Poor Image of IT hampers bringing in young Women

The IT profession and careers advisers are failing to show large numbers of schoolgirls that IT jobs involve more than secretarial tasks, reveals a survey by the British Computer Society (BCS).

When asked which activities came to mind when thinking about a career in IT, 17% of the 273 girls questioned spontaneously said office work, 17% said secretarial and typing work, and 11% said word processing. These were the top three replies.

Graphic design was fourth, mentioned spontaneously by 10%. Then came teaching IT (9%), with computer maintenance just behind (7%). Only 3% mentioned programming and just 1% thought of software development.

Last year a survey of British adults by the BCS found that men claim to be more confident in using a computer than women. At the same time, the number of women entering IT has declined in recent times and the BCS would like to encourage more women to enter the profession.

To explore female attitudes to IT to increase understanding of the issues, and to feed relevant information into the PR programme, the survey sought to measure computer usage among girls aged 13-17, to discover what they use a computer for, and to explore the reasons why girls do not choose IT as a profession.

Findings include:
* Access to a computer is almost universal among girls aged 13-17 in Britain. 97% of girls in this age group use a computer. 83% use one at school or college and 74% use a computer at home.
* The top 3 uses of a computer are for homework (79%), internet access (63%), and email (61%). Also popular are Word Processing (46%), Computer games (40%), and Music download (39%).
* Parents are by far the biggest influence on choice of career among girls aged 13-17, with 49% choosing this option. Nothing else polled more than 8%.
* Nearly half the girls questioned (48%) would consider studying ICT/ Computing at University/College or a career in ICT/Computing. Girls were equally divided between the two categories with 27% saying they would consider studying ICT and 27% indicating they would consider a career in ICT. 6% selected both options.
* By far the top reason for being attracted to ICT is “I am interested in computers”,
mentioned by 59% of those who would consider studying ICT or a career in ICT. This is followed some way behind by good career opportunities (26%), and it is a growing industry (21%).
* Among girls aged 13-17 who would not consider studying ICT or a career in ICT, the top answer was that there are other careers they would prefer (52%). This is followed by lack of interest in computers (33%) and it is boring (24%).
* Nearly two-thirds of respondents indicated that they find (or used to find) ICT lessons
at Secondary school enjoyable.
* When asked to say what types of activity they think a career in ICT involves, a vast
range of responses was obtained: some rather limited, as indicated.

The research was outsourced to CAPIKIDS at TNS. A total of 273 interviews were conducted face-to-face in England, Wales, and Scotland during the period 5 April – 3 May 2005.

Associated Link: Attitudes of girls aged 13-17 to a Career in IT (pdf)

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