Popular areas of contracting such as technology should be made viable industries for women to enter, one expert has said.

Teresa Schofield, regional leader of the Global Marathon Europe, pointed out that the number of women in senior jobs in the technical industry is actually declining, with those who are tending to be academic, non-British or without children.

She said that women should be able to view a career in the industry as normal and that employers should work to ensure they can stay in the industry for life.

"Companies have not responded to their skills issues by recruiting more women or working more with schools because there were huge initiatives supposedly addressing this that have not worked," she explained.

Meanwhile, Richard Nott, director of CWJobs.co.uk, has said that companies are looking for IT professionals with softer skills in order to fit them around their business needs.