Although women and minorities account for 68 percent of the U.S. population, they are sorely underrepresented among the ranks of I.T. professionals. That situation must be remedied by enterprises seeking I.T. professionals, she stresses -- if not for reasons of equity, then simply to maintain competitiveness.

Begin at the Beginning

Companies need to take new approaches to recruiting and retention if they wish to attract and keep highly qualified women in their I.T. groups, said Shafer. One such technique is beginning before women even graduate from their computer science or information technology programs in college. Unfortunately, even fewer women are pursing I.T.-related degrees than did as recently as ten years ago, she noted.

Mentoring programs that extend into colleges can help keep women on track toward earning computer science and I.T. credentials, she said. In addition, companies must focus on women just beginning their careers if they wish to groom a workforce able to take over as baby-boomer I.T. staffers retire. It makes sense, then, to shift the company's work policies to address young women's concerns.

Change Is the Norm

One aspect of I.T. careers that women find challenging is the constant need to upgrade and update their skills, according to Deb Armstrong, professor at the University of Arkansas. She her and her colleagues have found in a study that women pin the trouble on a lack of flexibility in scheduling, and not just when it comes to work hours.

"Training and self-development require time and energy investments," Armstrong pointed out. That time often is blocked out during evening and off-work hours for men, she noted. For women, who still bear the brunt of household responsibilities, spending those hours in front of a computer screen or out of town at a seminar simply may not be possible.

Companies may be able to change this dynamic, said Armstrong, by taking the lopsided nature of home responsibilities into account and designing options more appropriate for female employees. Offering a more flexible workday to begin with, for instance, might allow women to shoehorn more training into their already tight schedules.

I.T. Isolation

In addition to facing the time needed to keep up with training, said Shafer, women often find their careers sidetracked when they return to the workforce after a short absence, such as a maternity leave. The situation is exacerbated by the isolation that women perceive to be part and parcel of working in I.T. Thus, companies must provide opportunities for social networking and job rotation among female I.T. professionals. (continued...)

1  |  2  |  Next Page >