Prof Brian Fitzgerald said it’s important to boost the number of women working in tech areas.

In May, the Central Statistics Office published new data showing that less than one-third of Ireland’s ICT workers are women.

Huawei Ireland is aiming to narrow that gap, offering a total of €90,000 annually to women studying STEM across TU Dublin, University College Cork and University College Dublin through its Tech4Her scholarship.

Speaking to SiliconRepublic.com at a recent Women in Tech event hosted by Huawei, Prof Brian Fitzgerald, director of software research centre Lero, said Ireland produces very few women ICT graduates per year compared to its international counterparts.

“We do produce good people but one in five are women,” he said.

“It’s far too few and our goal is to create role models from an early stage so people are expecting it and don’t see it as an exception to work in that area.”

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Words by Jenny Darmody