Welcoming women to IT: Profession tackles the numbers

If it wasn’t for her high school counselor, Jocelyn Ventura would have never pursued a career in information technology. If Fawn Medesha’s fifth grade teacher hadn’t pushed her to turn her love of math into a lifelong passion for computer sciences, she wouldn’t be the successful IT professional she is now. Many women in IT roles have similar stories. It took a mentor to open their eyes to the career possibilities in the IT industry, as well as to their potential. Ventura (above left), a computer information systems and supply chain management double major, grew up in a small Arizona town.

Most girls were encouraged to be teachers or nurses but computers interested her. Her school counselor encouraged her to apply for a technology scholarship; she got national runner up and decided this would be the career path for her. “It was that scholarship application that changed my whole life,” Ventura said. Now a junior computer information systems major, she’s fully engulfed in her profession - she’s a member of the National Center for Women & Information Technology, works as an IT developer for the school’s IT department and when she attended the Grace Hopper Celebration of Women in Computing, she landed an internship with J.P. Morgan this summer. "It takes having a strong network of support and of people saying, ‘hey, you can do it,’” she said.

Room to grow

Despite the encouragement that Ventura and Medesha received, IT professions are still attracting far fewer women than men. The information industry was at the bottom of the list of industries with the largest percentage of total employed women, coming in third from the bottom, above mining and construction. According to 2013 annual averages from the Bureau of Labor Statistics - Labor Force Statistics from the Current Population Survey, the information industry’s percentage of total employed women came in at a lowly 1.7 percent. The four industries with the largest percentage of total employed women were education and health services (36.2 percent), wholesale and retail trade (13.1 percent), professional and business services (10.5 percent) and leisure and hospitality (10.3 percent).

Angelina Saric, associate director of the Department of Information Systems, said during the 2013/2014 school year, the department noticed a significant drop in female students in the computer information systems program, but for the 2014/2015 academic year enrollment is currently at its highest percentage in more than seven years. “Though the number is still low, the female students in our program are very active and want to help us increase that percentage,” she said. Yzel Sanchez (above right), a computer information systems junior, wasn’t sure what she wanted to do when she got to ASU but once she learned about the opportunities in IT, the CIS program made perfect sense. “I’ve always had a thing for computers ever since I was young,” she said. Sanchez said that while there is a drastic difference between the number of men and women in her computer information science classes, the school has been encouraging to her and other women in the program.

Standing alone

Medesha (left), a 1981 ASU graduate and the administrator of business solutions and acting information security officer for the State of Arizona Department of Revenue, knows what it’s like to be the only woman in a room. She has held jobs in several male-dominated fields including IT, real estate development and construction. “I’ve been in all kinds of women-haven’t-been-here jobs,” she said. “I was used to that push back, that’s what gave me my tough skin.” Statistics show that Medesha continues to be part of a select group in her field. The United States Census Bureau reports that “growth in women’s share of science, technology, engineering and mathematics occupations — STEM jobs — has slowed since the 1990s.” In a report released by the U.S. Census Bureau, women held 26 percent of the STEM workforce in 2011, even though they make up almost half of the overall workforce.

Why does this gender gap appear greater in STEM professions than others? Medesha attributes it to several reasons, one of which is the demanding work schedule of those jobs, it’s difficult for women with families and children to balance that type of work and life, she said. “IT is a 24/7 job,” she said. “Technology is a utility now, people depend on it.” Another reason women may shy away from IT jobs are misconceptions about the IT industry, said Diane Smigel, president of Palladium IT Advisors, an IT recruiting company. One misconception, she said, is that all IT jobs are being outsourced. Smigel said as a result of that misunderstanding, young women and men are less interested in technical jobs in general.

The other incorrect assumption is that all IT jobs involve writing code. “There’s a lack of awareness around what the opportunities are in IT and a false impression that IT roles equals coding and that’s just not true,” she said. Smigel said there are more opportunities for women in IT than any other profession. Another hurdle potentially keeping women from getting into IT is their own comfortable level in a male-dominated field, said Deborah DeCorrevont, the president of the Arizona chapter of the Society of Information Management and Business Relationship Manager for Information Technology at Salt River Project. “I think that’s a big thing. I think women just feel uncomfortable going into those careers even though they might like that type of work -- it’s just intimidating” she said. The results of fewer women going into IT and STEM professions could be dire, DeCorrevont said.  Issues specific to women may not get full attention and as a result, negatively impact organizations. “Men and women are totally different,” she said. “They each bring something valuable to society. Having both perspectives is always important so that socially we’re balanced.”

Improving?

While the statistics speak for themselves, professionals in the trenches say they see plenty of women in the IT profession. Smigel (left) said there are more women in IT leadership positions than is widely known. “I believe there are more female IT leaders than popular wisdom might expect, they’re just not spending time being visible, they’re more focused on doing their jobs,” she said. To reverse the downward trend and get more women in IT and STEM roles, the professionals agree that an effort has to be made among young people to educate them on the opportunities.

SIM has initiatives in grade schools to introduce kids to the IT world. SIM also works with the W. P. Carey School of Business and offers scholarships to students. Medesha, a SIM member and the first woman president of the Arizona chapter, said SIM goes to elementary schools and explains to students what life as an IT professional might be like. “That’s why I’m so involved in STEM initiatives -- because I believe I can make a difference,” she said. The information systems department is taking several steps to encourage women to consider their programs, Saric said. Department faculty, staff and students introduce IT programs at Young Women in Business and STEM events each year. They are also looking at ways to partner with local elementary, junior high and high schools to showcase IT programs and dispel the myths surrounding the major for both boys and girls. The department also hosts information sessions for all first year business students. ”Students share their stories about how they became IS majors and why they would encourage others to consider adding or changing their major,” Saric said.

Ventura still talks to her high school counselor and visits the school to talk to students about an IT education. Her younger brother even started a STEM club at school and plans to follow in his sister’s footsteps. “Girls need to be encouraged a lot more, there has to be a change in society,” she said. “We need to show girls that girls are really good at computing.”