There are many changes that need to take place to make women a more powerful force in the IT industry, but this is something that needs support from all sides including men, women, the government and the business world.

That was the message from W-Tech, the first recruitment event for women in IT held by womenintechnology.co.uk. The event was planned to address the lack of women in IT and the issues that those in the industry face, from the gender pay gap to the ‘motherhood penalty’.

In what was an information packed day, many issues were touched upon by many panels of successful females in technology, who said “we’re all in this together” and agreed on the following action points:

• The UK needs pay audits to evaluate payment of men and women in IT.
• IT education needs to change to make it more appealing to young girls.
• Maternity and paternity provisions need to become more equal.
• Women in IT should seek good mentors to help them in their careers.

“So many interesting things were discussed at W-Tech and so many points were raised” says Maggie Berry, Director of womenintechnology.co.uk and organiser of W-Tech. “It was a great day packed full of positive messages which I hope the women that attended will take away and be able to put to good use in their careers." W-Tech was held in London on 24th June. Around 1200 women who wanted to get on, or get into, the IT industry registered for the event which held a series of career development workshops, a CV clinic, recruitment fair and networking session. To address one of the action plans, one of the workshops showcased MentorSET which is a successful mentoring scheme to help women working in SET (Science, Engineering and Technology). They provide independent mentors who understand the challenges faced and who can provide support and advice. Mentoring provides development opportunities for both mentors and mentees. It can help you to forward your career, overcome work related issues, increase your network and develop the all important soft skills. Another workshop which was addressing the issue of the lack of Women in IT was How to Behave in an All Male Team: Following over 30 years of study into the brain and its functions, Whole Brain Technology empirically supports a definite "wiring" difference between men and women. This session unveils the true why's of women's natural intuitive leadership and the hows on making the most of them for your professional success in IT. This session was led by Christina Ioannidis of Aquitude. Information on other workshops, such as Funding your High Tech Start-up, as well as downloadble presentations can be found here.