Women are saying "good-bye" to tech

The Center for Work-Life Policy claims women leave the work force for various reasons, and some major firms are trying to lure them back.

Lawrence D. Maloney, Contributing Editor -- Test & Measurement World, 8/1/2008

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In recent years, young women have made impressive strides in science and engineering-at least until they hit their late 30s. Then, according to a new study by the Center for Work-Life Policy in New York, a great many of these women become frustrated with their careers and leave the tech field.

The Center's findings, entitled "The Athena Factor: Reversing the Brain Drain in Science, Engineering, and Technology," first appeared in the June issue of the Harvard Business Review. Researchers tracked the careers of 1000 women with technical backgrounds in the US, surveyed 3000 more internationally, and sought out the opinions of still other women in focus groups and interviews.

While the study found that women make up just over 40% of new technical staff at many companies, it points out that more than half of these women turn their backs on tech jobs before they reach age 40. Among the key reasons for this mass exodus, which Center researchers say is more pronounced than in other fields:

• Nearly two thirds of the women surveyed in the study said they had been victims of sexual harassment in the workplace.
• Much more so then men, many women complained of feeling isolated in the work setting, lacking mentors and other support structures.
• Fearing that they would be penalized for failure, many women balked at taking risky assignments that could lead to promotions and greater career satisfaction.
• Long hours associated with technical fields frequently ran at odds with child-care and homemaking duties-responsibilities still covered overwhelmingly by women.

	Companies need to make women comfortable about taking advantage of flexible schedules and job sharing, said Laura Sherbin, research director of the Center for Work-Life Policy.

What can be done to keep a higher percentage of women in technical fields? Laura Sherbin, director of research for the Center for Work-Life Policy, told Test & Measurement World that some companies, such as Johnson & Johnson and General Electronic, have initiated "on ramp" programs directly aimed at luring back women who have left their technical jobs.

Other firms, she added, are focusing on enhancing the career path of women engineers. At Cisco, for example, CEO John Chambers has made it a priority to give deserving women the first crack at 75 VP-level jobs that are opening up at the firm. "Women chosen for such jobs serve as role models for other women in the company and also serve as mentors," said Sherbin. "This helps address the isolation that so many women experience in the workplace."

Among other positive steps, Microsoft has created "mentoring rings" in which one senior woman professional serves as a mentor to eight to 10 other women. Noted Sherbin: "It turns out that this system creates a spillover effect in that the women being mentored also form a strong peer group for sharing ideas and advice."

ALCOA, too, is trying to give women a clearer view of their career path by laying out the specific assignments and job rotations that women need to fill to make them qualified for key posts, such as plant managers.

As for other measures to stem the job exodus, the study found that flexible schedules and job sharing can play an important role in keeping women connected to the company while they take on child-rearing and other family duties. Sherbin emphasized, however, that companies need to create an environment that makes women comfortable about taking advantages of these programs, rather than having them feel guilty for accepting such arrangements. She added, "Companies also need to ensure that women can ramp up their job responsibilities later on, as their family commitments become less demanding."