Kelly Carnes, Deputy Assistant Secretary, U.S. Department of Commerce told the Women in Technology International (WITI) Conference women are underrepresented in the sector which is driving the growth of the American economy and particularly the high-end of that sector. Only 28 percent of computer systems analysts and scientists are women, only 31 percent of computer programmers and two percent of executives working in technology companies are women. Carnes addressed specifics of the challenge of expanding women's role in the new economy in the 21st Center.

Noting that technology will account for as much a half of the Nation's long term growth over the next 50 years, she identified information technology - computers, software and communications, as accounting for eight percent of our economy and providing jobs for more than 4.5 million people in the U.S. This sector continues to display astonishing growth. According to Carnes, 65,000 web sites are added to the Web every hour. But this growth is outstripping the supply of skilled workers to fill the needs of that industry and, even more scarce, are women in the industry.

One of the most significant barriers to women's entry into the IT field is education. Data shows that women do make it big in high tech as undergraduate students, yet they remain underrepresented in the tech education pipeline. For example, in 1996, men were three times more likely to choose science as a field of study than women. Overall, women earn about 1 of every 6 bachelor level degrees awarded in engineering--the gateway to many technical careers in the U.S. economy. This compares with women earning 1 out of every 3 bachelor level degrees in pre-med, and 1 of every 2 in pre-law.

Women may not be encouraged to enter technical fields. For example, only 6 percent of instructors in engineering are women. Carnes also ran through a list of traditional barriers including lack of mentoring and networks for women, women's sense of isolation in technical school campuses and the difficulty of penetrating the glass ceiling to senior level corporate positions.

Carnes mentions a complex set of issues in both education and the corporate arena which must be addressed in order for women to progress in this area. She began with the education pipeline, with family, friends and teachers motivating more young girls in K-12 to consider careers in technology. She mentioned the Mentoring programs now underway - MentorNet; Project Edge; Telementoring Young Women in Science and Engineering. And Carnes encouraged employers to look beyond traditional perceptions of women's ability to work in fast-paced, high-demand technical fields and build new professional and business networks that will help women succeed in these environments.

With a growing economy and millions of new high wage jobs, Carnes points out, we have a golden opportunity to draw more women into high wage technology jobs and boost them up the corporate ladder. " However, we must meet this challenge one person at a time, and let me encourage you ... to reach out and help pull someone along."

Carne's office, the Office of Technology Policy, was the agency that published the new report, "America's New Deficit: The Shortage of Information Technology Workers." and many of their policy initiatives and strategy are devoted to this issue.