ISACA report highlights gender gap in IT sector efforts

A new report by ISACA has revealed a significant gender representation issue within the IT sector, with only 41% of businesses implementing programmes to recruit more women despite 87% acknowledging the problem.

The Tech Workplace and Culture report, which surveyed 7,726 IT professionals globally, highlights that a majority of businesses recognise the challenges of attracting and retaining talent, a sentiment shared by 74% of the surveyed companies.

Among the reasons cited for the underrepresentation of women in IT roles, 43% of female respondents and 21% of male participants attribute this to the predominance of male role models and leaders in the industry. Another significant factor identified is pay inequality, noted by 42% of women and 15% of men.

The survey also reveals a discrepancy in how men and women perceive their authority at work. Men tend to rate their authority higher in areas such as making purchasing decisions and contributing to company strategy, with respective gaps of 13 and 10 percentage points compared to women's self-assessments.

Julia Kanouse, Chief Membership Officer at ISACA, commented, "More needs to be done to increase the representation of women in the IT and technology sector—and more needs to be done to welcome their leadership and influence. This will not only help to address the global skills gap and boost productivity in the sector—it will also create a more inclusive and diverse working environment."

Survey respondents suggested that educational institutions could play a pivotal role in enhancing gender inclusion. Proposed measures include providing mentors or role models, highlighted by 52% of participants, establishing tech clubs and networking organisations for women supported by 42%, and hiring more female tech professors, as suggested by 31%.

Despite the challenges, a positive outlook persists concerning career progression. Around 68% of women and 72% of men expressed being extremely or very satisfied with their career advancement. Additionally, 73% of women and 71% of men reported receiving salary increases and/or promotions within the last two years.

Sarah Orton, UK and Europe lead for ISACA's SheLeadsTech initiative, expressed a positive perspective, stating, "Encouragingly, women have near-equal career progression satisfaction to their male counterparts and are slightly more likely to have received a raise or a promotion in the last two years. Having a workforce of people with different backgrounds, experiences, and perspectives to bring to the table is not only the right thing to do—it's also a business imperative that makes an organisation more innovative and its work that much more efficient and effective. Progress has been made—but the sector has more work to do, and ISACA is supporting this important work."