Sexism still rife in the server room

Sexism in the IT industry is once again under the spotlight with the latest research finding just five per cent of European networking professionals are women.

The situation is showing little sign of any improvement - according to research commissioned by Cisco, this figure will only have increased to 7.3 per cent by 2004.

According to the survey, the number of female networking professionals will double to 94,000 across Western Europe by 2004. However, this will be offset by a huge rise in the number of males, keeping women in the margins of the industry.

Cisco said the amount of new entrants into the industry will still not be enough to solve the current skills shortage, expected to grow to 500,000 people in three years' time.

Cisco added that it is vital to make a networking career more attractive to women if the industry is to stand any chance of plugging the skills gap.