Reasons why more women should be working in IT

IT industry is heavily male-dominated. Throughout our childhood and school years women are constantly reminded of their role in the society. You are supposed to be a mother, a housekeeper, a good wife. In many cultures women don’t even need to go to work at all – their husband should provide for them and the kids. Being raised up with this idea in mind makes it no wonder that there are only few female IT specialists.

Luckily, things are changing. More and more high schools and universities are looking for female applicants and encouraging female participation. For example IT College in Tallinn, Estonia has quite impressive number of female students. It is not yet 50% but it is getting there. If we speak of statistics, more women generally tend to apply for universities and get a degree. Likewise, female students tend to study harder and get better grades. However, it is still a struggle to get a job – employers seem to prefer male applicants.

Any education should give a good base for further learning. IT industry is a great example of how quickly things can change. Studying just one programming language or working with just one operating system will not do anymore. Employers are looking for flexibility – the more, the better. Consequently, there cannot be any expectations that new hires are already great at something. Everything comes with experience and that’s why many companies offer internships and on-job trainings. These companies are working closely with universities so students have a chance to get a taste of real job while still carrying on their studies.

So what role should women have in this quickly evolving process?

Let’s look at some facts:

-Women are better at math and science

- Studies have showed that women are better computer programmers because they create more complex systems and games.

-women are better at handling stress

-women are better bosses and managers because they take personalized approach.

Taking these advantages into account it is clear that women have potential of becoming great IT professionals. So what is stopping them? Is it lack of knowledge? Not enough courage? Not enough support?

This industry has a great potential – it is rapidly growing and expanding. There is a great need in skilled, qualified professionals and it is relatively easy to create a start-up. Many programming language communities organize events specifically designed for to attract girls to join this massive boom. One of such examples is the event called Rails Girls, organized by a group of Ruby admirers. Girls can easily join even with no programming experience at all. Safe to say, many of them continue to develop after this two day workshop.

The beauty of becoming a programmer is that you don’t really need to go to college for that – a vast number of online resources are available for home learners. For instance, Code academy is a great place to start. For many languages there are whole Youtube series starting from scratch. So it really is all up to you – whoever you are – boy or girl. The world is waiting for new star developers to rise and it is all in your own hands nowadays.