According to Gartner, the percentage of women in IT is low and shrinking, dropping from 42 percent in 1996 to 32.4 percent in 2004 worldwide. In some countries, including in the United States, it’s below 30 percent.

This conspicuous gender imbalance is caused by a distant list of problems, according to advocates of women in IT, including a lack of female role models, a pervasive stereotype of IT professionals as unfashionable “nerdy men,” and workplace sexism.

I really don’t know why more boys than girls choose to study IT, choose careers in IT and stay

with IT once the career has started – and I confess I have no solution to offer. I’m certain stereotyping, sexism and other factors play a role. But I additionally believe that PRESSURING GIRLS - or boys, for that matter - into careers they won’t like isn’t helping anyone. Dangling false motives - such as role models and the countering of stereotypes - won’t help anyone, either. They’ve got to love the machines, the systems and the act of complex-problem solving or they’re unlikely to enjoy or succeed in IT.

Original post by Mike