Trade union Amicus has launched a campaign to promote and enhance the role of women in IT.
The Women in IT Charter calls for fair and transparent pay systems, equal treatment in pay through audits, promotion of work/life balance policies, and the encouragement of flexible working
Peter Skyte, national officer at Amicus, said: “The IT sector is not attractive to women with its poor image, long-hours culture and unsatisfactory work/life balance.
“The UK cannot afford this to continue. We will work with employers where they are progressive and challenge employers where they are unwilling to change.”
Within the IT sector, only 17% of employees are women, compared to 45% across the UK workforce as a whole, according to the Office of National Statistics.
Women IT professionals are paid on average £117 per week less than their male counterparts, according to research by sector skills council E-Skills UK.
The expectation of employees to work unpaid overtime, for example, may disadvantage some women in IT, Amicus warned.
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