The pandemic has left a huge mark on the IT market and has led to numerous changes, including the widespread adoption of remote work, changes in earnings, and a growing demand for specialists.

More and more women are also deciding to change careers and start working in the IT sector. However, not everything is so rosy. Because of the pandemic, women working in IT have more work to do at home. 41% of female programmers worldwide believe that remote work has had a negative impact on them. Meanwhile, as many as 39% of women in Poland who want to start a career as programmers say they have a problem finding a suitable job offer.

Women in IT: burnout and household duties

According to the "Women in tech report 2021" prepared by TrustRadius, 57% of female programmers feel more burned out at work, 43% of them work longer hours, and 42% perform more household duties than their partners. The impact of the coronavirus on the work of women in IT and beyond is very significant. Not only have issues such as earnings or working remotely changed, but so have aspects of private life. In the same study, 47% of IT employees indicated that the balance of their household duties changed under the influence of epidemiological restrictions.

Remote work and earnings during the pandemic

As many as 41% of women in IT also believe that remote work has affected them negatively. Only 23% of men think the same. Interestingly, despite this, the possibility of remote work in the face of the pandemic is becoming increasingly important for female programmers in Poland. In the report by No Fluff Jobs titled "Women in IT 2021," 34% of women indicated home office as one of the most important issues at work. In an analogous study from Q1 2020, 23% of female programmers considered the possibility of remote work to be the most important aspect of employment. According to the No Fluff Jobs report, the most important things for women in IT work are a good atmosphere (66%), high earnings (65%), and development opportunities (64%). Home office took fourth place.

– The coronavirus pandemic forced the IT market to quickly implement remote work. Many companies in the new technology sector handled this very well. Interestingly, paradoxically, COVID-19 had a positive effect on programmers' earnings, especially those working in home office mode. This is shown by Inhire's study titled "IT 2020 Market Snapshot." According to it, juniors in the IT segment in Q1 2020, working remotely, earned an average of PLN 7,151, while in Q4 their pay was already PLN 9,322. By comparison, in the same period, programmers working on-site earned PLN 8,938 in Q1 and PLN 8,798 in Q4 – says Marek Czyżewski, CEO of PRAVNA.pl, a service specializing, among other things, in obtaining IP BOX relief for programmers.

Nearly one quarter of female programmers want to work under a B2B contract

As many as 21% of women working in IT express a desire to establish cooperation with companies based on a B2B contract. According to the "Women in IT 2021" report, as many as 70% of female programmers work under an employment contract. Thanks to a B2B contract, women could count on higher earnings. The average for female juniors falls within PLN 3,001–4,000 net, for more advanced mid-level specialists PLN 5,001–6,000, and for seniors PLN 10,001–15,000. The No Fluff Jobs study shows that the most satisfied group in terms of earnings in IT are senior women. Their financial expectations most often match actual salaries. It is also mostly experts and seniors who work under B2B contracts. In total, 20% of women in IT have B2B contracts.

– Just under one quarter of female programmers work under B2B contracts. This is the second most common type of employment in IT companies, after the employment contract. B2B contracts are usually held by the most specialized and qualified female programmers, whose work is associated with high monthly earnings, sometimes in the tens of thousands of zlotys. Such earnings also mean high taxes and fees – thanks to the IP BOX relief, many women working in IT can settle taxes based on the reference 5% CIT/PIT rate on income from qualified intellectual property rights – explains the CEO of Pravna.pl. – Our practice shows that obtaining a positive opinion requires gathering appropriate arguments, and the entire process based on obtaining an interpretation takes about 3–4 months – adds Czyżewski.

B2B contract and IP BOX relief for female programmers

How the pandemic affected women in IT – summary of studies

The IP BOX relief is intended for companies (including sole proprietorships) that engage in research or development, as well as broadly defined innovative activity. In addition to scientists and research employees, programmers and other IT sector employees also qualify for the aforementioned relief.

Women want to work in IT but have trouble finding a job

Motivations and barriers for women in IT

In last year's "Women in IT 2020" report by No Fluff Jobs, as many as 58% of female respondents said they were interested in working in IT. It is assumed that in Poland women currently make up 30% of programmers, and the trend toward greater feminization of this profession is growing. Polish women see potential in the new technology sector and want to work. As the main motivators, they most often mention higher earnings (70%), opportunities for personal development (51%), and passion for the IT industry (40%). Usually, women who want to work as programmers simply change careers and educate themselves independently. 49% of Polish women who are striving to start a career in IT are at the stage of self-study, 25% want to complete specialized courses, and only 7% are thinking about studies in this field.

Unfortunately, many women still encounter considerable difficulties on their path to an IT career. 39% of respondents in the 2021 No Fluff Jobs study indicated that they have a problem finding the right job offer. Another 34% say they do not know where to start. Along the way, problems also appear such as indecision about choosing a specialization (28%), fear of changing jobs (24%), or the cost of learning programming (23%). As for the specializations themselves, it turns out that the most popular among women in IT is testing (16%), which was still in 3rd place in the 2020 No Fluff Jobs study. Polish women also very often do well in cybersecurity, for which demand is also growing.

– During the pandemic, the IT market is constantly facing new challenges. The shift of a large part of employees worldwide to home office increased the need to use internet infrastructure, which fosters the emergence of new cyber threats. At the same time, the role of cybersecurity specialists is becoming more important every year due to the growing number of online attacks associated not only with the COVID-19 pandemic – says Wiktoria Olszewska, cybersecurity analyst at Accenture, and adds that the current situation has further increased demand for employees dealing with cybersecurity, which is why companies are actively recruiting specialists in this area and at the same time trying to solve the previously addressed problem of the small number of women in the industry. – We believe that diversified teams are an effective response to the sector's challenges. At Accenture, we actively support women who want to start a career in cybersecurity as well as women who are already experienced specialists in this field – assures Olszewska.

Summary

The pandemic accelerated digitalization and remote work, but for women in IT it also meant a greater burden of household duties. 57% of female programmers feel burned out, and 41% negatively assess the impact of home office. At the same time, interest in B2B contracts (21%) and the IP BOX relief, which allows for a 5% tax rate, is growing. Women are eager to retrain into IT, but 39% have a problem finding a job offer.

Importantly, cybersecurity is becoming an increasingly attractive specialization for women, and companies such as Accenture actively support their development in this field. Despite the difficulties, the trend toward feminization of IT in Poland is growing – women now already make up 30% of programmers.