| It’s a pleasure to be here tonight
at this important event celebrating the contribution of women to the
technology industry. This evening provides a tremendous opportunity to
identify and applaud women who are forging new ground – we need more
occasions where the contribution that women make is recognised.
At the Department for Trade & Industry we know
that the talents of too many women are undervalued. For instance, three
quarters of the 290,000 UK women of working age with degrees in science,
engineering and technology fail to take up careers in these fields.
A poll by the Institute of Physics showed that
seven out of 10 physicists who took a career break did so to have
children, the vast majority of them women. But while 34% left jobs in
industry to start families, only 14% returned to the same posts - and 55%
of those who did go back to the same employer went part time.
Last summer, in partnership with Intellect - the
trade association for the UK IT industry - DTI published the latest in a
series of Women in IT research reports, “How to retain women in the IT
industry”. I understand that copies are available here.
The report outlines why women in their mid 40s are
leaving the sector and provides suggestions on what can be done to prevent
this lose - at arguably one of the most productive points in their career.
The main reasons given as to why women were leaving the IT sector were
poor work-life balance and an industry culture, or company practice, which
does not value the skills which female workers may have a particular
strength in - coaching, and team working.
The economic needs of the country, coupled with
the desire to help everyone develop their own potential, mean we have to
reverse this situation. We have to make sure that these professional women
are able to contribute fully at all stages in their careers. Through the
Intellect Women in IT Forum, Government will continue to work with
industry to push forward the recommendations within the report.
An extremely useful project I want to mention is
the UK Resource Centre for Women in Science, Engineering and Technology (UKRC)
based at Bradford University. I was able to visit in early September and
see for myself the work they do in tackling the under-representation of
women in these areas. It works with business to help address skill
shortages, and provides practical help and support to girls and women. The
UKRC is doing excellent work and I invite you to explore their website if
you have not already done so.
As well as providing nearly £7 million for the
UKRC, Government has been aiding schemes such as Computer Clubs for Girls
(CC4G) – an initiative created by e-skills UK and funded by the DfES. This
scheme aims to raise the standard of girls' ICT skills while transforming
girls’ attitudes toward a career in IT. Popular interests such as music,
fashion, dance and celebrity have been combined with elements of ICT
curricula, to deliver an engaging and fun approach for girls aged 10 to
14. Girls’ experience of technology outside school can be stimulating –
like email, the internet and mobile phones. However, they often do not
make the link between these technologies and the varied and rewarding
careers in IT.
Technology is a fact of life – we depend on the
many and varied forms that it can take, and this dependence grows year on
year. That is certain. What is not certain is this country continuing to
have companies leading in a number of technology’s different strands. To
keep, indeed expand our leading edge we need to use to the full all the
talents we have. Ultimately, whether companies decide to diversify their
workforce out of a desire to reflect the population - or because they have
to in order to attract the skills they need – matters little.
Award ceremonies such as tonight raise awareness
of the talents that women have in technology. Women are an underused, but
skilled workforce. My congratulations to Research in Motion, or
Blackberry, and the women’s networking group Aurora, for hosting the
event. Also to the sponsoring companies. I hope it will become an annual
celebration of women in technology.
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