In a sense, the IT industry in China is not as seriously short of female employees as in western countries, not because the industry has a unique attraction to women in China, but because a steady stream of female labor fills this vacancy in time.
"The IT industry just looks beautiful, but it is actually very frustrating and not suitable for women." 3 1 year-old Ms. Lin told reporters that she didn't know whether she could persist in this industry until she got married and had children.
Ms. Lin is the ERP software sales manager of a technology company in Zhongguancun. She described this job with an annual salary of 654.38 million yuan as "breathless". From Monday to Friday, I get off work at 7: 30 every day, report to the company at 9: 00, and then go to the customer's house to sign the bill or solve the problem, and I won't get home until 90: 00 in the evening. Sometimes, we have to solve problems for customers on Saturday and Sunday.
"I often go to Daxing in the morning, Zhichun Road at noon and Huairou in the afternoon." Ms. Lin said that because software is different from electrical appliances, cosmetics and health products, it has certain technical content, which makes the sales process itself quite difficult.
"Coupled with the fierce competition in the entire management software industry, it is possible for us to run a phone." Ms. Lin said that she dare not slack off when driving, and there may be customers calling later. She has no time and energy to fall in love. She is still alone. When she goes back to Tiantongyuan at night 10, she often feels desperate about her life, even when she has to reply to emails and do PPT.
Ms Tu, who has worked as a test engineer in an internationally renowned communication company for six years, is also tired of her job. "I am busy doing the same job every day. I have long wanted to change careers, but I have never made up my mind to implement it. " Ms. Tu said that her son is only two years old. When learning English, her husband who works in Tongfang, Tsinghua is busier than her. They have no time to take care of their children, and they have been taken care of by their grandmother.
"I have been in the IT industry for too long, and my position and salary are relatively high, but my personality is also alienated. If I don't jump out, I may eventually become the devil wears Prada. " Ms. Tu said that not long ago, a 38-year-old "old girl" who worked in a well-known notebook computer company for many years, despite the strong opposition and obstruction of her family, resolutely left her job and went to her online boyfriend in Germany. She was just an ordinary blue-collar worker.
The farther?
"Are you happy?" When the reporter threw this question to the eight IT women interviewed, everyone's answer was "Sometimes happy, sometimes unhappy"; "Are you happy with this job?" Only one IT woman in a senior management position answered yes.
In 2006, a website launched an "IT people's mentality index survey" online. More than 75% IT people are depressed, and 3 1.48% of them are in a very depressed state. 16.76% people can't tell whether they are depressed or not; Less than 8% people are rarely depressed, not at all. What is even more surprising is that the depression index of IT women, who account for 12% of the total sample, is higher than the overall depression index, and up to 80% of them are depressed. Among them, 65% were depressed because of the influence of work pressure on their quality of life.
Not long ago, a report by intellectual, a British IT industry association, even showed that more and more women were fleeing the IT industry. At present, the proportion of female employees in IT industry in Britain is 16%, which is far lower than 27% in 1997. These 16% female employees tend to be concentrated in the lower-end positions in the IT industry: about 6 1% of them are engaged in low-paid and low-skilled jobs. The higher the position, the fewer female employees. The same is true in the United States and Germany, where the proportion of female IT employees has been declining, with the former accounting for about 27% and the latter less than 20%.
"In China, the decline in the proportion of female IT employees is not obvious. At least the female IT employees in Zhongguancun are not as seriously lacking as those in western countries. " Mr. Wang, a human resources consultant engaged in headhunting, told the reporter that among the nearly 6,543.8+0.7 million employees in nearly 4,000 IT enterprises in Zhongguancun, 59% are male employees and 465.438+0% are female employees.
However, he believes that this does not mean that the IT industry has a unique appeal to women in China. First, a steady stream of female college students filled this vacancy in time; Second, a considerable number of female employees in Zhongguancun are mainly engaged in IT-related trade, marketing and administration, and a small number are engaged in technical work, while only 10% hold senior management positions, which is far behind other industries.
Ms. Li, who works for a famous communication equipment manufacturer, told reporters that even if she is engaged in technical work, female employees are mainly concentrated in technical support departments. Except for the department manager, all the departments where Ms. Li works are girls. She graduated from a university of science and technology in Wuhan, majoring in communication. There are six girls in a dormitory, some in Nortel and some in Alcatel. Four years later, only two people are still working as technicians in the core department. Others either get married and have children and return to their families, or resign from the technical department and take up positions in marketing, sales, documentation, training and so on.
