Re: At the risk of being branded misogynst... @Jellied Eel
<sarcasm>So you are advocating positive discrimination for women, are you? I thought all forms of discrimination were frowned upon</sarcasm>.
The UK legislation provides that women will get all pay rises that happen for all workers, like rate-of-inflation rises. But how many technical companies actually pay any rate-of-inflation rise at all? Pay increments are nearly always based on achievement, and someone not working does not achieve anything. That is still not against the law.
What happens to any in-work qualifications obtained during that time the woman was away? Is the woman expected to try to study them while on maternity leave? Or be paid for an achievement they've not earned.
As I've said elsewhere, there are exceptions, as per your 'geek squad' example. I don't dispute that women can be exceptional in a job role, but I'm talking about the general, not the exceptional.
And I think that your point about recruiting reflects my point about what you do now will take years to actually make a significant difference.
Biting the hand that feeds IT
