|
Canada's shortage of skilled workers in the information technology sector is holding back our country's ability to grow the knowledge industries that are the key to today's economies. The Canadian Advanced Technology Alliance (CATAAlliance) believes that the solution to the skill shortage and brain drain is not externally in immigration and outsourcing, but in our own backyards and kitchens … in the underutilized human resources of our female population. But there is one small glitch.
Too few women work in the technology sector and flourish as entrepreneurs who create employment and change. CATA is sure you will agree that this is a loss not only for women but for society as a whole.
So how can Canadian women prosper in the IT industry, including running companies, designing systems, managing projects, and delivering government programs?
The CATA Women in Technology (WIT) Forum created to bridge this gap is working to develop the skills of IT-savvy women who will contribute to Canada's economic success. Their involvement will help us break the skill shortage, and advance an economy based upon knowledge, experience and qualifications.
The CATA WIT Forum proposes that Canada embrace three themes to advance the role of women in technology and successfully compete in the 21st century:
- Develop the IT capacity of its women;
- Increase female executive leadership; and,
- Encourage women to join the technology market, and enroll in technology-related studies.
The Forum intends to surmount these challenges by:
- Engaging political, policy and educational decision makers;
- Conducting research and public forums to create strategies to develop capable and qualified women in the IT sector and strengthen Canada's economic success and social stability; and,
- Developing a "Women in Technology Report Card" to highlight the progress of this potential resource.
Read previous year's advocacy platform:
2005 Advocacy
| 
