In mid-March this year the Minister for Communications, Information Technology and the Arts, Senator Helen Coonan announced that “We need more women interested in ICT, studying ICT and working in ICT.”

Indeed, the ABS has shown that of the 335,200 ICT workers in 2003-04, only 16 per cent were women and women employed in this area represent only one percent of women employed in Australia.

Furthermore, research by Multimedia Victoria has shown that of the female year 12 students surveyed in Victoria last year, only 3 per cent showed a strong interest in a technology career. The research indicated that among girls there is a general lack of interest due to the perception that jobs in ICT are “boring” and involve “sitting in front of a computer all day” and that one of the contributing factors to this perception is a lack of knowledge about the different types of ICT jobs and courses available.

With the assistance of $82,000 in State Government funding, the new Victorian Women in ICT Network has been created with the aim of boosting the number and status of women in the IT industry.

The network’s three objectives are: to encourage women to enter the industry, to retain them and to enable them to achieve their potential, says Victorian Minister for ICT Marsha Thomson.

The network will include senior female technology figures from business, government and the education sector and will include mentoring programs, scholarships, workshops, a network directory, an awards program and other events, she said.

Some of the members include the ANZ Bank’s Technology Division Executive Manager Debra Auty, Novell Asia Pacific president Rhonda O’Donnell, Victorian government CIO Jane Treadwell, and Associate Professor for the School of Information Management and Systems from Monash University Dr Julie Fisher.

The network is to be launched tonight in Melbourne.

To become a member or for enquiries e-mail enquiries@vicictforwomen.com.au.