More than a third of global IT companies do not have a woman in an IT management role, and 92% of CIOs are male.These results come out of a study by Harvey Nash, in association with TelecityGroup. The 14th annual CIO Technology Survey 2012 probed the views of 2 400 CIOs and technology leaders in 20 countries.
Harvey Nash’s survey reveals there is growing concern over the question of gender diversity, in particular the availability of female talent in the technology sector, a section the research included for the first time.
According to the results, the male-to-female ratio in IT leadership remains highly unrepresentative of the population at large, as 93% of the CIOs who responded to the survey this year are male, compared with 92% in 2010.
Harvey Nash Group CEO Albert Ellis says the lack of gender diversity is a challenge “for technology companies and IT departments around the world”.
Over a third of CIOs – at 35% ‑ said there were no women in IT management roles in their organisation. In addition, 46% of respondents said less than a quarter of their IT management roles are populated by women.
“Traditionally, all forms of engineering have suffered from an image problem. In the past, female graduates have not aspired to be ‘tech geeks’ and a career in IT has not been seen as attractive,” says Ellis.
Missing out
Harvey Nash director Rob Grimsey says its expectation is that, in the short term, the proportion of female CIOs will remain relatively static. He says, globally, this is about 7% of total IT leadership, which does not represent the population.
“The data suggests IT currently lacks the pipeline of talent, not to mention the female role models, to create the next generation of female technology leaders,” says Grimsey.
Grimsey notes that what is “especially interesting” is that its research shows that nine out of 10 technology leaders believe they are missing vital skills as a result of low representation of women in their teams.
“As IT departments and the technology industry, in general, look to compete in an increasingly global, diverse and user-driven market, the need for diversity, creativity and relationship building has never been more important.”
Ellis adds that technology companies and groups without female representation will miss out in the future, which makes the skills shortage even more acute. However, such high-profile marketplace developments like the up and coming Facebook listing will draw attention to the enormous potential offered by careers in technology, he adds.
Grimsey explains that women generally do not find technology attractive and a supply of talent is at the heart of the problem. He points out that 75% of women CIOs believe there is a lack of qualified women candidates available for technology roles, and 88% of men share this view.
