According to the latest DiversIT Report released by Davidson Technology, the number of females in the Australian IT sector has increased by 8% in the last 12 months.

“This report continues to provide a valuable analysis of the number of females within role types and enables us to assist organisations to set best practice gender targets” says Imogen Studders, Davidson Technology’s strategic partnerships manager.

Studders says within the last 12 months there has been a notable and positive change in the number of females within the IT sector since the last report.

The data also shows a significant increase in the total number of people working in the IT sector in Australia, which is up 25.7% in the last 12 months, while representation of females at executive levels within the sector has also grown to 17.6%, up 3.6% from 2016.

“In a time where there is significant focus on gender diversity in the IT sector, it is fantastic to see that the number of females is increasing” says Studders.

“The industry is growing rapidly and we are seeing more people move into the IT sector to meet demand. Although the growth is great, we are still not attracting the same number of females into the industry as we are males. Eight per cent more females is significant, but we need a continued focus on attracting more females into the industry and then through the ranks."

According to Studders, “at senior levels there is a definite push in some organisations to meet gender targets and we are seeing a number of initiatives to drive female numbers at this level”.

“From the data it looks like these initiatives are starting to positively impact the number of females in executive roles.”