Why are there so few women working in IT?

When I tell someone about my profession, I often hear in response, “A woman in the role of an IT specialist? That’s so unheard of!” I have never heard anyone express such surprise when told about the profession of a teacher, doctor or accountant. Research from 2020 showed that in the Polish IT sector, women make up less than 10%[1]. Why is this profession so dominated by men? Do testosterone levels affect analytical and mathematical skills? Or maybe more muscle mass is required to connect a few cables? What really affects the situation of women in the world of technology?

The problem starts early

The low percentage of women working in IT does not come from nowhere. In universities, in technical fields, you can notice a clear predominance of men. When I started my IT studies, I was one of 11 women out of 125 people in my first year. The situation is similar at earlier stages of education. Specialized classes in secondary schools also show such trends. More girls study in humanities classes than mathematics or IT classes. The choice of high school or technical school depends on the interests that children develop in primary schools. Therefore, the career path depends on the fields in which children feel good long before they enter the job market.

Men are scientific minds, women are artists and aesthetes

According to a study conducted in 2017 [2], the profession of a programmer is perceived as "typically male" by 59% respondents. I think that this percentage would be much higher if the question concerned the term "rather male". Men are perceived as people in whom the left hemisphere of the brain, responsible for logical thinking, dominates. According to these beliefs, women are characterized by the dominant right hemisphere, responsible for creativity. In reality, the brain and its hemispheres are not as binary as stereotypes present. Although the brains of women and men actually differ in their structure and functioning [3], gender does not affect the dominance of either hemisphere at all. Additionally, it turns out that the brain needs good communication between both hemispheres to efficiently solve complex problems. Researchers have repeatedly tried to determine the predispositions of women and men to mathematics, and the results have given a contradictory picture. Boys dominate among mathematically gifted children and students. However, in older groups, women achieved better results. This disparity disappears when the groups studied come from environments where social equality between the sexes is important. All this indicates a very strong social factor influencing the interest in mathematics among girls and boys.

Men study and work, women take care of the home

Although many people may deny it, our culture has a deeply rooted stereotype of a family in which the man works and earns money for the house, and the woman takes care of household chores and raising children. In the 21st century, adults are responsible for themselves and make their own decisions, but these are often dictated by what they learned at home. Consciously or subconsciously, we repeat certain patterns. Little boys are more often offered blocks to play with, and girls dolls. Boys are encouraged to help assemble furniture, and girls to cook together. It is from such small gestures that the belief that science and science subjects are the domain of men begins.

The number of women in IT is growing

The number of female students at technical universities is growing year by year[4]. More and more women are consciously choosing their career path. The IT industry is currently so absorbent that many women change industries during their careers. However, it is still a very long and difficult path. Women encounter a number of barriers that make it difficult for them to find a job or advance in this field. The barriers come from themselves, but also from their immediate environment, the job market and employers. Women who subconsciously feel inadequate in a typically male field have to put in a lot of extra work to convince themselves and others of their values.

What can help women in IT?

To help women in the IT industry, we need to focus on three aspects. First, employers need to know what added value comes from employing women in IT teams. Another issue is that if employers want to hire, they still need to have someone to hire. Therefore, the second step is to encourage women, from childhood, to learn science subjects and study computer science or related fields. In this way, we will be able to break the stereotype of a “male” profession and show that women can also find their place in it, and neither gender has any special predispositions here – what counts is hard work and interests. The third step, on the other hand, is for women to work on the barriers they set for themselves. Building self-esteem can help them feel confident in this field. Thanks to this, women will be more willing to take on challenges and apply for higher positions. And the more women succeed in the IT industry, the more young women will be inspired to take up such a career path.

[1] https://bulldogjob.pl/it-report/2020
[2] Report Women in "male" professions, Network of Entrepreneurial Women
[3]https://pulsmedycyny.pl/how-the-brain-development-of-women-and-men-influences-their-abilities-941487
[4] The Potential of Women for the Technology Industry, Research Report 2015 by the Perspektywy Education Foundation and Siemens