I was attending ITWeb`s Security Summit on the 8 March when it struck me that most of the delegates were men. I was not aware that it was international women`s day and I was certainly not looking for a feminist issue to complain about.
The realisation simply came about as a result of an unconscious searching for someone to connect with, something I do when I`m in large crowds.
T-Systems CEO Mardia Van Der Walt Korsten has said that opportunities abound for women in the ICT sector today.
"South African women in the ICT sector could not have chosen a better time and place to be in the industry," she said during the company`s women`s day celebration last year.
Van Der Walt Korsten pointed out research statistics that indicated that 26% of senior management positions in the ICT sector were occupied by South Africa were women, beating the global average by 7%.
A colleague also argues that there is nothing-stopping SA women from entering the ICT sector and doing well at it. There is no glass ceiling in the ICT sector and women have an equal opportunity to men to become company CEOs, directors, software developers or CIOs, she says.
Sooner or later, we will run out of excuses for not holding equal ground to men in the ICT sector.
Damaria Senne, senior writer, ITWeb
There are also a number of initiatives by government and large ICT companies to empower and advance women in ICT. Women who have reached the top - like Van Der Walt Korsten, HP SA CEO Thoko Mokgosi- Mwantembe, Sentech CEO Dr Sebiletso Mokone-Matabane, Miriam Zwane, CEO of Praxis - are also showing that the ICT doors are open for women.
So why there were few women at Wireless Business Solution`s iBurst Global Forum, which also took place last week?
And why none of the women in the IT industry qualified as finalists for the 2005 Businesswoman of the Year Award?
According to Tina Thomson, CEO of the Businesswomen`s Association (BWA), one of the criteria for the award is that a candidate works a minimum of three years in a sector to qualify. They couldn`t find one or two ICT achievers who had been in the sector for at least three years and deserved to be a finalist?
Thomson also said research was being conducted in collaboration with the Tshwane University of Technology to determine why women in top IT positions tend to leave the industry too soon. I`d be curious to see the results of that study.
I think women in the ICT sector should make an effort to take up positions where they have increased decision-making powers or where they are at the cutting edge of technological developments. Opportunities abound and support structures are in place - for example - to mention but one - the Women in IT bursary and mentorship programme.
Sooner or later, we will run out of excuses for not holding equal ground to men in the ICT sector. Before women decide that boiling in oil is too good for me, please note that I never said it would be easy; just that it has to be done.
For now, I`ll take comfort in my colleague`s premise that the reason the majority of delegates at the two events were male is because women in equivalent positions were at the office, getting some real work done.
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