Women in Technology

The Hon. J.S. LEE (15:21): I seek leave to make a brief explanation before asking the Minister for the Status of Women a question about women in technology.

Leave granted.

The Hon. J.S. LEE: In the Financial Review dated 1 December 2015 it was stated that the South Australian government had developed a plan to make Adelaide one of the largest start-up centres in the Asia-Pacific region, modelled on the US city of Boston. On the same day, another article in the Financial Review stated that the Australian Computer Society was pushing for a complete overhaul of the workforce and education system to change the culture and attitude towards working women and to encourage more to think about careers in IT.

The 'Digital Pulse' report confirmed that women in ICT were only 28 per cent compared to 43 per cent of all individuals working in the professional industries. The report also highlighted that the average earnings tended to be significantly lower for women in the ICT workforce compared with men, with an average pay gap of around 20 per cent. Furthermore, a 2014 employment survey found that 42 per cent of female respondents had encountered discrimination when applying for an ICT position, with around half of these indicating that discrimination was based on gender. My questions to the minister are:

1. With the government labelling this state as one of the largest tech start-up centres in the Asia-Pacific region, how does the minister intend to resolve the representation of women in ICT prior to the establishment of the centre?

2. What strategies would the minister implement to encourage women in the ICT industry sector?

3. Is the minister aware that 42 per cent of women experience discrimination in applying for ICT positions?

4. What consultation has the minister had with the industry to change the culture and attitude towards women working in the IT sector?

The Hon. G.E. GAGO (Minister for Employment, Higher Education and Skills, Minister for Science and Information Economy, Minister for the Status of Women, Minister for Business Services and Consumers) (15:23): I thank the honourable member for her most important questions. Indeed, we see a gender pay gap in the ICT area, but unfortunately it is a gender pay gap that is seen elsewhere as well. Currently the national gender pay gap is sitting on 18 per cent.

An honourable member interjecting:

The Hon. G.E. GAGO: It is a great shame. Here in South Australia I am pleased to say that it is slightly less than that; I think at the moment it is only 15 or 16 per cent. That is still not good enough, but I am pleased that we are one of the lowest states. There is a range of initiatives that we have been working at and will continue to work at, to continue to rollout, to help address that gender gap and help increase the number of women working in ICT.

In fact, in STEM generally we have developed a STEM Skills Strategy for South Australia to develop a workforce that is well-versed in science, information technology, engineering and maths. The strategy seeks to establish partnerships between education, industry, government and community to grow the number of STEM-based professional, paraprofessional and trade qualified individuals by 2020.

The Office for Women has developed a web resource specifically for women interested in studying careers in science, technology, engineering and maths. Women in STEM focuses on how to help attract and retain women in STEM employment and includes information on mentoring and support networks for women, access to programs for young women, and how to address stereotypes and the myth that women are not interested in STEM. It is also an action item under the Investing in Science Action Plan that South Australia identify opportunities within all STEM initiatives to include and encourage women to participate in STEM education and career pathways.

Women make up half of the population; in fact, I think it is slightly more than half, so we are losing half of the brightest people to solve the world's major problems if we do not include women. Obviously, the best work is done and the best policies are enacted when it is done in diverse teams, and that should include representation of women at all levels.