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Featured CIOZone Group: Women in IT
In this forum posted in the Women in IT group, Ellen Pearlman looks at the success women have had in securing top technology jobs in the financial sector. To be a part of the discussion join the Women in IT group. It is open to all CIOZone members:
Women on Wall Street
Did you know that Wall Street is in the forefront of hiring women technologists—34 percent of new hires in tech in the financial sector are women, compared to 25 percent in the tech sector overall.
A new study, published this week by the Center for Work-Life Policy, called "The Under-Leveraged Talent Pool" [Purchase Study] finds that IT women in finance love their jobs and often feel rewarded, but still face challenges in their careers.
Sylvia Ann Hewlett, one of the authors of the study, writes about the findings on her blog at Harvard Business Online. The three ongoing challenges, she notes, are:
- Extreme jobs and a 24/7 workplace culture
- Mysterious careers that are hard to fathom
- Lack of mentors and sponsors, particularly female role models
All of these challenges are common to all women in IT, but can we learn anything about how to deal with them from Wall Street?
Hewlett cites several firms who have specific initiatives to deal with the problems. Credit Suisse has a collaboration between HR leaders and the women's network called "Mobility" that is designed to create momentum in women's careers. Goldman Sachs has the "Women in Technology Network" to help build skills and provide mentoring and leadership development opportunities at all career stages. Merrill Lynch has "Open Mentoring", a program that uses data to make good matches between mentors and protogees. And NYSE Eurotext is launching a "Women's Forum" to address career mentoring.
Do any members of this forum have experience with mentoring programs for women and can add some wisdom about what works and what doesn't?
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