LIFE IN THE FAST LANE.

Great pay, a fast-paced environment, challenging work and chucking the suit out the door. You would think more women would be flocking to careers in Canada's information technology sector. So why aren't they? CMA Management talks to five tech-savvy women to find out why they love their jobs and how we can convince our daughters to follow their lead

But selling wasn't a good fit. Early on, Fox realized she preferred configuring and fixing the computers to selling them and took a hardware job in which she was expected to crack open computers and fix the bugs. She learned on the first day that her path might not be as easy as she hoped, however. "I'll tell you, there's nothing that puts the fear of God in a man more than seeing a woman approach his computer with a screwdriver!" she says laughing, years later.

Geraldine Fox remembers how it was when she first started working in the IT industry in the mid-80s. She started her IT career selling computers at a time when Windows were something you looked through, and mentioning the "Internet" would have warranted blank stares.

Of course, things have changed. She is now the outsourcing global practice leader for Compass Analysis in Mississauga, Ontario, a global company with offices around the world. Fox spends her days helping clients determine if their outsourced IT operations are as efficient as they should be. "It's one of those things that when people ask me at a party what I do, their eyes glaze over," she concedes, but she loves her company and a career that offers challenges every day. In fact, ask her about the hardships of the early years in the business and she just laughs. "I never thought of it at the time. It was a heck of a lot of fun and it was a well-paying job!" she says.

Ask many women in the information technology sector about their jobs, and it's easy to see the same holds true today. With as little as five months of programming and analysis training, most IT workers can expect salaries in the $50K plus range. There are also far more positions open than there are employees. And if you thrive on change, high-tech might be your ticket to a satisfying career. So why aren't more women joining the pack(et)?

Women might make up 44% of the labour force, but they represent fewer than 10% of all technologists and technicians in Canada. Statistics Canada figures illustrate that women make up 20% of those enrolled in undergraduate engineering programs and this number drops to only 5% for post-graduate studies. The most startling figure of all? Industry analysts say that since 1983, the number of women entering the IT field has been steadily declining.

Changing girls' minds

"We always say that computer science needs an Ally McBeal," says Emma Smith, co-author of Technology with Curves and founding president of the Wired Woman Society. "I think we all have an idea about how lawyers and doctors have a positive impact on the world around us, but when you look at women who are working in technology careers, they're bringing that same sense of caring to the creation of companies that really make a difference."

Smith started Wired Woman in 1996 in Vancouver when she realized having coffee with the women she was unofficially mentoring was turning into a full time job. After pulling together a number of women in technology careers who wanted to network, she decided to formalize the process. "The next morning, I was feeling rash and went out and registered as a non-profit -- and that was the beginning," Smith says. Now the organization has chapters in Vancouver, Toronto, Winnipeg, Ottawa and Calgary, and provides networking opportunities, career resources, community and academic presentations, role-modeling and mentoring for the members.

Another mandate involves trying to motivate school-age girls to consider IT careers before they begin dropping maths and sciences, a prerequisite for many jobs in the IT sector. "There's a very different result when you talk to girls about statistics in computer science -- or if you tell them a story about this woman who designs video games and just spent a year in Africa doing motion capture.

"There is something about saying, 'Here's a woman who really made a difference because she created a code that allows you to do medical procedures from a remote location.' It has meaning," Smith says.

When Fox thinks back to her own childhood, she admits an IT career was a hard sell. Her father tried to convince her that technology had a future for her, but she wouldn't hear it. "I said, 'Yeah, whatever.' It was full of nerds! And I thought, 'No -- this is definitely not something that I wanted to do'," she says.

In fact, Fox studied architecture in Dublin, Ireland before immigrating to Canada, where she continued her studies in the arts. Yet it is her education in Ireland that allowed her to take advantage of the opportunities she encountered later. In Ireland, she says, boys and girls are required to continue with sciences and maths into their upper years to keep all doors open until university. That school system's mandate seems to be working for her nieces back in Ireland, who have also begun careers in IT.

Debra Stafford, vice-president of information technology and chief information officer (CIO) at the TDL Group Limited, head franchisor for the Tim Hortons chain, has been in the high-tech field for over 16 years. She remembers her childhood fascination with the space program and dreamed of being an astronaut -- or a lawyer.

That wide range of interests has worked for Stafford, who walks the tightrope between "techie speak" and business concepts daily, helping executives at her company understand why they need a certain gadget -- then relaying the information to the programmers and analysts. She hopes that the "nerd" factor for children is beginning to wane -- especially with elementary school kids. "Now that I have my own child, I'm seeing a huge improvement in schools for computer labs and access to the Internet. Now it's a cool thing," she says.

