Contrary to popular belief the world of technology is taking a different turn. In the last few years, a number of females have moved up the ranks to hold senior positions and even establish their own technology companies.

Ask anyone what a computer scientist does and a middle-aged white man hacking into Facebook from his gadget-filled apartment will most likely be the stereotypical response. Without a doubt, the ‘hacker’ culture is often described as dominated by techie men whose only fascination is cracking the code to streams of information, and certainly not a place for females.

But contrary to popular belief the world of technology is taking a different turn. In the last few years, a number of females have moved up the ranks to hold senior positions and even establish their own technology companies. However, these numbers are not a true reflection of the potential women possess in contributing to the ICT sector.

Statistics such as those released by the Institute of Information Technology Professionals (IITPSA) reveal that women hold 56% of global ICT professional jobs. In South Africa however, where women make up more than half of the country’s entire workforce, only 20% of the ICT workforce are women.

The problem:

From their childhood days, little girls are encouraged to frolic with pink fairy toys and it is ‘a cause for concern’ if they play computer games. Consequently, many women have cited a lack of exposure to computer science as the main reason why they shy away from the field. Moreover, because they’ve had little to no contact with computer technology, even if they take up computer science studies, they often feel intimidated by their male counterparts, whom they assume have had more experience.

The media only aggravate this problem further. Take the Big Bang Theory - Leonard, Sheldon, Howard and Raj are all depicted as geeky scientists with genius level IQs, but with zero social skills. Penny, on the other hand, is the uneducated waitress and aspiring actress with an unparalleled knowledge of popular culture and great social skills to match, but not much in the brains department… See what we mean?

The solution:

Although we should offer much praise to Facebook’s Sheryl Sandberg for saving women from being tagged as only good for low-tech industries, South African women like Barbara Mallison and Annette Muller, are proving that females are indeed an asset to the ICT sector. Not only did these pioneers successfully spearhead their own companies, in 2014 they were also named among Forbes 10 Female Tech Founders to Watch in Africa.

Motivating a new generation of women to learn computer technology empowers female entrepreneurs to come up with unique solutions to new problems. Additionally, as more and more industries step into the digital age, technology will permeate into every part of our economy. Computer science is a growing field, one in which the best talent is highly sought after. And one in which women can’t be ignored.

One woman who shares these sentiments is freelance specialist tech journalist, Samantha Perry. “As a sector, we need to hire women to improve diversity in the workplace, as it’s been proven that higher diversity equals higher productivity and profit,” she explains.

Heavily involved in WomeninTechZA, a website which aims to help address the gender gap in ICT by profiling local women in the sector, Perry says, “Despite what people might think, the tech industry is actually a great place for women – it’s a sector that values the ability to learn and adapt over huge amounts of training, making it accessible for anyone who’s got their head screwed on straight. The sector is growing and we’re desperate for skills – we need more people. And we need more women.”

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