Better childcare provision could increase the number of women in IT careers

09:45 25th March 2009

Better provision for childcare is one of several features of the workplace that could be implemented to increase the number of women seeking IT careers.

Jerri Barrett, director of marketing at the Anita Borg Institute for Women and Technology, said more companies could introduce flexible working hours to better accommodate women seeking to raise a family while developing their IT career.

She added that more opportunities to pursue "professional development" in the workplace could also encourage women into the IT sector.

Ms Barrett said: "Programmes that take into consideration parental leave, emergency childcare and on-site and off-site day care are extremely important to women, especially at the mid-level."

The director added that introducing mentoring programmes was one way to encourage women to build successful careers in the technology industries.

Recent research from the British Computer Society, the Sector Skills Council for Business and Information Technology, e-skills UK and Intellect found that women account for less than 20 per cent of the IT workforce in Britain.