Women are being hired into technology roles in Australia at a rate faster than seven other developed economies worldwide, according to a new survey by recruiter Robert Half.
The Women in IT survey gathered data from 900 Chief Technology Officers and Chief Information Officers in Australia, France, Germany, UK, Switzerland, Hong Kong, Singapore and Japan.
The survey found 65 per cent of Australian firms have hired more women into technology roles in the past five years, compared with an average of 44 per cent across all eight nations surveyed. Japan and Germany recorded the slowest growth, with 31 per cent and 36 per cent respectively.
The figures clearly show that technology, traditionally a male-dominated field, is rapidly changing, and Bansrii Shah, division manager of technology, Robert Half, attributes this as a wider effect of digital transformation.
“The digital economy is transforming every sector, so if you couple your passion in sport, food, retail or any other area, and have the IT skills, you can now combine that with a career in technology,” she said.
“Technology is no longer a male dominated sector and new opportunities, particularly in the innovative, creative digital space, are increasingly seeing women enter this market.” Shah said.
In Australian businesses, there is an increasing proportion of women in project management positions, typically as project managers, project coordinators, project schedulers and business analysts.
“While there is still a disproportionate lack of female leaders in senior management roles across technology, this gap continues to close as women are building careers across the sector,” she said.
To continue this growth, however, Shah believes more needs to be done to foster interest in technology amongst women during their time at school and university.
“We need to see more mentoring programs that enable the next generation of women to be inspired and to have the right level of guidance to navigate the new opportunities across the technology sector,” she said.
