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13/10/03
Intellect Encourages Women To Do IT Too
Intellect welcomes the launch of a new video designed to support efforts to address the under-representation of women in the UK technology and telecoms industries. According to the latest figures fewer than a quarter of IT graduates are women, and only one in five technology jobs is filled by a woman.
This short film, 'You can do IT too!' developed by the DTI and supported by a number of organisations, profiles five case studies of business women with successful careers in the vibrant IT sector. Each case study explores how these highly individual women have utilized different aspects of IT to develop flourishing careers.
Through these case studies, this film makes a positive statement about how the IT industry can provide a rewarding and lucrative career for modern women who may not have previously considered working there. Along the way, it aims to dispense with the misconceptions about IT: that it is a job only for men, that it is just for the technologically minded, and that it requires detailed computer knowledge to enter.
The Secretary of State for Trade and Industry and Minister for Women, Patricia Hewitt welcomed the release: "There are still too few women at the top of UK IT businesses; indeed they are leaving the IT sector faster than they can be recruited. This film's ultimate aim is to act as a catalyst to influence and encourage girls and women to think about IT as a career option, as well as targeting employers to acknowledge the importance of creating a business environment that allows them to retain their top talent.
"Employers are now realising that role models encourage and influence the attraction and development of individuals working in the IT profession or considering a career in IT. The women in this film show that IT can offer a rewarding and exciting career. I hope that the campaign makes more women realise that IT isn't just a nerdy career choice, and that they can do IT too."
Intellect is continuing to promote this issue through the Women in IT Forum. This Forum seeks to promote dialogue in the workplace, through the engagement of both employers and their employees.
All of the stakeholders of the Forum fully share the objective of "promoting and realising the benefits of diversity in the workplace", with a clear commitment to delivering this through partnership alliances.
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