After a Career Break: Supporting Women Returning to ICT

Authors

  • Clem Herman The Open University

Keywords:

returners, ICT, elearning

Abstract

This is a case study of an initiative to support women returning to ICT after a career break, which was run in the UK and Ireland between 2005 and 2011.The article starts by outlining how the UK government’s concern about women failing return to SET careers led to the setting up of a national campaign (RETURN) to address this issue. A brief overview of previous research about women’s reasons for leaving ICT employment and the difficulties and barriers they encounter in returning to work, sets the context for the development of the online course Return to SET. An outline of the course and its innovative support model is then described followed by a discussion about measurement of impact and concluding with some suggestions for future development.

Author Biography

  • Clem Herman, The Open University
    I have worked for over 25 years as an educator, practitioner and researcher to support women in ICT and other science, engineering and technology sectors. I am currently running an award winning online course for women returning to SET, developed in partnership with the UK Resource Centre for Women in SET. Before joining the Open University, I was the Director of the Women’s Electronic Village Hall (WEVH) in Manchester pioneering the use of ICTs to empower women and as a tool to combat social exclusion. My recent research has included work about the impact of career breaks for women in ICT and other SET industries across Europe. I am passionate about the need to engage the research community with policy makers and practitioners in order to create sustainable change — hence this journal!
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Published

08-07-2011

Issue

Vol. 3 No. 2 (2011)

Section

Women in ICT: international research from a lifecourse perspective

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How to Cite

After a Career Break: Supporting Women Returning to ICT. (2011). International Journal of Gender, Science and Technology, 3(2), 536-543. https://genderandset.open.ac.uk/index.php/genderandset/article/view/136