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I’m a woman working in the tech world – something I take for granted in many ways. I was lucky that I had a father interested in tech, who believed I could do anything. However, I wonder what it is like for young females looking to work in tech these days. I presume it’s better than when I was at school, before the internet even, when I was told to take shorthand and typing. It turned out that both of those proved handy for my career in journalism and digital media.
When I looked at the subject online I found a thread on the Women in Innovation Summit via a National Advisory Council on the Employment of Women, (via the Ministry of Women). All of which I didn’t know existed! It turns out that New Zealand needs to recruit and train more women in innovative, in-demand industries such as engineering, ICT, software development and computer science.
Science, technology, engineering and maths (STEM) subjects are critical to innovation. It seems that in both primary and secondary schools there is an even split of genders studying science except that, at secondary level, girls are more likely to choose biology and boys physics and calculus.
At tertiary level, women make up 64 percent of Bachelor of Science enrolments. However, they are over-represented in the health sciences and under-represented in engineering and technology. Women make up less than a quarter of those studying for a Bachelor of Science in Engineering and just over a third of those studying for a Bachelor of Science in Information Technology. They make up only 13 percent of engineers and seven percent of chartered professional engineers.
So why does it matter? One reason given by Xero chief executive Rod Drury was that ideally the gender balance of a company should reflect its customer base. Given that women make 80 percent of all household technology purchases, more women employed in the design and development process could help companies meet their customers’ needs.
Today there are more role models and women leaders to speak out with confidence about their success in tech, including Nanogirl (aka Dr Michelle Dickinson) youtube.com/watch?v=9jV-KW1jpJo and Lillian Grace, founder of Wiki NZ tedxauckland.com/speakers/lillian-grace/
See more related links and videos with this digital column.
