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Miss Hewitt - who is also the Minister for Women - told a conference of hundreds of industry representatives, teachers, women's organisations and students at the London Savoy that a balanced national IT workforce will take years to achieve.
The Minister said a report published by the 'Women in IT Champions Group' - a team of women IT professionals charged with bridging the gender divide - painted "a worrying picture" of female representation within the sector.
The report found the proportion of women in IT is just 23 per cent - compared to an average 46 per cent across other UK work sectors.
The report also showed very low levels of women in IT positions at higher skills levels.
Hewitt: Worried about IT gender imbalance |
Women also do not remain in the IT workforce as long as their male counterparts and are often quitting as a result of motherhood and then failing to return, Miss Hewitt told delegates, citing the report.
"Another danger is that women are giving up at a later stage in their careers, probably because they come crash up against a glass ceiling. This is bad news for women who are finding themselves in a declining proportion in a modern industry. And bad news for the IT business which cannot afford to lose or waste talent on such a scale," she added.
Businesses were urged to address workplace practices to avoid damaging their long-term productivity and competitiveness and to save themselves vital revenue by addressing the critical issue of female staff retention.
The report found the costs of recruiting and training high-skilled staff ranged from about £5,000 for an entry level IT worker - to £85,000 for a senior manager.
One way they could make themselves more attractive to women is to embrace flexible working practices, Miss Hewitt said.
A forthcoming DTI report will reveal the various effects of 'long hours culture' in the UK compared with the rest of Europe and the US.
One of the companies to be cited in the report, the US-based drugs giant, Merck Pharmaceuticals, estimated that for every dollar it invested in promoting flexible working, it made seven dollars in return.
"It is a key challenge to us in Government - in delivering a strong economy and a strong society, as well as a challenge to industry, in closing the IT skills gap so the sector can compete and win in world markets," Miss Hewitt added.
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Richard Powell, © Shout99.com 2003
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