I encountered a very interesting phenomena today when I was asked to present 3 workshops at the Business Liaison Association’s Women and Careers Forum 2008 for International Womens Day Week of Celebrations.

The workshops are themed around informing girls about their career options within a number of different fields; law, defence forces, fashion, health, tourism, journalism, engineering, science, hospitality, and of course, IT!

Two of the girls from my office, Emmy Kerrigan and Belinda Vere were also to participate in the workshops sharing their experiences through their study achievements and employment choices they’ve made to get them into their current positions.

Unfortunately, there was not one girl interested in IT. We were due to deliver 3 workshops, and there wasn’t enough interest for even one! Engineering had a similar response, but were lucky enough to have a single interested participant.

So.. what’s the problem here? What is it about the IT industry that turns girls away from considering it as a career choice?  Please share your thoughts.