Insight
Stereotypical prejudices about nerds scare women away from IT education
In 2024, just under 37 percent of applicants to the IT University in Copenhagen (ITU) were women.
Looking at the “hard” fields of study like software development, global business informatics, and data science, men are clearly overrepresented:
Field of Study | Percentage of Female Applicants in 2024 |
Software Development | 25 percent |
Global Business Informatics | 41 percent |
Data Science | 35,5 percent |
However, in one field of study, the distribution was completely equal.
This was in digital design & interactive technologies, where half of the applicants were women. In fact, there was one more female applicant than male applicants, so there were just over 50% women. But here we are also dealing with a slightly “softer” IT field of study, where interactions with people are in focus.
Which is a conscious decision by ITU to attract more women. And since IT is fundamentally always about how it can affect people, what change it can create in the world, and how we interact with it, it is a good move by ITU to focus more on what IT means and not just what IT is.
This can help attract a broader demographic to the study. Because we need people who can think creatively and see the big picture. Those who can use their logic to solve problems, but also their imagination to see new possibilities.
More women say no
But for us, the biggest eye-opener is how many women choose to decline their study place at ITU when they receive the offer.
In 2023, 90% of the men who were offered a study place accepted it. For women, it was ‘only’ 77.5%.
In 2024, it got a little better. 93% of men accepted their offers, while 84% of women did.
But there are still significantly more men who accept than women. How can that be?
I have 4 suggestions. And they are basically about us not being good enough at communicating the actual opportunities within IT:
1. Prejudices about awkward nerds still persist
If you mention that you have a friend who works with IT, most people will probably imagine a man.
Perhaps a somewhat awkward, introverted developer with a headset, who plays Counter-Strike all night while drinking Red Bull and looking forward to playing Dungeons & Dragons on the weekend.
This can, of course, make some women feel like they don’t fit in with the fellow students. They may fear being isolated in the study environment and not being able to be part of the social community.
And if most people have this stereotypical notion, they might be worried about what others think of them when they choose this field of study. And they may not want to have to defend their choice every time they get the question: “So, what are you studying?”
First of all, let’s be clear: Of course, there are men in IT studies who fit the description of the introverted nerd. That’s obvious.
But as a headhunter, I have met many different types of people and personalities in the IT industry. And we need a broad cross-section of the population if we are to solve the problems that IT needs to solve in the future.
2. Concerns about a male-dominated work environment
Following on from the prejudices about introverted nerds, it’s natural that women might be concerned about entering a male-dominated industry filled with chauvinistic jokes, a terrible work-life balance, and communities they can’t really be a part of.
For most women, that doesn’t sound very appealing (and it probably doesn’t for most men either).
And again, let me be clear: Yes, that type of company certainly still exists. But they are becoming fewer and further between.
Because companies have also realized that this approach can scare away some of the most talented candidates.
So there are many more work environments where there is more focus on the right values, that you are making a difference in the world, and that you can pick up little Oliver from kindergarten before 4:00 PM.
Because that’s what women and men want.
3. Uncertainty about development opportunities
It can be difficult to see what development opportunities there are within IT. Yes, you can become a senior, but what then?
It might give the feeling that it will just be “more of the same.” And here, women may be more inclined to try different things in their careers than men are.
This leads me back to the fact that we don’t talk enough about what you can actually use an IT education for.
Because the possibilities are many. For example, you could become:
- A data scientist, who takes a scientific approach to making sense of enormous amounts of data.
- An IT project manager, who needs to have an overview when implementing new IT systems.
- An IT architect, who designs solutions in alignment with IT and business goals.
These are all positions that don’t just require you to be good at coding or working with backend. Here, a range of different skills can come into play to create better solutions for the company or organization.
4. Maybe they just got a better offer
Of course, it could be the case that women have simply decided that they would rather pursue a different career path in the intervening period. But if some of the points I have made are correct, then it is possible that they have made that assessment on a false basis.
If the prejudices about the stereotypical nerd, a chauvinistic environment, and limited development opportunities are prevalent, then it makes sense that women would choose a different direction. Because that doesn’t sound like an industry, we want to be a part of either.
And the problem here is that this is not at all how we see the industry as a headhunter in IT for more than 15 years. There has been an enormous development, where companies and employees to a greater extent prioritize a good and flexible work environment, having shared values, and ensuring well-being.
This does not happen at the expense of good results. It actually helps create good results both now and in the long term.
Combat the prejudices with the real story about IT
It is in everyone’s interest that more women enter IT education programs. It’s good for the students, for the universities, for the companies, and for society in general.
And we are already well on our way. I see more and more women in the industry, and more are also entering the study programs today than just 10 years ago. But we still have a long way to go before there is a more even distribution between the sexes.
Therefore, I think first and foremost that it is a good idea to talk about how IT can help solve problems for people. What IT means and not just what IT is.
Secondly, we need to dispel the persistent prejudices about the IT industry and show that it is much more than nerds in a basement.
This requires that we to a greater extent talk about what the industry actually looks like today. And not what it might have looked like 20 years ago.
Because we need all kinds of people for IT. Because they all come with different perspectives that can help create better solutions for the future.