Statistics

Less than 15 per cent of all ICT employees are women. And this figure is falling. Below, you'll find the facts.

Representation of women in ICT
According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics, most of the people working in ICT are men.

The most recent statistics (October 2006) reveal that of the 348,200 ICT workers in 2005-06, 85% (295,000) were men. The number of male ICT workers increased by 6% between 2004-05 and 2005-06.

In contrast, the number of female ICT workers fell by 8% between 2004-05 and 2005-06 to 53,300. This is despite the ICT industry growing as a whole.

In 2005-06 male ICT workers represented 5% of all employed men, while female ICT workers represented 1% of all employed women.

Source: 6105.0 - Australian Labour Market Statistics, Oct 2006

Females studying ICT
Research reveals that in 1996 the percentage of women enrolled in ICT courses was 36 per cent, falling to 30 per cent in 2001 and declining even further to 22.6 per cent in 2003 - that's 13.4 per cent in seven years.

A survey of Year 12 students, Attitudes to ICT careers and study among 17-19 year old Victorians conducted by Multimedia Victoria in 2004, revealed that only 3 per cent of the girls surveyed showed a strong interest in pursuing ICT as a career.

Women's earnings
The ABS says that women employees across Australia's economy earn just 85 cent for every dollar their male counterparts earn (an average of $1,101 per week for men compared with $932.90 for women).

Source: ABS Yearbook 2007

And professional women in the science, engineering and technology sector do not receive equal pay for equal work.

A March 2007 survey by the Association of Professional Engineers, Scientists and Managers Australia (APESMA) found more than 25 per cent of professional women reported a pay disparity with their male counterparts.

For women with business qualifications and those in senior management positions, the figure was much higher at over 40 percent.

The Computerworld salary survey 2006, which covered 400 IT professionals in Australia, confirms the findings, stating that the average salary for a male IT professional is $98,684 compared to $81,906 for a female.

And the problem is not just in Australia. IntellectUK (the peak ICT industry association in the UK) published Perceptions of Equal Pay in 2006, revealing that 49 per cent of women working in the ICT industry in the UK believe their pay package is not comparable to that of their male counterparts.

Why are women leaving ICT?
AIIA's special interest group, Females in Information Technology & Telecommunications (FITT) conducted research in 2006 which revealed that women professionals are leaving the ICT industry because the male-dominated environment and a lack of work-life balance make the industry unattractive to women.



This is reinforced by research conducted by IntellectUK in which women surveyed said the male-dominated culture went hand-in-hand with a 'glass ceiling', and they felt they had to work harder than male colleagues to achieve success. The 'old boys club' approach in some parts of the industry - with its informal male networking - also contributed to the perceived or real exclusion of women from many job opportunities in ICT.

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