We need more women in information technology – publico

                 

                         
                     

                 

 
                         

It is celebrated today worldwide, the “Girls in ICT Day”, an initiative of the International Telecommunication Union in order to raise awareness of young women about career opportunities in Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs ).

                     

                          But that opportunity is it?

The ICT is one of the areas fastest growing worldwide. Computers and communications on the Internet are increasingly penetrate business sectors. And there is a huge shortage of professionals with higher education and highly skilled in these areas, and the trend is that the problem will go become more severe. The former vice president of the European Commission Neelis Kroes, in many of his public interventions, drew attention to that one way to mitigate this lack of personnel in the field is to bring more women into the professions related to ICTs.

This is an area that has a number of aspects that are relevant:

1) is a cross-sectional area, to the extent that information technology and communications are used in all sectors of activity and this will increase in the coming years with the so-called “Internet of Things”;

2) There is a huge lack of professionals in this field, with immense employment opportunities, and the trend is that this lack of people ICT training increase;

3) It is a profession without borders; while many professions can only be exercised in Portugal or a limited number of countries. For example, a lawyer is formed with national legislation and it becomes difficult to work in another country; a doctor, in most specialties, need to master very well the language of the country where he works; so does a psychologist. On the contrary, the language of computers, computing and the Internet is universal.

4) Despite the many advantages, many girls do not consider the possibility of a career in ICT. In Portuguese higher education, unlike what happens in most areas where the number of students is greater than the number of pupils, the number of ICT students have been reduced.

In this context, the Department of Informatics, Faculty of Science, University of Lisbon celebrates the “Girls in ICT World Day” event in Girls in ICT @ CiênciasULisboa, we seek to alert young people, their parents and teachers to the vast career opportunities and achievement personal and professional that exist in this area of ​​knowledge. The specific skills of women make them good professionals in many areas where higher education in ICT is an asset, for their ability to work in interdisciplinary contexts. At a time when ICTs are transforming the world, women have the opportunity to contribute actively and significantly in building the global future

As a final curiosity:. Knew that the first developer of history was one woman, Ada Lovelace, and that his name is used in a premium for women in computer science and also as the name of a programming language? With his talent, poetic imagination Ada applied science and played a key role in the onset of the digital age.

Ana Luisa Respício, Ana Paula Afonso, Katie Pesquita, Dulce Dominic, Teresa Chambel, Peter Veiga

Teachers of the Department of Informatics, Faculty of Science, University of Lisbon