Have a look around several data centers today and you will notice a severe gender gap. The IT industry is currently a male-dominated area, however some experts believe the root to increasing the number of female IT employees is through cloud computing.

You may ask, why is a distinct gender gap an issue? Women are evidently happy working in other industries – so leave them to it… Research from the National Center for Women and Information Technology shows that teams with equal numbers of women and men are more likely (than teams of any other composition) to experiment, be creative, share knowledge, and fulfill tasks. Similar studies found in the same report indicate that, under the right conditions, teams comprising diverse members consistently outperform teams comprising “highest-ability” members. Realizing the benefits of this diversity is important for companies that want to retain and improve their competitive edge.

Global organizations such as Google have already realized the positive impact women in IT can bring to the table. Google recently announced a change to their maternity package that increased maternity leave from three months to five months – fully paid. Perhaps they had just read the report that claims that companies with the highest representation of women in their senior management teams had a 35 percent higher return on equity and a 34 percent higher return to shareholders.

So, where does cloud computing fit into all of this? 

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