The range of possibilities that exist in the IT sector should be introduced to women at a young age to help close the gender gap within the industry, it has been claimed.
According to Jan Peters, women's forum manager at the British Computer Society, more should be done to educate women about "the whole spectrum" of opportunities for entering the sector.
"Women don't know about the range of careers, opportunities and awards that are available," she explained.
This is partially due to the fact that IT "is almost invisible" as an option when women are at school, Ms Peters said.
Furthermore, she suggested that apprenticeships and other alternatives to the "degree route" should be promoted to encourage more females to choose IT.
A recent study by Garnet and e-skills UK discovered that 51 per cent of women did not find IT careers appealing.