Women in Technology 2007 Report

Women in Technology International (WITI) and Compel Organizational Excellence Alliance, Ltd. interviewed nearly 2,000 women managers and CIOs about their experiences in the technology and IT workplace, and released their findings in the Women in Technology 2007 Report.

From the report:

The good news is how apparent it is that women in technology enjoy their work. An eye-popping 75 percent of respondents said they would encourage young women beginning their careers to pursue a technology-related field, a sentiment loudly echoed by the CIOs. There's a consistent view that IT is a good place to learn, be creative and make a difference.

Yet, all is definitely not rosy. Mixed feelings abound regarding whether a level playing field exists for men and women, as well as the extent to which women feel "in control" of their careers. There is also an omnipresewnt frustration that women's views and perspectives are not truly heard and appreciated."

They identify four factors that could make a different in women's satisfaction and retention in technology careers:

• Give women more opportunities to have their "voices heard" and listen to what they are saying.
• Establish meaningful mentoring programs.
• Create organizational programs that support woman managers at the point that is often the pivotal moment of their careers: "mid-career, when they've started a family and have young children, but they are offered a big, important all-consuming assignment."
• Pay attention to women CIOs when they describe "technology trends that point to increasing opportunities for women's leadership in organizations - including a tectonic shift away from technology as bits and bytes and toward a human focus of helping people do what they do but better."

Download the full report (pdf) and send your comments to wholeworldatwork (at) corp (dot) witi (dot) com. WITI is holding 90-minute "Webinars" on the report and IT as a career, with the next one held on Tuesday, May 29th at 11AM PST ($49 for WITI members, $59 for non-members).

Tags: women in technology, computer science