The issue of women in ICT professions, especially in leading positions, was discussed on the CeBIT 2009, a conference for professionals in the IT sector in Hannover. An initiative was started to attract more women to this sector, especially by improving the working conditions, exceeding the concept of just combining family and work but taking into account a comprehensive career planning approach. A related agenda was designed and signed by more than 100 women and men from several enterprises, including women in ICT leading positions (Kompetenzzentrum, 2009a; 2009b). The results of a short research with 125 male and female visitors of the CeBIT point out the need for action in this area. More than half of the women (59.1 percent) can imagine working in a STEM profession and even more (63.6 percent) see the STEM sector as an innovative field of work. However, only one fifth of the questioned visitors see women in management or leading positions in the ICT sector (BMBF, 2009).
Similarities and differences. To provide a comprehensive analysis of gender in ICT profession we have to deal with the issue of reliable data. Data for Germany is coded as “classification 774” which comprises some ICT jobs but which is not comprehensive for the whole ICT sector. More differentiated analysis, e. g. Apfelbaum (2009) and IGM (2008) provide more detailed information, but lack in representativeness, particularly with respect to the issue of gender. The data presented for Greece focus mostly on the educational sector due to a lack of access to specific data with categorization that will give information about employment in the IT sector. The categorization of data provided by the corresponding authorities about employment is based on general labour groups or is connected to the existing fields of studies. Also in Greece, the categorization based on labour groups does not give a clear view of IT-related employees. Yet, besides these obstacles we can see that in the ICT sector employment, the share of females is even smaller than in ICT studies at university level in both countries. And even if women are employed in ICT professions, they still earn less money for their work than their male colleagues. Furthermore, when we look at unemployment figures, we can see another imbalance. The unemployment rate of females in the German ICT sector is higher than that of males; in Greece the rate of unemployed females in this sector is about twice the rate ofunemployed males. That means that there is not only an underrepresentation of females employed in the ICT sector; females also have more difficulties in getting a job in this sector in both countries.
CONCLUSION
This paper focuses on gender equality in ICT usage, in ICT education at secondary and tertiary level, and on the career level in Germany and Greece. In both countries, a digital divide between men and women can be observed: girls and women use ICT and the Internet to a smaller extent, they show less interest in ICT at school, and have lower selfconfidence in performing computer tasks, enrol for humanities rather than for ICT-related subjects at university, and are clearly underrepresented in ICT careers.
If we remember the different economic structure of Germany and Greece, we can see that the results go in a similar direction. Current usage statistics however show that girls and women are catching up. In both countries, younger women (16-24 years) show nearly the same frequency in computer usage than males. We were also able to report on the Internet usage behaviour of German females which is similar to that of males’. Age factor also influenced the ICT interest and selfconfidence at school: younger people are more interested in ICT and have a higher level of self confidence. Yet, there is still a long way to go. Additionally, educational trajectories from school to university, and the uptake of careers in ICT — related professions increase gender imbalance in a way that meets a leaky pipeline comparison. (European Commission, 2006): Particularly in the field of ICT, the share of women shrinks with continuing professional development, in Germany and in Greece.
Digital literacy is more than using computers and the Internet once a week; and also for young persons there are still differences in the interests and self-concepts to the advantage of boys. The findings of the study by Engeser et al. (2008) revealed that self-confidence is a crucial aspect for career choice in the ICT field; and Dick and Rallis (1991) reported that the attitudes and expectations of socialisers, e. g. teachers, can influence the career choice of women. The results of our study at German and Greek schools, as well as the PISA study (OECD, 2005), show less self-confidence of girls in many aspects of ICT usage. This is—according to Dick and Rallis—an essential aspect for future career choices. Consequently, measures for improving gender balance have to start as early as possible as our study shows that gender differences already exist in schools.