Top jobs elude women in Silicon Valley

Silicon Valley may be leading the way in the technology sector, but the IT hub is still lagging behind when it comes to the battle of the sexes, a recent study has shown.

Women account for only 6.5 per cent of board members on Silicon Valley firms, and of that figure, only 8.8 per cent occupy top positions within the companies, the University of California, Davis study found.

The survey, which involved around 400 firms with an annual turnover of $ 100 million or higher, also reveals that only 10.2 per cent of women have positions of responsibility within the companies.

Of the 400 companies taking part, 103 are based in Silicon Valley. The study showed that high technology firms' success in promoting women lags behind averages for the rest of the California business sector.

The number of female board members came in at 6.5 per cent for companies in the survey against 8.8 per cent for California as a whole; while women directors are 8.8 per cent against 11.7 per cent.

Those figures lag behind national averages, where 14.3 per cent of board members are women, who also occupy 15.7 per cent of the top jobs, according to two surveys carried out in 2005 by Catalyst.

Several prominent Silicon Valley firms have bucked the trend, with computer giant Hewlett Packard and software manufacturer Hyperion each having around 31 per cent women in leading positions. — AFP