"IT industry used to be a hot job, but now, high-intensity work and high pressure make some graduates' run away'." Ms. Li said that in the last two years, there has been a great turnover in this department, and many girls from universities such as Beihang University and Beihang University left within two years. "Because it is too hard, many girls can't stand it." As a junior test engineer, what I do is version test. Often work overtime until the evening 10, and the starting salary is relatively low. Just last month, Ms. Li miscarried less than three months after pregnancy, which made Ms. Li very depressed.
Teacher Wang thinks that the female employees in China are getting farther and farther away from it, and this conclusion is not valid. However, he agrees that it is a fact that female employees in China want to escape from it or get farther and farther away from it as they get older. Mainly reflected in two points: first, with the growth of age, some women will shift from core technical business positions to auxiliary positions; Second, some women either return to their families or switch to training, consulting or even beauty catering.
The reason for leaving
"Long working hours and high work pressure in the IT industry are not conducive to women taking on more responsibilities in the family." Teacher Wang believes that this puts female IT employees in a state of high pressure, and it is also a relatively wise choice to change jobs when economic strength allows.
Ms. Lin told reporters that 30 years old is definitely a hurdle for female employees in the IT industry. If you are not promoted to a management position, you will face the competition from newly graduated college students and graduate students, whose physical strength and knowledge structure will not be worse than yours, and what is lacking is only the accumulation of experience and relationships; If you are promoted to a management position, it means heavier work, ridiculously high efficiency and greater performance pressure. Ms. Lin is considering investing in opening a beauty shop in the community, fading out of the IT industry and making time for her own life.
Apart from high-intensity work pressure, what other reasons make women want to leave the IT industry? The confusion of career prospects, insecurity and the sharp decline of salary purchasing power are three important reasons.
In addition to job burnout, the oppression brought by the industry downturn to her career prospects seems to make Ms. Tu feel more worried. She told reporters: "The mobile phone industry used to be a profiteering industry, and now the profit is extremely low. I don't know what the future of this industry will be in two or three years, and the career prospects are full of uncertainty. "
Ms. Lin believes that the vast majority of IT enterprises in China are small and medium-sized enterprises, and most of them have not survived for more than 6 to 7 years, so employees feel insecure. Job-hopping to large companies or foreign companies is one of the goals of some employees after their business matures. However, after going to foreign companies, layoffs caused by company mergers and acquisitions or business adjustments abound.
"Compared with 10 years ago, the salary purchasing power of the IT industry has dropped a lot." Ms. Lin said, 1997, when I first entered the IT industry, the monthly income of college graduates doing development was about 2,500 yuan, and they could buy a house of one square meter in the North Fifth Ring Road and two square meters in the South Fifth Ring Road. At that time, the income of enterprises and institutions was only a few hundred yuan; Nowadays, new college students working in the IT industry can earn about 2,500 yuan a month, and they can buy a house of 0.25 square meters in the North Fifth Ring Road and 0.33 square meters in the South Fifth Ring Road. At present, the income of enterprises and institutions is about 2000 yuan, and they all have additional housing subsidies. The IT industry no longer has a salary advantage.
Stay helpless.
"canary in the coal pile" is a more appropriate nickname given to IT women by Mindy L. Gewirtz and Ann Lindsay, the directors of Brooklyn GLS Consulting Company, after completing the investigation report on professional women. They warned that the continuous working mode in the IT industry has brought great physical and mental harm to both male and female employees, and it is also harmful to the industry in the long run.
In the interview, most female employees agree with this view. However, if they really want to give up the IT industry, they always feel that the time is not yet. On the one hand, judging from the current career development, there may be some exercise opportunities and promotion space before the age of 35; On the other hand, if you stay in an industry for a long time, you will have a certain dependence on background resources.
Miss Li said that many companies have now opened up the road of technical titles, so that more people who are willing to stick to the technical departments of the IT industry have a promotion path. According to the working years and skills, the professional title is determined by a special technical grade evaluation Committee, which is in parallel with administrative management and receives corresponding wages and bonuses. For Ms. Li, after going through the painful stage of junior test engineer, her job is more comfortable now. There is no plan to change careers at present. I don't know what else I can do except what I am doing now.
Ms. Tu, on the other hand, said that she had made up her mind to change jobs many times, and the sooner the better, the sooner the better, but she was always full of doubts and hesitation. My professional background, resources and experience are all in this small field. Everyone in a foreign company is a screw, and the business field involved is very narrow. To break away from it completely, the cost and price of changing careers are very high. Ms. Tu recently changed her job, but she still hasn't left the IT industry. Fortunately, the new unit will be closer to home. Because after the old "master" moved to the South Fourth Ring Road, she would spend four to five hours on her way to and from work every day.
