More "IT-girls" in 2024, please!

by Sara Høyer, Head of Marketing & Communications at Epico-IT Group A/S.

There is a term that often appears in the media in connection with various Fashion Weeks, but which software engineer Natascha Jensen later reinterpreted and introduced in a compelling debate post in October 2023 — a term that I, as a woman in the IT industry, have since really taken to heart: "IT-girl" — a play on the IT version of the trendsetting "it-girl" from the fashion world. And if we are to secure the necessary workforce for the IT sector, the rest of Denmark also needs to start paying attention to the issue and focus more on IT girls — here's why:

Both the Minister for Digitalisation and Gender Equality, Marie Bjerre (V), and the Minister for Higher Education and Science, Christina Egelund (M), believe that more women need to enter the IT workforce and join the Danish tech industry. When we talk about addressing the underrepresentation of women in tech, we often frame it as a gender equality issue. However, it is not just about equality — it’s also good business for an industry that is desperately seeking talent.

Today, there are approximately 160,000 IT specialists in Denmark, but according to EU figures, we will need 200,000 more by 2030 — and even if AI helps halve that need, we will still be short 100,000 IT specialists in just six years.

It may sound like a "mission impossible", but fortunately we have an untapped resource to draw on: Our "IT girls", so we can do away with the gender imbalance that only about one in five IT specialists in Denmark is a woman, and fortunately there are a number of low-hanging fruits in terms of attracting more girls and women to the technical professions.

One of the things we can improve is primary school girls' belief in their own abilities, which Deloitte and Kraka in 2023 just investigated: In Berlingske, you could get a taste of the fact that 43% of boys thought they were bad at mathematics and that it was due to themselves, while the figure was 72% for girls. At the same time, the difference between girls' and boys' actual abilities in mathematics was measured, where the difference was minimal. And then something extra startling: Denmark has the largest measured difference between boys' and girls' belief in themselves in the entire OECD. This is even though we consider ourselves one of the most equal countries in the world.

43% of the boys thought that they were bad at mathematics and that it was due to themselves, while the figure was 72% for the girls.

Although the problem can be seen in primary school, part of the cause may be found in the home. In any case, we can hear from our partner, the association Coding Pirates, which teaches children and young people about coding and new technology, that parents do not always have the same interest in engaging their girls as their boys: When the association holds so-called "children's IT conferences", where children can try their hand at new technologies, it often happens that the parents hand over their sons - and not their daughters - to the activities. It is simply assumed that it is not interesting for the girls, but they also say that they have nevertheless seen a more positive development in the gender distribution in recent years.

However, it is not only in childhood that we see obstacles in developing more IT girls: According to a study from the Center for Computing Education Research at ITU, you can attract far more women by presenting IT as a field that deals with people. In other words, it is possible to do something about the situation, and here it is worth looking to the UAE (United Arab Emirates) in their work for gender equality: According to the country's own statistics, 41% of the students in the country's STEM programs are women. Maybe we won't get there already in 2024, but shouldn't we aim to get a little closer, so that Denmark is not lagging behind the UAE in issues of gender equality?

Removing obstacles so that more girls choose the IT industry, rather than turning to outsourcing to countries like Bangladesh and Pakistan, is a sensible approach. We already have the resources we need here in Denmark. But it requires a showdown that must be spurred on by a larger and more agenda-setting debate in 2024, which I hope that far more stakeholders will join on this year's debate stages around the country - including our Minister for Digitalization and Gender Equality Marie Bjerre.

On the one hand, we have a huge number of girls who unfortunately lose faith in their ability to complete technical STEM education despite the fact that they actually can, while on the other hand, we have a labor market in the IT industry that is desperately seeking their skills – and every time a position is not filled, it slows down the growth of companies, increases imports, and generally causes losses for the democratic community, which is why there must also be a significant political investment in the matter.

To sum up: Let 2024 be the year when IT girls become commonplace; it's a win-win.

Written by Sara Høyer