1ISACA Survey Finds Women Still Struggle for Equality in IT Industry
The IT industry is working towards equality in hiring, promotion and compensation for women in the workplace, but it still has a long way to go, according to a new study from ISACA, the world’s largest organization for IT professionals in cyber-security and IT governance. In its survey of more than 500 women, ISACA discusses the issues of gender bias and unequal pay, and that women are still under representation in IT companies and corporate departments. The survey, which was released to coincide with International Women’s Day, also indicates that women suffer from a lack of work-life balance and have few mentors to help move up the ranks of IT management. And nearly all women are worried about their future in the industry. Ultimately, ISACA found that the IT industry has a lot of work to do in order to improve working conditions for women. This eWEEK slideshow will dig into the survey and discuss women’s struggle to improve their standing in the tech workforce.
2IT Industry Still Male-Dominated
It’s no secret that IT has long been a male-dominated industry, but women say that is holding them back. One-third of women said that their tech leaders are “largely males” and 22 percent said that the perception of IT as a male-dominated field has been a problem in their careers.
3Women Report Work/Life Balance Problems
Achieving a balance between their work and personal lives is a serious problem for women. According to ISACA, 14 of respondents percent believe that the industry’s lack of work/life balance cause women to be “underrepresented” in the industry.
4Colleges Fail to Encourage Women in High Tech
The problem with underrepresentation might actually begin in college. In fact, 14 percent of women told ISACA that colleges generally don’t “encourage girls to pursue tech careers.”
5Most Respondents Concerned About Lack of Women in IT
All of those issues have caused serious concern among women. According to ISACA, 90 percent of respondents said that they are “concerned” about the general lack of women working in the IT sector.
6Women Say Employers Lack of Commitment to Equality
Women genuinely wonder whether companies and organizations that would hire them actually care that they are underrepresented. Just 20 percent of women believe companies are “very committed” to hiring and advancing women. Another 20 percent say companies aren’t at all committed to that.
7Women Say Lack of Mentors Is Barrier to Advancement
Nearly half of women—48 percent—said that the main problem they’ve experienced in the IT profession is a “lack of mentors.” Not having an adequate number of people to guide them through the challenges of their careers makes advancement more difficult.
8Female Role Models Are Scarce Too
Separately, 42 percent of women reported that the IT sector lacks female role models that they can look to for inspiration in their field. That’s likely due in part to a relatively small number of women actually heading up IT efforts.
9Women Frequently Encounter Gender Bias in Workplace
Gender bias is unfortunately alive and well in the IT industry. Nearly four in ten women said that they’ve experienced gender bias in their offices at one time or another. Even worse, 27 percent of women said that they “often or always” need to deal with gender bias.
10Unequal Pay Is a Persistent Problem
In terms of compensation, 35 percent of women report that they’re getting paid less than men for the same skills. Additionally, 36 percent of respondents told ISACA that their career growth opportunities are not as strong as those for men.
11Women Find They Are Paid Less ‘Without Reason’
More than four in ten respondents said that men make more in the IT field “without reason” and just 23 percent said that men and women are paid based on merit. Ultimately, many women believe that they’re being paid less for the same work.
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