Social networking tools will encourage more women to consider a career in IT, but they must accept that they will be engaged in a battle with social norms, according to one senior female IT leader.

Gender need not be a barrier to success, and the power to create a balanced workforce lies with IT professionals themselves as well as with employers, said Jennifer Mowat, director of BT Tradespace.

“Girls should be encouraged to think about IT as a career option,” she said.

“Girls are coming across a lot of the tools people are now using, such as social networking, and the career prospects will become more attractive as they become socially acceptable. For example, when you are running a web site, no one cares if you’re a 20-year-old woman or a 50-year-old man.”

Mowat told Computing that people need to acknowledge the implications of their lifestyle choices and assert themselves when they feel excluded or unnoticed.

“Feminists will hate me for this, but you have to make the choice, and staying at home comes at a price. If you think something is not fair, speak up. You have to take on the cultural norms, but be really vocal about what you want to do. It is a lot to do with attitude and how you want to be treated,” she said.

Last month, Computing reported that nine in 10 women in IT had felt discriminated against.

Mowat said she had not witnessed such behaviour. “If anyone behaved like that they would be fired,” she said.