Terry Annecke, marketing director of Microsoft SA and a finalist of this year`s Business Woman of the Year award, speaks to Bronwen Kausch ahead of Women`s Day about women`s role in the IT industry today.
Annecke has been involved in the technology industry since 1980, working internationally for both IBM and Microsoft.
"The legacy of women staying away from things technical, both in career choice and in everyday use, still prevails in SA," says Annecke.
"Women and young girls in school need to be made aware of the fact that IT encompasses far more than technical jobs. There is room in this exciting industry for business-minded people as well as techies."
She spent a number of years as a systems engineer at IBM before moving across to multinational Microsoft, where Annecke says she encountered disbelief and ignorance about her job.
"There is much more acceptance of women in IT these days, quite a radical change from 10 years ago. But there really is still room for improvement. Listed IT companies are currently predominantly white at director level and at least 70% of directors are male."
Legalities
Annecke believes that legislation should be there to protect women from discrimination, but she cautions that the law should not go overboard.
"Legislation must be there to protect women against things like sexual harassment and discrimination, but I hope we never become like the US, which has no sense of reality anymore. I hope we are a more balanced society.
"There is room for protection and room for acknowledgement; neither should go overboard."
According to Annecke, SA needs to begin educating young women at school level about work opportunities in the IT field.
"We are still dealing with the problem that not nearly enough career guidance is given to our youngsters. Making young women aware of what possibilities exist at a young age so they can prepare for a career is still restricted to the advantaged schools."
Enlightened
Annecke says her years of working with a multinational like Microsoft have enabled her to facilitate a much more enlightened attitude towards working women.
"Of the 17 people working on our team, three are men. We have a policy of allowing our working mums to work remotely outside usual hours so they can attend to kids and still offer a full days work without the stress of worrying about beating traffic and making it to work by eight.
"We have set up ISDN lines for them and they can drop kids off and then work at home until nine and then get to work without traffic problems. This also means they can leave and fetch their kids and access our network once all the homework and supper has been taken care of."
Annecke doesn`t think her association with Microsoft will influence the judges` decision when the 2000 Business Woman of the Year is selected on 23 August.
"The judges are looking for a woman who has achieved historically in business, but who has not put her career above everything else. I think they are looking for a business achiever who takes an interest in disadvantaged communities as well."
Looking forward, Annecke says she would like to see women empowering themselves in the field of technology to make their lives easier.
"We need to look at what technology can offer, not be afraid of it, and if we don`t understand it then we need to ask someone who does. Using technology to structure diaries and plan for ourselves and our families is what is going to make our lives more productive and less stressful.
"Technology is no longer the field of computer geeks. Women must take every possible interest in using computers and the Internet in particular and use it as another tool to free us up to contribute meaningfully to every aspect of our lives," she concludes.
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