Supporting women working in academic computing roles
18 May 2021
How can we support women working in academic computing roles?
Rachel Pattinson explores how the School of Computing at Newcastle University is supporting women working in academic computing roles.
“The under-representation of women working in the digital sector is a wicked problem. The WISE campaign’s statistics show that women only make up around 16 per cent of the UK’s technology workforce, while studies suggest that 30 per cent is the point at which the representation will reach a critical mass. And there’s a related issue with the tech talent pipeline, with a recent PwC report highlighting that only three per cent of the young women they surveyed said a career in technology was their first choice.
At universities, it’s a similar story. I manage digital programmes at Newcastle University’s School of Computing, where 18 per cent of women make up the student numbers in 2019/20, though that has increased from 14 per cent two years previously. Around 20 per cent of our academic staff are female, and women make up the majority of the Professional Services team supporting the department.”
