Recruitment Site Tackles IT Gender Gap
Diversity, lip service or lip gloss? womenintechnology have taken the future of the gender-skewed IT sector into their own hands, in the form of a recruitment site-cum-portal geared to redress the balance...
Diversity, lip service or lip gloss? womenintechnology have
taken the future of the gender-skewed IT sector into their own
hands, in the form of a recruitment site-cum-portal geared to
redressing the balance...
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Diversity is a hot topic at the moment although how many
companies are making a positive contribution and how many are
paying lip service?
IT Leavers outnumber recruits overall
One area that has caused particular concern is women working in
the IT sector. Often less than 20% of people working in this
area are women but what is more alarming is that not only are
companies not attracting enough women into technology roles, but
the IT sector loses more than it recruits - *36% hired versus
46% leavers.
As Patricia Hewitt, former Secretary of State for Trade and
Industry and Minister for Women stated, "It is a high
priority to get more women to take up IT careers. When
technology firms are forced to recruit from half of the
available talent pool, it is not surprising that there are skill
shortages and jobs not being filled"
Women leading UK workforce growth
**By 2010 80% of workforce growth will be amongst women, so for
companies the situation has become a commercial imperative - not
just a moral choice. They now need to show evidence to their
stakeholders that they are developing a diversity-aware,
committed recruitment supply chain, and not just in the process
of. Should it become law that a certain percentage of a
company's workforce has to be women then this would add
further pressure to companies to have a clearer diversity
programme.
It could then be asked: is this diversity or positive
discrimination? Which leads on to the question: is positive
discrimination such a bad thing? From the Government to the
Chair of the FTSE 100, all concur that diversity enriches
companies both in the decision-making process and in bringing
positive benefits.
Practical issues – practical focus
A new form of recruitment website has launched which aims to
make a positive contribution to the problem -
womenintechnology.co.uk (
www.womenintechnology.co.uk)
Soft-launched in March of this year, womenintechnology is
specifically targeted to Women in IT. Potential employees can
apply directly to firms who have open and inclusive recruitment
policies and who show their support by advertising on
womenintechnology.
"In terms of looking for a new role, women seeking IT jobs
spend ***65% of their time viewing jobs online. Until now
there's been no specialist on- or off-line supply channels
available to improve diversity aware recruitment for experienced
IT hires." Says Maggie Berry, Communications Manager of
womenintechnology.
Major recruitment clients already on board
Pioneering companies that include; Citigroup, Lehman Brothers,
HBOS Treasury Services and Accenture have already signed up to
advertise on womenintechnology.
"Our sponsors believe this is an excellent model to invest
in, " Berry continued. "It's easy for both
employees to find them and for them to target experienced
candidates. womenintechnology aims are attracting women in the
IT sector, it is then up to the individual client to retain
them. IT influences the way we live in the 21st Century and it
is essential women are part of that."
Registered users will be able sign up to receive alerts when new
jobs come up that match their job search criteria.
Information & networking strengthen the backbone
womenintechnology offers much more than just employment
opportunities though. Their strategic quote is
"womenintechnology, more than just a jobs board" and
they are!
"We aim to be a topical, informative portal too,£ Berry
explained. "In the key area of hiring of experienced women
IT professionals, referral and networking appears to be best
method of significantly complementing existing supply channels,
so we will continue to hold networking events that will have
synergy with the aims of the website."
• The website will announce events, debates and seminars as well
as list useful links to mentoring, networking and business
websites.
• There is a dedicated news feed supplying the website with news
items of interest and relevance to technology and specifically
to women working in technology.
• Plus there is an informative careers section with practical
information on writing a CV, networking and interview tips
courtesy of McGregor Boyall Associates.
*(Women in IT Champions survey 2002) *** Office of National
Statistics British Labour Market projections (1998) ***MBA 2004
Diversity Survey
About womenintechnology:
www.womenintechnology stems from three years
of research data that their parent company, McGregor Boyall
Associates, have been collecting on diversity within the
technology workplace. It backs up what is generally acknowledged
which is that fewer women are entering the technology profession
and that those who are doing so, do not see their careers rising
as far or as fast as their male counterparts. This is despite
the fact that many firms have been placing a strong emphasis on
transforming themselves into diverse and inclusive employers.
womenintechnology is committed to diversification, ensuring that
neither clients, candidates, employees/contractors experience
prejudicial discrimination, either directly or indirectly, as a
result of their contact with them. They ensure that all staff
and candidates experience equality of opportunity whenever
appropriate and reasonable, and maintain a philosophy which
promotes this.
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