The move by some employers to set targets for recruiting women means technology should be a more attractive career option for females, a hiring expert says.
Peoplebank chief executive officer Peter Acheson said quotas were necessary to address the gender diversity issue.
"The good news is if you are a female working in ICT, given that you have now got companies that are wanting to address the imbalance, there is a good chance you are going to get fast-tracked," he said.
Large organisations such as the National Australia Bank, Westpac and the Commonwealth Bank of Australia have committed to targets for employing women.
According to the Australian Computer Society, between February 2011 and February 2012 the number of women in ICT occupations dropped from 131,059 (24.1 per cent of the total ICT workforce) to 91,400 (19.7 per cent).
"The industry needs to do a lot to rebuild the IT brand," Mr Acheson said. "It is not seen as a fashionable thing to do and within the female cohort in schools they all get that message."
The latest Salary Index from Peoplebank, the country’s largest IT recruitment company, noted many employers were seeking to improve gender ratios of female employees within ICT departments as well as the general workforce, particularly for management roles.
Peoplebank, which last year won an Employer of Choice for Women citation from the Equal Opportunity for Women in the Workplace Agency (EOWA), also found some employers had set quotas, while others were seeking females to be included in short lists for particular roles.
"I think we are starting to see a change, but it is going to take time," Mr Acheson said.
"The issue now is even if I decide I want to make sure that I get 50 per cent of my candidate intake into IT in my organisation, there is then the issue about the fact that there is a lack of enrolments at university – where do I get them from as well."
Hays IT senior regional director Peter Noblet said as IT moved into the mainstream of businesses more women would shift into technology-related projects and programs.
"Where we are seeing an increase in women is within the business analysis space, project management, functional areas where they have come from other parts of the business," he said.
