Some Facts and Data About Women and Technology

Submitted by JennSramek on February 14, 2008 - 12:23pm.

I just found the following interesting facts compiled by Women Who Tech, which incidentally is hosting a Tele-Summit on Women in Technology on March 31st, 2008.

Top 5 Cities Where Women Work in IT

  • Washington, DC Metro area - women account for 32.3% of the IT workforce.
  • Detroit - women account for 31.5% of the IT workforce.
  • Baltimore - women account for 28.6% of the IT workforce.
  • Philadelphia - women account for 28.2% of the IT workforce.
  • Atlanta - women account for 28.2% of the IT workforce.
    Source: U.S. Census Bureau, 2006 American Community Survey

Interesting Facts

  • 2% of open source developers are women.
    Source: 2005 O'Reilly Open Source Convention

  • Women account for 28% of the workforce in proprietary software.
    Source: FLOSSPOLS, 2004-2006

  • Women who earn B.S. degrees in Computer Science: 28%
  • Women who go on to get PhD: 16.5%
  • Women who held professional positions in the IT industry in 2006: 26%
    Source: Anita Borg Institute, 2007

  • Teen Girls Have Access To Computers Later Then Teen Boys:
    • Age of first computer use: Female: 14.5 Male: 12
    • Age of first computer possession: Female: 19 Male: 15
      Source: FLOSSPOLS, 2004-2006