Transcript The department of Business Applications and IT management

The Perceptions and Experiences of Female
ICT Leaders in South African Organisations
Nina Evans
The South African situation
Constitution of South Africa, Act No 108, 1996:
“a society based on democratic values”
“social justice and fundamental human rights”
“every citizen is equally protected by law”
“free the potential of each person”
Rights and freedom of women an integral part of
the transformation process since ’94.
President Thabo Mbeki: “no economy can meet its
potential if any part of its citizens is not fully
integrated into all aspects of that economy”.
And yet… The BWA Research
2005 - Census on the position of women in
professional positions in South Africa.
Companies listed on the main board of the JSE
Securities Exchange and (355) 17 large state
owned enterprises (SOEs) on 30 September
Women make up 52.1% of the adult population in
SA and 41.3% of the working SA population.
Women constitute only 19.8% of all executive
managers in SA.
Only 10.7% of all company directors and 6.2% of
CEO and board chairs in the country are women.
The ICT Charter
The ICT sector is recognized by government as
being of strategic importance to the future
growth and prosperity of South Africa’s economy,
as it is amongst the top 5 sectors in terms of its
contribution to the GDP of South Africa.
One of the main objectives of the charter is to
increase the extent to which women - especially
black women - participate meaningfully in all
areas of the ICT sector.
Women in technology initiatives






The Association of SA women in Science and
Engineering (SA-WISE)
Women in ICT (WICT)
Technology for Women in Business (TWIB)
Techno-girl
National Science and Technology programme
SA reference group on Women in Science and
Technology (SARG)
… and many more
And yet….
Women are still under-represented in
the ICT industry
How critical is this situation in South
Africa?
What happens at school/university?
Why don’t girls in SA enter into IT
courses?
What (who?) motivates girls to choose to
study IT? The role of the teacher?
Computer studies at school level? Genderinclusive classroom practices?
Only 8 out of 127 women were motivated to
study IT by their career guidance teacher.
With what expectations do IT girls approach
The Business-IT interface
Chicken-and-egg situation: The failure of ICT
projects cause relationship problems and
inherent relationship problems cause project
failure (“us versus them”).
A truly collaborative partnership between business
and IT requires a different mindset from both
ICT and the business clients.
Companies should aim for business-ICT ‘fusion’.
(A merging of divorced, distinct, or separate
elements into a unified whole).
Why do we want more women in ICT?
Not just for the numbers. The ICT
industry really needs their skills
Research on female ICT leaders
Online questionnaire.
What are the perceptions and experiences of
female ICT leaders in SA companies?
Focus of the research:
1. A female perspective of the business-IT
interface
2. The challenges for female ICT leaders
3. The strengths and characteristics of female ICT
leaders to bridge the Business-ICT gap
4. Success factors for females in the ICT industry
Demographics
Companies of varying size and across many
different industries.
48% are in senior and executive management
positions and 33.1% in middle management.
69.3% have a partner and 67.7% have children.
45.7% of the participants have a national
diploma or a B degree. 38.6% have
postgraduate qualifications. Only 6% have no
post-matric qualification.
71% White, 18% Black, 8% Coloured and
2% Asian.
Female Perception of fusion
The most important reasons for non-fusion, as
ranked by the women:
1. Ineffective communication.
2. Lack of knowledge transfer between ICT and the
business.
3. Lack of skills, attributes and attitudes of ICT
personnel (technical- business- and especially
soft skills).
4. Business managers do not take enough
responsibility for the business-ICT relationship
and project success.
“There is a bad relationship between the business
world and the IT world. Much work needs to be
done to bring these two worlds together.”
“Interrelation is still major problem for ICT and
business.”
“The lack of communication and relationship
building from ICT people leads to a negative
attitude towards them by clients.”
”I think generally there is a lack of communication
between ICT and Business. There is a gap that
needs some hard work.”
Women have special characteristics
Participants felt that women are generally …
 able to multi-task
 more humane in their approach to business
 better communicators
 more willing to share knowledge
 willing to ask when they don’t know something
 better relationship builders
 able to see the bigger picture.
 More persistent
… than men
“I have found in my business that women on the
whole are more patient than men.”
“Women are better teachers and communicate better
than men.”
“I think in general that women tend to listen more.”
“The natural service orientation of women helps
meet client needs.”
“Women are more sensitive, which means we pick up
nuances and undercurrents better than men. You
do get the exceptions, but they are by far the
minority.”
Women’s important role in fusion
Women are generally good at communicating
Women are natural educators and listen more
Women have the ability to acquire the necessary
technical skills to add to their interpersonal skills
Women are often the relationship managers within
families and at work
It seems that women have a wealth of EQ and
an understanding of social and cultural issues
Do women realise that they have an
important part to play in the industry?
How can these special characteristics
be channeled to the important ICT
industry?
Why do women leave an ICT career?
We need to know …
Why then, are women underrepresented in the ICT industry?
How many women have IT
qualifications, but do not work in the
industry?
Which types of positions do women
mostly fill in the ICT industry?
Challenges women face in ICT
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
Work-family conflict
Lack of female role models
Women’s contributions are not valued
Negative perception & stereotyping of women in
general
The masculine nature of ICT
Negative perception & stereotyping of ICT
employees specifically
Salary inequity
Culture issues and a negative societal attitude
towards women in ICT
Other challenges for women in ICT
The majority agree that the challenges are different
for men and women:
 Women have to prove themselves more to get
recognition
 Sexual harassment
 Women lack self-efficacy
 Skills shortage (especially technical skills)
 Tokenism and BEE prejudice
 Discrimination against Whites
“Women have to look after the family, but men
often cannot support the family. Women are left
with the burden of supporting and looking after
the family.”
“I believe that while men might logically
acknowledge the competence of women, there
is sometimes an internal struggle in terms of how
they see women in society.”
“Females are fitted into a certain category and it is
hard to break through that barrier.”
“I think men bargain harder and end up with a
better compensation package.”
Another interesting question…
What can be done to help women overcome
these challenges?
Are women leaving the corporate
environment to start their own
business, because of these challenges?
and, if they do
Do they start businesses in the ICT
field (or coffee shops/guest houses)?
Interventions
What interventions are done to
motivate girls to enter into the ICT
field, and what interventions are
aimed at motivating them to stay in an
ICT career?
How successful are the interventions?
Who should initiate these interventions?
(Companies, government, other
organisations)
Success factors for the world of ICT
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7
8.
9.
10.
11.
12.
Hard work
Determination/diligence/ drive to succeed/decisive
People/relationship skills,
Leadership skills and seeing the bigger picture
Dedication and commitment
Results/goal orientation
Passion/interest for the field of work
Willingness to learn
Persistence, patience and perseverance
Role models and support from other people
Intellect and talent/aptitude/ technical ability
Service orientation and Customer focus
“The ICT industry is not only about
technology, but also increasingly about
people, their needs and business goals.”
How do we get the message out that
women have an important role in
bridging the business-IT gap?
How can women be motivated and prepared
for this industry?
Thank you for your attention…
Suggestions from the audience