Cool thing or not, Wired Woman's Smith says she still thinks educators have to do a better job of introducing young girls -- especially those before grade eight, an age in which many girls begin to lose interest in math and science -- to realworld examples of IT careers. She says the girls she has talked to today are ambitious. They want to tackle jobs in high-paying fields such as the medical or legal professions. "It's wonderful that girls want to be doctors and lawyers, but the reality is that's not where the jobs are," she adds.

The numbers game

The jobs can be found in information technology. If truth be told, Canada's new deficit will be found in the shortage of IT workers as we move through this decade. For example, there are only 2,000 people in Canada today who are qualified to work in the semiconductor area of IT. Using figures from the Strategic Microelectronics Consortium and research conducted by Ottawa-based Tundra Semiconductor Corp., in five years it's predicted that this industry will require between 18,000 and 20,000 skilled workers -- but only 5,000 will be available. The shortage in high-tech employees is a global problem with global ramifications, especially for countries like Canada if they cannot keep up.

"We know how many hundreds of thousands of jobs are going to be created in the IT space in Canada, but we're not focusing on encouraging women to educate themselves for the jobs that are going to be there," says Smith.

A bad knock for the IT sector, but flip the issue over and it is a definite plus for women wanting to break into the field. Fox says when she hires employees, she does not care if they're male or female as long as he or she is a warm body and has relevant knowledge. The company needs good people and some positions are open for a full year before they are filled.

"I think this business -- I suppose more than any other -- tends to be colour blind and non-sexist because there are few competent people Out there in our industry. It doesn't make any difference if you're a woman because of the huge shortage of competency, which is one of the reasons why it really surprises me that more girls aren't going into it," she says.

The perks

Luckily for the industry and the women themselves, some women are seeing the great opportunities that a career in IT provides and are making the leap from traditional careers in accounting, human resources and even finances.

Debbie LeValliant, CMA, president and CEO of AMIRIX Systems Inc., was one such person. She joined the 20-year-old Halifax-based company, which delivers design solutions for telecommunications platforms, in 1991 after leaving a job as a stockbroker. It was her need for speed that drew her in.

"I could see that the technical industry was positioned for growth and I think that in itself led me to wanting to be in this industry. I'm a very enthusiastic person who likes a fast-paced life. I like challenge. I like excitement. I consider myself creative. I thought all that existed in the technical sector," she says.

Her information was correct and so was her choice of company. Everybody has read stories about the high-tech companies with the ping-pong and pool tables in the rec room. Or that every day is casual Friday. Or that ultra-flexible hours are the norm. At AMIRIX, it's all true. "The company is very focused on personal and professional goals. We have a lot of fun," she says, before admitting that jeans and a turtleneck are her regular attire.

"We're a casual environment. You never know when you're going to be squirted with a water squirter around here. You don't want to be wearing your finest suit," she says. The humorous atmosphere aside, the work itself keeps LeValliant challenged and busy. Last November, she helped complete a multimillion deal that brought a Silicon Valley company to Nova Scotia to set up shop. She describes the celebration party as "huge." "People often say to me, 'Debbie, maybe you should get a hobby.' And I say, 'Why? My work is my hobby'."

What is required

LeValliant's story proves that having a programming back-ground or an engineering degree is not a prerequisite for all IT positions. One of the biggest mistakes women make when thinking of a career in IT is assuming that they will be sitting in front of a computer for hours at a time writing code. And that simply is not true in many cases.

Just ask Darlene Kelly, CMA and chief operating officer for TeraMach Technologies Inc., in Ottawa. Kelly is the first to point out that her career has taken some strong detours over the years before landing back in IT. Starting in a traditional career in public, financial and management accounting, she moved on to IT training and eventually to teaching CMA courses at the University of Ottawa in the faculty of administration. That experience gave her private sector familiarity.

After deciding to take a year off in 1998 to discover what she wanted to do next, Kelly received a call from TeraMach asking her to facilitate strategic planning sessions. "It really wasn't so much that I had a lot of high-tech experience as much as I had all the skills and had a really good foundation of management experience to be able to bring to the company," she says.

In a company where Kelly is the only woman in a management position - a common occurrence in IT companies -- she says she still doesn't think she brings anything special to the company on the basis of gender. She does notice after most meetings that she was the only woman in the room, and she knows that in her husband's IT company with 120 employees, the management staff is female-free.

