[UbuntuWomen] what makes a company more attractive to techie women?

[Caroline Ford]

On 04/03/2008, Esther Schindler <esther at bitranch.com> wrote:
> I've been involved in a lot of discussions with IT women that address
>  this question, but usually from the periphery. That is, someone will
>  post a message about behavior (in, say, a job interview) that's a
>  turn-off, making the woman decide that this company is probably not a
>  good choice for woman who wants to get ahead, or to just enjoy her job.
>
>  But I've been thinking about this, particularly as I continue in the
>  series of articles I've been writing about Women in IT. (Which I hope
>  you _like_, and don't make me seem like a pest. I don't want to be a
>  pest.) I'm planning to write another article, this time with more
>  input from IT women (not just CIOs, though I expect I'll get some
>  input from them), looking for the attributes/behaviors that a smart
>  company can adopt to make itself more attractive to women.
>
>  I want to make this largely about POSITIVE things that companies can
>  do -- not just the painful anecdotes. Certainly, there will be value
>  in mentioning the turn-offs. But it'd be ideal if I could enumerate
>  "7 ways to make your company more attractive to IT women" -- the "DO
>  THIS" not just "DO NOTs."
>
>  For instance, one obvious attraction is flexible work options (which
>  obviously appeals to both genders, but certainly is a Plus for women
>  with small children).
>
>  Anyway -- I'm hereby collecting input. Ideally you can share your
>  name, company, and position with me, because I need those to use them
>  in the article. Private messages are fine, though I dare say there's
>  value to be had by making this a public discussion.
>
>  I'm hoping to collect information this week and next week (though I'm
>  about to disappear for a few days to the Microsoft MIX conference).
>  Then I'll compile and turn into an article that, I hope, may make
>  life just a little bit easier for techie women.

I don't work in It but one of the things that puts me off is the
contracting and people having to sell themselves and compete with
others all the time. It seems a very masculine world and one in which
you are very likely to get paid less than your male colleagues.

I guess I would look for a big enough employer that had proper
conditions in place to protect me. I'd want to be on a proper pay
grade for the job.

I accept I have a bias coming from the UK public sector which is
better at dealing with institutionalised discrimination.

Caroline