Despite increasing evidence of the positive impacts women’s participation have on the workforce, the IT industry has yet to experience an influx of female graduates. As a result, there has been a growing recognition at the industry level that encouraging women to pursue a career in IT requires greater role models and support networks.
In response to this John Sullivan, Product Development Manager at MYOB, had devised DevelopHER, an initiative hoping to make waves in the IT industry via a 360 hours paid intern program targeted at women. Inside Small Business spoke recently to John about DevelopHER.
ISB: Why is this initiative so important?
JS: At the moment only 20% of the candidates for tech higher education courses are female. And Australia desperately needs more IT-savvy women – male-dominated development teams create products that aren’t necessarily aimed at female consumers, but today women are responsible for most consumer decisions.
The intelligence of a development team increases with diversity, with a more diverse team producing a better, more rounded solution.
ISB: And what exactly is DevelopHER?
JS: DevelopHER is a 10-week program which aims to teach women the fundamental skills they need to become sought-after junior software developers. The internship program is open to women at any career or life stage, whether they be returning to the workforce, seeking a new challenge or transitioning from non-software development roles.
ISB: What stage are you at with the program?
JS: We’re looking to start within a few months. We’re currently running expressions of interest and we’re initially looking for three women with experience in the workplace but no IT skills, to take through to an industry-recognised standard of competency.
The course will be based in our Cremorne, Melbourne office where the candidates will have access to mentorship from experts in our software delivery and human resources teams. However, we understand candidates will have other things on their plate and the program accommodates them doing some of the work remotely.
ISB: There are a few other initiatives trying to deal with this issue, how does DevelopHER differ from them?
JS: There are some programs, such as General Assembly and Rails Girls, doing a good job at introducing women to IT development, but we’re going to go a step further. Those schemes don’t involve a career path once the training is complete – we will provide mentors from within MYOB who can open doors to roles with organisations who are looking for candidates with the right team skills and technical ability.
Building software is about great teams working together. It’s not just about maths and science, but also about getting and acting on customer feedback – and more mature, intuitive team members provide that.
