Interviewer:
When did you first develop an interest for computers/computing?

Professor Damien Joseph:
I got into computing when I was about 14. It started off with my dad buying us a cloned version of an Apple IIe. I think the actual brand name was "Pineapple". That was the first computer I got and of course the computers back then were pretty expensive. The only other place where you had access to computers was in the computer club in school. So I promptly joined that being the geek that I am. (laughs) And that was it. My love affair with various types of computers blossomed.

Interviewer:
In your opinion, is a background in Math a necessity while pursuing a degree in computing?

Professor Damien Joseph:
As for Math as a requirement-I wouldn't say you need Math per say. But an analytical mind would be helpful. Programming after all is logic based rather than content driven as much. So if you are analytical, if you are able to break down complex problems into simple bits and then solve them, that's all you need. Math would be helpful but-.[not a necessity?]-.basic Math is necessary. You need to 'add two plus two to get seven' and then you can move on. As an addition to Math, it was useful that I learnt binary, to do mathematics in binary. But that was an age where we did Assembler and stuff like that. Now maybe not but still, 'two plus two equals seven' is helpful.

Interviewer:
Have you seen any trends in the number of female students pursuing computer science as a degree in the recent years?

Professor Damien Joseph:
Actually I've seen a drop in the number of women getting into computer science. And there are many theories why women don't go into computer science these days. It could be due to socialization, or it could be just plain fear that there aren't many jobs out there. A lot of other academics have come out to say that the IT profession is a very male dominated profession. Of course the nature of work in IT is very demanding. If you have family obligations that you have to meet, [it may be difficult] and typically that falls more on women than it does on men so women suffer. And so they leave the IT profession in droves and that may perpetuate the fear of younger women coming in. So until we find some work life balance in IT, I think the women in IT would have to bear the brunt of work-family type commitments and juggling that. And it's a real problem.

Of course there are others who say that work should not encroach on family and family should not encroach on work. But think about this - if you are a frontline IT professional and if you are dealing with the organization's problems - people in the organization don't work from nine to five. They login from home, and if there are any problems with the IT systems, you will be called in to solve it. So it will encroach on your family life just as your family life will encroach on your work life. So that's that. But we may find a way to increase the self efficacy of the self confidence of women in IT by having young potential IT professionals experience the joy of developing systems. At least from the students that I see, once they have developed an application that works, the glint in their eyes, the joy, and the self confidence that it builds - that's immeasurable. So incorporate that into secondary schools and elementary schools. Get them to start developing and use IT. I have a daughter who readily surfs the net and when she finds information for her work, she is very happy. So once you break down the fear of IT, whether be it men or women, you get them into IT and potentially they love it so much that they make it a career.

Interviewer:
Recent studies have shown that the brains of men are more adapted to the processing of technical information than women and that serves as a deterrent for women to join the IT industry. Do you have any views on this?

Professor Damien Joseph:
I will grant you that women have a different way of processing information. But whether that's a deterrent for women to work in the IT industry - I don't see how that is possible. The IT profession itself is not just one particular job. You are not a geek sitting in front of the computer banging away development programs. There's a whole range of jobs that we need women for. For example, women tend to pool information from disparate sources, they tend to bring in or use their intuition, use their feelings a lot better than men. Now, if we can harness that power, let's say in requirements analysis (getting requirements) - that is place where we have identified that 75% of the systems that fail have its roots in guys not getting the proper requirements from the users. But if you have someone who is able to communicate, to empathise with the current business problems, think about the rich information we could get from getting the deep requirements of the organization. Women could do that more effectively than men I think.

Interviewer:
Why, in your opinion, are women who hold the same position as men in IT jobs paid lower wages?

Professor Damien Joseph:
Yes, that's a good question. That goes back, I think-at least from what my research has shown, it goes back to the perceptions that employers in general hold off women. There's always this discount provided on women because they might leave the workforce - for child bearing, for child raising and stuff like that. So they tend to not pay women as much. Now, given that the IT profession itself in which skills erode very rapidly, women [who] leave the IT workforce see their skills erode more rapidly than men because they have left the IT workforce. So when they come back in, they do not hold the same level of skills. Hence they are paid lower. So it's a very cyclic process - they leave because they have other family commitments; when they come back in their level of skills in the IT profession is more outdated than men, therefore they get paid less.

Interviewer:
What message would you like to give to women who are interested in pursing jobs in IT?

Professor Damien Joseph:
I would encourage it. There are many different jobs that they could take. If you are technically inclined, and my wife is a geek - she runs a messaging system worldwide for a major American company, she's more technical than I am and I tend to the analysis part (so there is some sort of role reversal in the house), so if they are inclined as such - be a geek. And wear the badge proudly. If you are inclined more towards the analysis and the more business oriented application of IT, there's room there as well. Then there are things like the call centers, IT support, and a wide range of jobs. So go for it.

Interviewer:
Thank you so much Professor Damien.