Situation of female workers in the ICT sector – research

• August 29, 2024
• admin

Thanks to the project to create and operate a digital skills portal funded by the CEF programme, Femintech research produced by IVSZ – Digital Business Association is now also available in English.

According to the conclusions of the IVSZ Femintech survey, the employment of women in the ICT industry is moving in a positive direction, but further development and increasing the proportion of women require a change in attitudes, openness and an increase in the number of women participating in IT trainings.

Professionals with the necessary digital skills are a prerequisite for the success of the digital society, economy and companies. Labour shortages, which can be felt in Hungary, but also in Europe and even worldwide, pose enormous challenges to everyone, as there is a huge battle for workers. Therefore, IVSZ will do its best to increase the number of participants in IT education, to promote the training of digital professionals on all possible fronts, and to draw attention to groups of employees who can be of great value for ICT, but also for any other sector.

More open companies, few candidates

IVSZ considers it extremely important to actively address the role of women in ICT and other sectors, and to clarify the obstacles they face in their careers, the attitudes of companies towards women, and how female workers themselves see their own position in the labour market. This is why we decided to ask the opinion of Hungarian ICT companies and female employees in the form of a questionnaire (285 female ICT employees and 52 ICT company managers) and an in-depth interview for the first time in a wide-ranging survey.

The companies answering the questions employ women at a rate below 20%, which corresponds to the general domestic conditions. They typically work in back office, finance, HR, marketing and sales, where they become leaders, but the proportion of women increases from ICT to business. The low proportion of female workers is far from a reluctance on the part of companies to employ women: There are not enough candidates on the labour market, even if they want to be recruited, which is mainly due to the low number of women trained in higher education.

On average, the proportion of women in IT training courses (both enrolled and graduated) is still below 20%, with an increasing trend in both cases over the last 10 years. In 2020, the proportion of women with a degree in IT training (17.6%) is already close to the EU average in terms of the proportion of women ICT specialists. It is not only in higher education that the proportion of women among students is increasing: According to the latest bootcamp audit report of IVSZ: the proportion of women in bootcamps was 25.6% in 2020, which is significantly higher than in previous years and the official figure of 12% among ICT professionals.

Stereotypes, but not only within the industry

The survey also looked at the attitudes of female workers towards what barriers they perceive in their careers. 35% of respondents identified stereotypes as a hindrance, but they do not appear primarily within the industry, but in their social environment (customer side, education, family and friends). The responses include a significant share of family preference, coupled with the assumption that ICT companies are not flexible enough in relation to part-time work. At the same time, the survey also found that companies are becoming more open in this area if this need arises.

An important aim of the research was to examine how open the sector is to female employees according to female employees and ICT companies. The responses showed that the two parties have different interpretations of the notion of openness: companies often equate this with the possibility of employment, while according to employees, openness is about much more than that (corporate culture, psychological security), and it is not enough if the head of the organization is open, the whole organization should be, since the female employee primarily has experience and appreciation of the company as a whole.

The survey showed that although a positive process has started in recent years, female employment is still an important and relevant issue, both within and outside the ICT sector. The issue is complex and requires a multi-faceted change of approach. On the one hand, it is crucial for companies to understand the importance of diversity, the needs of the different target groups they employ, and to adapt their employment practices accordingly, to make psychological security part of the organisational culture, and to support the employment of women in a predominantly male-dominated team. On the other hand, a change of attitude is also needed on the part of women, so that they trust themselves and their professional skills, do not believe in stereotypes, dare to embark on ICT careers with courage.

Download the publication summarizing the research in English!