senior-level positions.

[Lucky Lou]

Everyone thinks they work hard

The majority of people believe they work harder than their co-
workers. This was the result of a survey taken a few years ago
(and of cource I can't name it so there goes my credibility, but
whatever, I did read it). The funny thing is it's mathematically
impossible, of course. Like the last guy said, these women were
in senior positions already, so where exactly were they trying to
go from there. Senior senior positions? Anyway, I know it's hard
for women, but it's also hard for a lot of the rest of us, too.

[Lucky Lou]

Everyone thinks they work hard

The majority of people believe they work harder than their co-
workers. This was the result of a survey taken a few years ago
(and of cource I can't name it so there goes my credibility, but
whatever, I did read it). The funny thing is it's mathematically
impossible, of course. Like the last guy said, these women were
in senior positions already, so where exactly were they trying to
go from there. Senior senior positions? Anyway, I know it's hard
for women, but it's also hard for a lot of the rest of us, too.

[Lucky Lou]

Everyone thinks they work hard

The majority of people believe they work harder than their co-
workers. This was the result of a survey taken a few years ago
(and of cource I can't name it so there goes my credibility, but
whatever, I did read it). The funny thing is it's mathematically
impossible, of course. Like the last guy said, these women were
in senior positions already, so where exactly were they trying to
go from there. Senior senior positions? Anyway, I know it's hard
for women, but it's also hard for a lot of the rest of us, too.

[Stating]

Another Fake Study

What did anyone expect the commisison would find? That the women simply got tired of working in IT? That their husbands in their 40's or 50's now earned enough to allow the women to stay at home? That the women themselves socked away enough money to want to start to enjoy life? That the women wanted to go back to school, or start a second career? That younger women were hired in favor of older women? No, these kinds of conculsions woldn't be allowed because they wouldn't fit the politically correct model that the study directors were using. See, the model requires that there be a victim, and the victim is always either a woman or a minority. They could have just as well found that there is an IT glass ceiling for Hispanic men in Great Britain. That women IT managers were being promoted over the heads of Hispanic men. Or Black men. Or Muslim men. The conclusion had already been decided long before the study was begun. As the study proceeds, questions are stacked, data is cherry picked, "outliers" are thrown out to reach the desired conculsion.

See, the way it works is the government throws out a bunch of money to study a non-existent problem. The study must then "find" a problem, because if it did not then voters would complain about a waste of taxpayer money. Having found a non-existent problem, the government solves the problem by spending even more money to hand out no bid contracts to party contributors. But since it is not a real problem, after spending lots of money there is nothing to show for it. By then of course, it is time to move on to the next study to find another non-existent problem. It's a perfect circle.

[JulesLt]

Genuine problem, wrong conclusions

There is a genuine problem that the study was commissioned to
address - in both proportional and absolute measures the
number of women working in, or studying IT, continues to
decline, while the industry itself grows. It's an issue regularly
raised in Computing, Computer Weekly and other trade papers,
and one that I think is interesting.

However, I think you are correct in that this study seems to have
come with it's conclusions first - the old story about the glass
ceiling is always raised as an issue, when it's something only a
tiny percentage of workers ever reach anyway (and it's notably
difficult to cross from IT into senior management compared to
many industries).

I think that's typical of studies looking at something from the
outside and presuming that everyone want to progress to the
top (I think that's another IT peculiarity, in that many coders and
geeks don't want to waste time on management and have no
aspiration in that direction).

The long hours comment is fair enough - but my wife is a
teacher (in a largely female environment) and there is the same
thing there - the part-time staff get passed over in favour of
those who work full-time or who do more than their contracted
hours. The ones who, when faced with a deadline, don't go 'well
I'm only contracted to do 35 hours a week' or put their family /
kids first. It's pretty much the same in any job that involves
responsibility rather than one where it ends the moment your
shift stops. The lack of well paid part time senior management
positions is something that affects all of us who would like to
spend 3 days a week at home.

[Stating]

Another Fake Study

What did anyone expect the commisison would find? That the women simply got tired of working in IT? That their husbands in their 40's or 50's now earned enough to allow the women to stay at home? That the women themselves socked away enough money to want to start to enjoy life? That the women wanted to go back to school, or start a second career? That younger women were hired in favor of older women? No, these kinds of conculsions woldn't be allowed because they wouldn't fit the politically correct model that the study directors were using. See, the model requires that there be a victim, and the victim is always either a woman or a minority. They could have just as well found that there is an IT glass ceiling for Hispanic men in Great Britain. That women IT managers were being promoted over the heads of Hispanic men. Or Black men. Or Muslim men. The conclusion had already been decided long before the study was begun. As the study proceeds, questions are stacked, data is cherry picked, "outliers" are thrown out to reach the desired conculsion.

See, the way it works is the government throws out a bunch of money to study a non-existent problem. The study must then "find" a problem, because if it did not then voters would complain about a waste of taxpayer money. Having found a non-existent problem, the government solves the problem by spending even more money to hand out no bid contracts to party contributors. But since it is not a real problem, after spending lots of money there is nothing to show for it. By then of course, it is time to move on to the next study to find another non-existent problem. It's a perfect circle.

