DTI has thirst for IT ladies
Government equal-pay initiative could bring more women into IT
The channel could be set to benefit from a government initiative to bring scores of women into the IT sector.
A Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) drive will focus on closing the gender pay-gap and helping women gain jobs in male-dominated sectors, such as IT, by providing careers advisors, increasing the number of female-run start-ups and increasing information to school leavers.
Patricia Hewitt, the DTI's secretary and women's minister, said in a statement: "It's not the government's job to dictate employment options to people, but we must give women choice if we are to address the chronic pay gap."
The gap currently stands at a 19.5 per cent difference for the average hourly earnings of men and women working full time.
Paul Davies, managing director of channel recruitment firm Merlin, said the number of women put into IT roles depends on the company.
"Resellers tend to be erring more towards employing women, while distributors and vendors are still male-dominated," he said. "Women gaining management jobs in IT tend to be the most tenacious ones, but unfortunately they are few and far between."
Ann Keefe, sales director at Kingston Technology, said more women in IT would be a welcome change. "In our sales department we have a 50/50 split, but in our IT department it's almost exclusively men," she said.
"Almost 95 per cent of our applicants are usually male. However, we would like to see more women because research has shown they sometimes have a better skill set."