Where are the women in IT?

positions because they know they have to let something go because they aren’t prepared to commit that extra time away from families.

Hyamson: I think that comes down to flexibility with employers and the need to work with those who have very young children. So I think employers need to make that flexibility; just because we have young children doesn’t mean we can’t do the job at hand. Also that does come back to what kind of back end support you get from your partner. I know having a three and five year old, based at home I couldn’t do this with out him [my partner].

Southon: Men also don’t have that guilt factor, that guilt factor isn’t built in.

Curtain: Even things like maternity leave costs a lot of money for a company – to have someone go off on maternity and pay for someone to step into that role. Paying for maternity leave like a government department, is very rare in any private industry and that means women are forced to decide whether they really want to go for the promotion or aim for a role.

McQuarrie: People wonder why they assess their situation after 12 months of maternity leave because they don’t have access to the situation [such as] you can’t get your children into daycare centres.

Curtain: I know people in certain positions and they have taken 12 months maternity leave – they have a position in the company but it’s not the same position. It’s still named the same position because legally it has to [be but it is] essentially a different [role] from the one they left.

Mackenzie: So what do I sacrifice? Which one has to go, children and family and loving husband or fantastic career?

Curtain: The bottom line is men can have both.

Southon: That shouldn’t stop the influx of women coming into the industry though.

Is there something that women can do to rectify this?

McQuarrie: Girls are getting the top marks in the HSC and they aren’t going for traditionally male-focused IT jobs. We need to empower women and girls when they are young and that will have a lot do with what careers they think are available to them.

Curtain: I agree and think it really happens at the entry point.

Mackenzie: I think the mistake we are all making is quite simple: the way we position job advertisements on Seek and My Career. Perhaps we are all guilty of making the position look a little more male orientated, instead of saying, “Hello girls, look at the position that is available to you – or at least put your hand up for it”. Maybe it’s the way we have in the past 15 years ... become blinkered?

Hyamson: I definitely agree and will restyle my ads. I want some balance in my office. In the office I work in I have one female receptionist, a couple of females on phone support and four male account managers. There definitely needs to be a balance when it comes to the sales department in my office.

Curtain: Maybe we need to get out to the universities and tell people what it’s really like in the IT industry. I had a complete career change, from academia to an IT consultant. When I was approached to move into IT I resisted – I am just happy to know how my PC works, I’m not interested in computers. Leave it to the boys and the techies and not my cup of tea at all. It took a lot of chasing for me to even welcome the intrusion – and when I did, I thought, how exciting. My peers had the same reaction that I had, until they found out what I do.

Angel: Is it because male employers are thinking “Ah women, hmm kids, hmm maternity leave?” I am putting it very simplistically.

Lowe: From my business perspective, when I’m either interviewing or promoting, I will promote or hire based on whether or not they are doing a good job. There are a number of degrees now – not counting IT as a standalone course – that have a component of IT in them. A lot of women are already using IT in business but not in traditional IT naming roles and I think they are very good at IT.

Hyamson: Definitely. When girls find out about the kind of jobs available in IT they realise the industry can be interesting. It is a very social industry, with these kinds of events going on all the time and there is a fun side to the industry.

Lowe: [Jokingly] They also don’t realise the number of boys they can meet.

Does the responsibility lie with women in lower positioning putting up their hands up for a higher position?

Hyamson: I don’t see that happening, girls tend to sit back.

Lowe: Women are cautious – they are too cautious.

Mackenzie: Women aren’t risk takers, but when we do take that risk – look out!

Lowe: The problem is that they sit back and wait to be recognised and they aren’t good at networking.

Hyamson: It comes down to being able to sell yourself as well. I left the