Women’s participation in ICT professions is five-fold lower than men

As Safir published a report about women in ICT related professions.  The report refers to findings of the International IT Federation according to which women’s interest in these professions is five-fold lower compared to men and despite the equal level of ICT usage amongst women and men.  The International IT Federation is an organisation working to lobby governments, the private sector and CSOs to recognize the important role that women can play in developing IT services and thus, the need to become aware of the importance of providing women with the necessary success tools and of carrying an overhaul of educational systems and infrastructure.
The report noted that although there are women who occupy important positions in large IT companies, yet, figures show another reality as men occupy most high level and high paying IT positions in both developing and developed countries.  According to various studies, women constitute 30% IT technicians and only 15% of directors and 11% of technicians involved in training and strategizing.  The report noted that mainstreaming women in the ICT sector is not only important for achieving social justice but is also a way to contribute to general economic growth as gender equality in higher position will positively affect financial performance of companies.
The head of sales at Erikson in the Middle East, engineer Najla Naim, noted during a seminar organized recently by her company at the AUST on the occasion of the international women in ICT day that the limited participation of women in IT education is due to the fact that the educational system is boring and not interesting.  
Source: Al-Safir 9 May 2014