Women as a growing percentage of the IT workforce

Women as a growing percentage of the IT workforce

And other technology predictions for the public sector in 2016

What percentage of the total Information Technology workforce is comprised of women in Canada and in the USA?  It is a field that is dominated by men, so it might not surprise you that the figure is 22% in Canada, and 24% in USA.  In many other countries, women represent less than 1 in 5 in their IT workforce.

But why is this? You might not be surprised to learn that women face an educational barrier to entering the IT workforce, because educators and career counsellors don't necessarily encourage women to study IT-related educational programs. But you might be very surprised to learn that some job search websites are programmed with algorithms that ignore resumes from female candidates who have the right educational credentials and expertise. These types of unfortunate systemic barriers contribute to fewer women being a part of the IT workforce.

And yet there is hope. In many countries like Canada and Sweden, the percentage of women in the IT workforce in the public sector is much higher than in the private sector.  For example, 33% of the public sector IT workforce are women, compared to 21% in Sweden's private sector IT workforce.  Simply put, public sector organizations are leaders in bringing in more women into their IT workforce, and can role model this behaviour for their private sector counterparts.

Women as a growing percentage of the total IT workforce is but one of the many technology predictions that Duncan Stewart, Deloitte's Director of Technology, Media and Telecommunications Research, will be speaking about at an event on January 27^th in Toronto. Deloitte is one of Canada’s leading professional services firms, with a long history of providing audit, tax, consulting and financial advisory services to many of Canada's public sector institutions. As one of IPAC's partner organizations, Deloitte is dedicated to IPAC's mission in advancing and understanding the study and practice of public administration in Canada.

Date and time

January 27, 2016

7:30 am - 9:45 am

Location

Sheraton Parkway Toronto North Hotel & Suites

9005 Leslie Street

Richmond Hill, Ontario, L4B 1B2

Registration

Register today.  A light breakfast will be served.

Howard Yeung

Senior Manager, Deloitte Public Sector & Immediate Past Chair, IPAC National Capital Region