Geeks put girls off tech careers

MICROSOFT SAID a survey it conducted showed that many female IT professionals reckon women are put off pursuing a career in computing by its geeky image..

Of the women surveyed, 50 per cent said they were viewed as "nerdy" by other women because they were in the tech industry.

The long hours culture in the industry also puts them off with late nights and weekend working not exactly an attraction.

After women have had babies, most thought materity leave would damage their careers.

Male geeks also think female geeks are less techy than themselves. The women also feel excluded from social gatherings of the geeks.

There is hope, then. Surely most women would go stark staring bonkers if they socialised down the pub with the geeky boys who talked about nothing but ASP, gadgets and gizmos, while sinking endless pints of real ale and guffawing like drunken idiots. µ