By Jennifer Dudley-Nicholson

Women working in Australia’s tech industry are still facing boys’ clubs and pay discrepancies, a study has found, despite some improvements to employment conditions and workplace culture. 

But getting into the industry might be the most problematic issue of all, with almost half of all women reporting they had experienced discrimination during job interviews.

Women in Digital released the findings on Saturday, as part of an inaugural study to test conditions in the traditionally male-dominated sphere.

The revelations come despite a persistent shortage of tech workers in Australia and predictions the industry would need an additional 300,000 workers by 2030.

The Women in Digital Discourse surveyed more than 300 technology workers in fields including finance, infrastructure and mining, and found female workers were still facing widespread discrimination.

More than one in three women (38 per cent) said their workplace had an “entrenched boys’ club,” and fewer than one in two said they were paid the same as their male peers.

Almost half of respondents (49 per cent) also reported experiencing gender bias during job interviews, which Women in Digital chief executive Holly Hunt called a persistent and disturbing trend.

“I have personally encountered a number of organisations and hiring managers who have been really overt about discrimination, for example expressing that they wouldn’t want to hire somebody who’s planning to have kids in the coming years,” she said.

“It’s something we all need to become more educated about.”

But some survey findings showed improvements in the industry.

Half of those surveyed said they could work from home when needed, most said their workplace offered flexible hours, and more than half said their employers offered paid parental leave to both genders.

Encouraging men to take parental leave, to mentor their female colleagues and to take action against bad behaviour would be vital to changing culture in the tech industry, Lottery Corporation chief information officer Loren Somerville said.

Having an experienced male colleague step up as a “manbassador” for a female colleague had made a huge difference in one of her workplaces, she said, and should be supported.

“I worked with a remarkable man who witnessed negative boys’ club behaviour where they were speaking disrespectfully about a very well regarded female leader,” she told AAP.

“He reported it and he was really open about doing it… and I think that encouraged others to be more courageous.

“It’s a cultural shift and it cannot just be the women doing it.”

The Australian Computer Society’s Digital Pulse report recently found the tech industry would need another 300,000 workers by 2030 and faced a “chronic skills shortage”.

More skilled women could help to fill these roles, Ms Hunt said, if the industry worked harder to tackle discriminatory barriers.

“We have a huge talent shortage and we do need more women in the technology industry to fill those gaps,” she said.

“We need to make sure that jobs aren’t offshored because we can’t find the skills locally.”