Careers in industry: mentorship, internship, recruitment, transparency Elizabeth Pollitzer, Portia Ltd Women for Smart Growth Digital Agenda Assembly, Brussels, 17 June 2011

Women and EU’s competitiveness “Over time, therefore, a nation’s competitiveness depends significantly on whether and how it educates and utilizes its female talent, that is, to give women the same rights, responsibilities and opportunities as men.” (World Economic Forum, Global Gender Gap Report 2010)

Diversification of ICT sector/careers

Underlying issues Globalization of S&T capacity (industry is increasingly attracted to readily available pools of trained engineers and markets outside the EU Scarcity of women in ICT and SET (impact on young girls’ (and boys’) attitudes to careers in these fields) Educational success of women in the EU (58% graduates, 45% PhDs) Women’s increased participation in labour markets (2.1% growth trend in the last decade) Diversification of ICT sector

What are the main problems Inflexible careers models and structures Stereotypes, gender bias in assessment process, gender pay gap, lack of role models Poor image of ICT industry/jobs; outsourcing; importing skills Biases in HR practices; focus on skills linked to specific job roles and not on human capital Lack of understanding of gender issues in organizational processes and practices

Barriers women experience

What should be done to solve these problems Involve key stakeholders and experts - e.g. EIRMA to understand and improve HR practice Build on recruitment and employment best practice, and focus on shared needs - e.g. the Code, Green Paper consultation, genSET Counter arguments for globalization of S&T function by demonstrating the value of the talent of EU’s women and benefits of developing human capital within the EU Create new, better, more flexible, stable, and sustainable career models and pathways, and more family-friendly working arrangements with sufficient support structures (childcare, mentoring, networks) Raise awareness of the diversity of career opportunities in emerging ‘digital’ industries (content, health, data…etc)

What effective measures are available Extensive research evidence to demonstrate the benefits of gender equality measures - for addressing issues of women’s participation and careers Code of Best Practices – benchmark and checklist for stakeholders Shadowing Day for Girls – influencing at the early age Proven recruitment/retention supporting initiatives – Networking, Mentoring, Internships Targets and quotas – lessons from Norway and Germany

Mentoring for individuals and organizations to support organizational change to induct new staff more quickly to improve the retention of staff to identify potential more effectively to encourage and support high flyers to encourage and support women to break through the glass ceiling to support self development and continuous professional development to encourage personal development to help individuals cope with transitions such as moving into a new job or role

Who are the key players Career models/pathways – HR specialists, recruitment experts Education/training – schools, teachers, curriculum designers, course designers Policy makers – equality directives Industry and sectoral associations – accepting and managing change Media – promoting role models (organizations and individuals), ICT led innovations

What will be the main gains EU more competitive internationally More advanced society Greater collective capacity to address mission oriented problems More sustainable economic growth Multiplier effects

What will happen if there is no action Even greater shift of S&T functions from EU to other regions (China, Singapore, India, South America) Loss of competitive advantage of the investment made in educating EU women Inefficient divisions of technological labour, by increasingly addressing skills gaps and not developing human capital Failure to build on the ‘womenomics’ phenomenon Failure to introduce new perspectives on the potential of ICT to help advance economic and societal development

Thank you!