Women deserting tech industry

The number of women resigning from IT jobs has risen over the last year and the pay gap between the sexes widened for the first time in 11 years.

Research from the Chartered Management Institute (CMI) and pay researcher Remuneration Economics, shows 5.7 per cent of women working in IT resigned from their roles in 2006, a rise of 2.1 per cent on the previous year.

In terms of pay, women saw an average pay rise of 2.9 per cent compared to a 3.1 per cent increase for men, the first time in 11 years that men's earnings have risen more than women's.

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But the research found female managers actually enjoy faster promotion than men, with a 37-year-old woman working as a team leader typically five years younger than her male counterpart.

Women are also more likely to receive a bonus than men, with just under half in the IT sector (46.5 per cent) receiving one-off bonus payments in 2006, compared to 30.8 per cent of men. But these bonuses tend to be around 30 per cent lower than men's - and make up a lower proportion of the total pay packet.

Among the 3,538 IT workers surveyed female managers, on average, earned £45,465 in 2006, around £2,100 less than men.

Compared to other sectors, women in IT are only the fifth most likely to resign: in the retail sector 11.7 per cent of female employees resigned in 2006, compared to 5.7 per cent of female tech workers.

Jo Causon, director of marketing and corporate affairs at the CMI, said gender bias appears to be getting worse because the increased likelihood of promotion is not reflected in parity of pay.

Val Lawson, chairwoman of the Women in Management Network, added that the increase in resignations is concerning as it could have an impact on the current skills shortage.