Investigation Needed into Sexism And Ageism in
the ICT Industry
A
preliminary study by Dr Amanda Lynn into the participation
of women and men in the ICT Industry recommends urgent
investigation into sexism, ageism and their combined effects
in the ICT Industry.
The study explored data supplied by Statistics New Zealand from the Household Labour Force Survey, 2017.
Only about a quarter of the workforce in ICT is female, they do the same work as their male peers and offer the same value.
At 55 years of age, the numbers of both men and women in the ICT Industry falls sharply. The remaining women will be paid less than their male peers.
“We need to know who is being excluded from
the industry, who leaves early and why, and why pay parity
is lost. Sexism doesn’t explain everything, ageism must
also be explored” said Dr Lynn.
Completed this
week, the preliminary study makes two recommendations.
That substantive investigation of ageism, sexism and their combined effects on both men and women in the ICT Industry be undertaken as soon as possible.
And that coherent policy, strategy and interventions be put in place to target equity of participation in the ICT Industry, and pay parity for all participants across their life span.
The study follows more substantive analyses of New Zealand’s digital economy undertaken by Dr Lynn in 2017. It was found that New Zealand must address equity between itself and other nations, and within New Zealand, to ensure fair access to the benefits of the digital economy for all New Zealanders.
“New Zealand’s new Government is
taking digital inclusion very seriously, wants to see real
change by 2020, and is assembling a Ministerial Advisory
Group to provide expert guidance” said Dr Lynn.
The
Hon. Clare Curran (Minister of Broadcasting, Communications
and Digital Media, and Government Digital Services) stated,
at a December Forum on digital inclusion, that “Our
goal is that no one is left behind.”
Dr Lynn says, “There are women in every ethnic and socio-economic group, and every person ages. New Zealanders can expect to live 87 years. If they are ejected at 55 from the high wage economy, or underpaid despite being as productive as everyone else, more than 30 years of dependency on the public purse could ensue.”
“Yet if everyone has
equal chance to participate, and equal reward, no one will
lose. International studies show that the whole economy will
grow as equity grows.”
-ENDS
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