Attracting women into ICT careers is a business imperative rather than any form of affirmative action according to three of Australia's most senior female leaders in the technology sector.

Senator Helen Coonan, Minister for Communications, Information Technology and the Arts, Michelle Tredenick, Chief Information Officer of the National Australia Bank and Caroline Heinze, Nortel’s National Manager, Enterprise Channels and Marketing, spoke of the importance of having more women in ICT at an International Women’s Day luncheon, on 8 March.

The luncheon was hosted by Females in Information Technology and Telecommunications (FITT), a special interest group of the Australian Information Industry Association (AIIA).

Senator Coonan said, “In recent times, commentators have argued that women also bring a unique approach to their work, and that this is why their contribution is so important. However, I do not necessarily agree with this. Women are needed in the ICT sector in greater numbers so that the industry reflects the diversity of our society and has a wider skill set to draw upon.”

Michelle Tredenick agreed saying that as the CIO of a large organisation in the middle of a major transformation agenda, her motivation for encouraging women to enter ICT was to ensure a diversity of skills and approaches in the workforce. “I think it is absolutely critical we give all young women good, practical reasons to get into the industry and realistic expectations right from the start. It also needs to be a career where you can come and go – a key challenge for us, as this is increasingly what school leavers and also women want from their careers.”

Nortel’s Caroline Heinze spoke of the need to counter the antisocial geeky programmer image. “Clearly, one of the key areas we still have work to do is in lifting the profile of the ICT industry amongst the next generation entering the workforce and countering the narrow stereotypes. This is an area where we’ve been investing effort at a local level in Nortel.”

Figures from the Australian Bureau of Statistics show that women comprise only 20% of ICT employees, and make up only 25% of university students who choose to study ICT – with the trends indicating that this figure is falling.

Governments and industry need to work together to help young people, and particularly young women, to understand the opportunities that gaining technology skills can bring, Senator Coonan said. 

“We need to help women understand that a career in information and communications technology is a career full of challenges and rewards and can be pursued within practically any sector they care to choose,” she said. “The industry needs to focus in on its strengths as a flexible and dynamic work environment, change the outdated perceptions of a technology career and foster the careers of talented individuals when they enter the profession.”