Mr. Wang, a human resources consultant, believes that economy is an important factor for female employees in the IT industry. Ms. Lin agrees with this view very much. "Most of my friends and classmates have not got rid of the fate of' house slaves'. A loan of three or four thousand a month is waiting for you there. It takes courage to change jobs, let alone transfer to a strange industry. " However, she said that after paying off the housing loan at the end of August 2007, we must find ways to get rid of the "IT misery".
Ms. Tu also said that at present, the communication industry still maintains a high salary level, which is also an important reason why she dare not rashly transform into the career of "investment analyst" that she yearns for. "Mortgage, car loan and children's future education expenses have all pushed my career change date back and forth." Ms. Tu said helplessly.
"If women want to persist in the IT industry, they must work harder and harder than men." All the interviewees agreed with the reporter. Jun Lv, Zhongguancun Software Incubation Association, believes that one of the major reasons that hinder women's development in IT industry is that their families are still heavily dependent on women in economy and life, which makes women shoulder the double burden of life and work and makes them more tired. "I often feel contradictory and guilty because I have to give up time with my family and children at work." Jun Lv said.
Ms. Lin, who is single so far, also said that there are many IT "old girls" around her. "Although the proportion of women in the IT industry is far less than that of men, IT women are definitely a vulnerable group in terms of mate selection." If two people are in the IT industry, everyone is too busy to take care of themselves and each other. If the other party is not in the IT industry, it is difficult for the other party to understand in traditional enterprises and institutions. "Most male colleagues around me are willing to find girls who earn less than themselves and work more easily to take care of themselves."
In fact, the data of the Report on the Living Status and Professional Competitiveness of IT Women released in 2006 fully illustrate this point. The overall salary level of IT women in China is 5% to 15% higher than the average level of other industries, and they have made great efforts. IT women have been single for the longest time, 4 to 7 years longer than women in other industries; However, married IT women only spend 38% of their time doing housework and family gatherings. The survey results also show that only a little more than 16% of IT women can balance their families and careers, and the higher their positions, the less time they have for their families, especially some individual female bosses.
Many successful women have to choose "subtraction" in family life and give up the right to be a mother for the time being. In many IT companies, it is very common for women to have their first child after the age of 35. What's more, they don't intend to have children at all.
In addition to the serious impact of work on the quality of family life, the "sub-health" status of IT women is also the evil result of long-term and super-strong work. The physical examination data of Tzu Chi Physical Examination Center show that IT women are more likely to suffer from digestive diseases such as stomach diseases and cholecystitis, as well as waist and shoulder strain than women in other industries. And 25% people have severe fatigue, and 55% people have chronic fatigue.
"It's hard to do it, and it's hard to be a woman. For a woman, It is not more difficult to do IT, but more difficult. " Ms. Lin said helplessly.
Viewpoint: Success is closer to happiness.
What do you choose in the face of happiness and success? All the interviewees chose happiness without hesitation. Jun Lv of Zhongguancun Software Incubation Association thinks that it is difficult to define what success is. Earning more does not mean success, but happiness is a beautiful state that women can feel.
Karen, Marketing Director of Business Objects Greater China, believes that happiness itself has little to do with industry and wealth. But what is certain is that the happier people are, the easier they are to succeed. After working in the IT industry for many years, she agrees with Miss Liu Xiangyu who has just entered the IT industry. IT industry is still an industry full of dreams, opportunities and challenges. If you can pursue your dreams through your own efforts, you are undoubtedly happy.
For Karen, creativity and inspiration are a great pleasure. Working in a high-tempo and high-pressure IT company for a long time, the most important thing is to keep a happy and balanced mentality and look for happy details at work. For example, if you do marketing in an IT multinational company, you will meet different people, have different ways of thinking, feel different cultural ways and have various aesthetic values. "These are all sources of happiness." Karen said: "It is impossible for a successful person to work only eight hours a day, but a happy mood will make you feel that working hours pass faster."
Jun Lv, Karen and Liu Xiangyu all believe that it is quite difficult for professional women to achieve the traditional balance between family and life in high-tech industries where the work intensity is much higher than that in traditional industries. "You only work eight hours a day, still exercise, don't read emails on weekends, and enjoy family happiness ... these can only be extravagant hopes." Karen said.
When there is a contradiction between family time and working time, what can we do except feel guilty and sorry? Both Karen and Liu Xiangyu believe that it is necessary to get as much support and understanding from family members as possible.
Karen's husband is not in the IT industry. In the past, he never understood why Karen always worked overtime and why she had to answer the phone and receive emails at home. Karen's secret is to bring him into the IT circle to influence him, especially to infect him by sharing his success and joy.
Liu Xiangyu's secret is to relax and infect his family while taking care of their lives. She often cooks all kinds of delicious food to comfort herself and her friends. She will also go shopping with colleagues and go to Houhai to chat with friends. "I will always remind myself not to forget that work is for a better life."