"Now, the guys around here would say nothing gets swept under the table, but I don't think that's gender-specific. I think it's based on the type of person you are," she says before stating that the company asked her to take the chief operating officer role because they liked her style and wanted to report to her. Hunter Li, the president of the company, says Kelly naturally facilitates communication, has a different approach to problem-solving than most of the staff, and makes confident decisions. Unlike her boss, Kelly still thinks these are personal attributes and not based on gender, but is happy to get the compliments nonetheless.

The stereotypes that women are superior communicators and facilitators can actually help more than hinder in this industry. According to a 1998 study that followed recent graduates after training, it showed that female programmers actually made more money than their male counterparts because they're perceived in the industry as natural team players. True or false, it can mean money in the bank.

The importance of mentors

Even if there isn't an Ally McBeal of information technology making a career in IT seem sexy rigth now, real-life mentors are just as important to help raise awareness of the field and hone skills. Organizations like the Wired Woman Society offer mentor programs that hook experienced women with the less experienced and encourage the pattern to grow.

"The end goal is for Wired Woman not to be necessary, but I'm not sure if that will be in 10 years or a little longer before it gets to the point when having women in technical careers is such an obvious necessity that we don't need groups with a mandate to facilitate that," Smith says.

Then there are less structured mentoring arrangements. TDL's Stafford has had many male and female mentors over the years and says straight out that without their guidance, she would probably not be where she is today. "These are the people who would often tell me, 'Oh, you're talking in too many bits and bytes. Turn it around. Talk in business language. What about accounting? What's the cost/benefit analysis? When are you going to get the payback?"' she says. "Those are important to understand when you're coining up the ranks -- especially in IT."

The balancing act

When Smith was writing Technology With Curves none of the women she interviewed for the book mentioned a common complaint among most professionals: the work/life balance. Perhaps it was because they weren't asked, or perhaps it didn't seem like the right format to discuss the struggle. Smith thinks part of the reason, however, stems from the love the women had for their jobs -- and the fact that technology was actually an enabler for living a more fulfilling, balanced life. "If you didn't have a laptop and a cell phone, you could never do the sorts of things that a lot of these women are doing," she says.

Still, the issue is out there. In fact, Kelly says she thinks the constant juggling act between work, family, extended family, friends and giving back to the community and profession is one of the biggest obstacles women face when taking a management job in IT. "It's just such a difficult juggle to achieve. You have to have everything right to accomplish it -- a really supportive network at home and a really supportive environment at work. You have to have everything all lined up successfully to pull it off," she says.

Stafford agrees. She says both she and her husband put in long hours, but have to make a concerted effort not to take work home on the weekends so they can spend time with their daughter. "I need a wife!" she quips.

Loving the job

Looking at her years at Compass Analysis, Geraldine Fox knows she made the right decision when she hooked on a tool belt over 15 years ago to fix her first computer. Now she enjoys a charmed life -- a job in a global company that offers challenging work, but without the constant travel like so many other global companies.

She also says her co-workers are some of the best people she has ever worked with (she says her boss has been known to declare that managing Compass consultants is like herding wild cats...) and everyone knows each other. "It would be impossible for me to leave this company," she says -- and in a good way.

Stafford, like Kelly, Smith, Fox and LeValliant, has a similar love for her profession. The choices she has made and the hard work result in successes that range from seeing staff rise to a challenge to implementing new software that makes everyone's lives easier. "I love coming into my job every morning. I love evolving with the rest of the business," she says. How many of us can say that?

Kira Vermond ([e-mail]) is a Toronto-based freelance writer.

What to Look For in an IT Company

Before taking a job at a high-tech company, or simply a company that needs IT people, be sure to look before you leap -- especially if you're a woman entering the field or switching jobs.

Look at:

* How many female executives are there?

* Do the executives at the company understand IT? How do they relate to the IT professionals on staff?

* Development opportunities. There should be potential for growth, but also an opportunity to continue learning.

* Understand the company's vision. It's important to obtain a clear idea of the company's vision and evaluate the potential for success, especially when many high-tech start-ups are crashing.

* Ask about the management team's experience. It's important to have a team capable of executing the plan.

* Look at the corporate culture. Do the values and culture of the company fit with your own?

* Make sure the job's expectations are clear and suit your situation (particularly if you have a family or other outside demands). Look at the percentage of travel, busy times and working hours.

Source: Debra Stafford & Darlene Kelly