[JulesLt]

Genuine problem, wrong conclusions

There is a genuine problem that the study was commissioned to
address - in both proportional and absolute measures the
number of women working in, or studying IT, continues to
decline, while the industry itself grows. It's an issue regularly
raised in Computing, Computer Weekly and other trade papers,
and one that I think is interesting.

However, I think you are correct in that this study seems to have
come with it's conclusions first - the old story about the glass
ceiling is always raised as an issue, when it's something only a
tiny percentage of workers ever reach anyway (and it's notably
difficult to cross from IT into senior management compared to
many industries).

I think that's typical of studies looking at something from the
outside and presuming that everyone want to progress to the
top (I think that's another IT peculiarity, in that many coders and
geeks don't want to waste time on management and have no
aspiration in that direction).

The long hours comment is fair enough - but my wife is a
teacher (in a largely female environment) and there is the same
thing there - the part-time staff get passed over in favour of
those who work full-time or who do more than their contracted
hours. The ones who, when faced with a deadline, don't go 'well
I'm only contracted to do 35 hours a week' or put their family /
kids first. It's pretty much the same in any job that involves
responsibility rather than one where it ends the moment your
shift stops. The lack of well paid part time senior management
positions is something that affects all of us who would like to
spend 3 days a week at home.

[Stating]

Another Fake Study

What did anyone expect the commisison would find? That the women simply got tired of working in IT? That their husbands in their 40's or 50's now earned enough to allow the women to stay at home? That the women themselves socked away enough money to want to start to enjoy life? That the women wanted to go back to school, or start a second career? That younger women were hired in favor of older women? No, these kinds of conculsions woldn't be allowed because they wouldn't fit the politically correct model that the study directors were using. See, the model requires that there be a victim, and the victim is always either a woman or a minority. They could have just as well found that there is an IT glass ceiling for Hispanic men in Great Britain. That women IT managers were being promoted over the heads of Hispanic men. Or Black men. Or Muslim men. The conclusion had already been decided long before the study was begun. As the study proceeds, questions are stacked, data is cherry picked, "outliers" are thrown out to reach the desired conculsion.

See, the way it works is the government throws out a bunch of money to study a non-existent problem. The study must then "find" a problem, because if it did not then voters would complain about a waste of taxpayer money. Having found a non-existent problem, the government solves the problem by spending even more money to hand out no bid contracts to party contributors. But since it is not a real problem, after spending lots of money there is nothing to show for it. By then of course, it is time to move on to the next study to find another non-existent problem. It's a perfect circle.

[JulesLt]

Genuine problem, wrong conclusions

There is a genuine problem that the study was commissioned to
address - in both proportional and absolute measures the
number of women working in, or studying IT, continues to
decline, while the industry itself grows. It's an issue regularly
raised in Computing, Computer Weekly and other trade papers,
and one that I think is interesting.

However, I think you are correct in that this study seems to have
come with it's conclusions first - the old story about the glass
ceiling is always raised as an issue, when it's something only a
tiny percentage of workers ever reach anyway (and it's notably
difficult to cross from IT into senior management compared to
many industries).

I think that's typical of studies looking at something from the
outside and presuming that everyone want to progress to the
top (I think that's another IT peculiarity, in that many coders and
geeks don't want to waste time on management and have no
aspiration in that direction).

The long hours comment is fair enough - but my wife is a
teacher (in a largely female environment) and there is the same
thing there - the part-time staff get passed over in favour of
those who work full-time or who do more than their contracted
hours. The ones who, when faced with a deadline, don't go 'well
I'm only contracted to do 35 hours a week' or put their family /
kids first. It's pretty much the same in any job that involves
responsibility rather than one where it ends the moment your
shift stops. The lack of well paid part time senior management
positions is something that affects all of us who would like to
spend 3 days a week at home.

good

They should work harder, IF they are leaving they aren't working hard enough. Get your head out of the "sand" and do your job, you are promoted based on experience and ass kissing, if you think that you are too good because you work harder and carry that chip on your shoulder. Tough **** the guy who puts up with the crap with a pleasant attitude in I.T. will get promoted, seen it happy at least 3 times. Study that. now get back to work you femme I.T. workers instead of replying to my thread.

good

They should work harder, IF they are leaving they aren't working hard enough. Get your head out of the "sand" and do your job, you are promoted based on experience and ass kissing, if you think that you are too good because you work harder and carry that chip on your shoulder. Tough **** the guy who puts up with the crap with a pleasant attitude in I.T. will get promoted, seen it happy at least 3 times. Study that. now get back to work you femme I.T. workers instead of replying to my thread.

[gail121]

Why don't you 'get a life' you lazy male IT worker !

good

They should work harder, IF they are leaving they aren't working hard enough. Get your head out of the "sand" and do your job, you are promoted based on experience and ass kissing, if you think that you are too good because you work harder and carry that chip on your shoulder. Tough **** the guy who puts up with the crap with a pleasant attitude in I.T. will get promoted, seen it happy at least 3 times. Study that. now get back to work you femme I.T. workers instead of replying to my thread.