As a female in the technology industry, I find it interesting to follow what people say about the lack of women who start and stay in IT careers. This recent Computer world article, “The shrinking female IT workforce”, asserts that women are leaving middle-management roles in IT because of pay disparity, and attempts to link that to stronger biases against women than in other parts of the organization.

I’m not sure how well the argument holds up in the article and it sure doesn’t seem to jive with what I hear on the street. Women are often less motivated by money (the article says they are now more motivated in a bleaker economy with more women taking on the “breadwinner” role) than by other indicators of job satisfaction. I meet with women in IT practically every week looking for new opportunities and money is rarely if ever mentioned as a key driver.

I believe the issue still goes back to getting more women interested in math and science as a career … and creating cultures where they enjoy working.