ANZ Bank is partnering with the Wellington Institute of Technology (WelTec) to encourage more women to consider technology careers in the face of an industry shortage. A lack of women entering the IT industry is a key concern for ANZ which employs more than 600 people in its technology team, says Craig Bunyan, GM technology.. To help reverse the trend, ANZ is working with WelTec in a partnership that includes a new award for outstanding female technology graduates. “The gender balance in New Zealand’s IT workforce is bleak with females making up just 25 per cent and fewer women studying IT at tertiary level, indicating a worrying downward trend,” says Bunyan. “Diversity in our workforce means we can deliver better solutions for our customers. Right now we’re missing out on a lot of talent who are looking past a career in technology.” The gender balance in New Zealand’s IT workforce is bleak with females making up just 25 per cent and fewer women studying IT at tertiary level, indicating a worrying downward trend. Craig Bunyan, ANZ “We’re building a relationship with WelTec to encourage more women into technology, through this award and also through our Technology Internship Program. He says with one of the largest schools of business and IT in the country and almost 450 people studying IT at degree and post graduate level, WelTec is the ideal partner to work with to start addressing the skills shortage and gender imbalance in the sector.. Linda Sissons, WelTec CEO, lauds ANZ’s campaign to encourage more people to go into ICT. “We are delighted to partner with ANZ which, by offering an award and an internship programme, is acting proactively to get more women into IT.” The $2000 ANZ Award for Most Outstanding Female Graduate was presented to Georgia Bennett, who graduated with a bachelor of information technology majoring in information assurance and security. “I very much appreciate ANZ acknowledging there is a need to encourage diversity in the workplace through awards like this,” says Bennett. “Under-representation by women in technology is a well-documented issue and to address it New Zealand needs to do more with young women and even girls at secondary school.” Send news tips and comments to divina_paredes@idg.co.nz Follow Divina Paredes on Twitter: @divinap Follow CIO New Zealand on Twitter:@cio_nz Sign up for CIO newsletters for regular updates on CIO news, views and events. Join us on Facebook. Related content brandpost The steep cost of a poor data management strategy Without a data management strategy, organizations stall digital progress, often putting their business trajectory at risk. Here’s how to move forward. By Jay Limbasiya, Global AI, Analytics, & Data Management Business Development, Unstructured Data Solutions, Dell Technologies Jun 09, 2023 6 mins Data Management feature How Capital One delivers data governance at scale With hundreds of petabytes of data in operation, the bank has adopted a hybrid model and a ‘sloped governance’ framework to ensure its lines of business get the data they need in real-time. By Thor Olavsrud Jun 09, 2023 6 mins Data Governance Data Management feature Assessing the business risk of AI bias The lengths to which AI can be biased are still being understood. The potential damage is, therefore, a big priority as companies increasingly use various AI tools for decision-making. By Karin Lindstrom Jun 09, 2023 4 mins CIO Artificial Intelligence IT Leadership brandpost Rebalancing through Recalibration: CIOs Operationalizing Pandemic-era Innovation By Kamal Nath, CEO, Sify Technologies Jun 08, 2023 6 mins CIO Digital Transformation Podcasts Videos Resources Events SUBSCRIBE TO OUR NEWSLETTER From our editors straight to your inbox Get started by entering your email address below. Please enter a valid email address Subscribe