Don't you love a bit of controversy on the internet?

What's the best way to promote women in IT-related jobs, and to encourage young women into IT? Apparently putting together a sexy calendar that trades on how women look rather than appreciating them for their intelligence!

The IT Goddess calendar has been getting a lot of press here in Australia, with a lot of criticism being fired their way as well. It seems that being smart is no longer enough to succeed - you also have to be sexy.

From the IT Goddess website, as to why they are doing this:

We’re doing this to:

* Smash through the perception of the geeky technologist
* Generate media sensation to put a spotlight on the industry and increase national interest and awareness
* Raise awareness of the diversity of Women in IT
* Raise money for non profit groups that run initiatives to encourage females to take up technology studies and to enter technology careers
* Promote organisations and companies involved in and supporting IT, through sponsorship/promotional opportunities on each page of the calendar.

Fundamentally the key reason for producing this calendar is to raise awareness of females in IT via capturing media attention and therefore increased stories, print and digital media reaching target audiences we have failed to reach via traditional means. We plan to do this by smashing through the geek perception by displaying a wide variety (jobs, age, nationality, roles and body shapes) of real women in IT fields, and using the style of calendar as a mechanism to instantly capture interest and attention (and sales).

The images in the calendar are recreations of classic movie scenes, ranging from American Beauty, Basic Instinct, Pulp Fiction, and Charlie's Angels.

Rosemary questions the value of the concept in promoting the goals outlined above:

I guess I just think the focus should be on what are these people doing that is so interesting. (OK so lying on a bed of rose petals is pretty interesting..!) The calendar just seems to be "sexing-up the industry" (as one female engineer friend so aptly said) and for what purpose?

Zombie Coder Kay blogs about what her issue is with the calendar:

My own issue with the project stems more from promotion of unhealthy body image. All the women in the calendar are absolutely gorgeous, and while they might argue that they are just ordinary people with the benefit of great lighting, make up and photography, at the end of the day it is a glamour shoot and they are there because they are beautiful. What is the message that is being sent to young girls with a poor body image - that those who are successful in the IT industry are as stunning as movie stars as well as brainy? While it may help girls who have a negative view of the IT industry, is it putting up a mental barrier for girls who don’t feel they have “all that�? Are we trying to replace one harmful stereotype with another?

Personally, I think that if the only way to make careers in IT popular with girls is to make it "sexy", then that is rather sad. I really thought that we had all moved on from the point in time where women were judged first on how they looked, and secondly on what they thought & had to say.

Image courtesy of IT Goddess website.

Contributing Editor Jules also blogs at Dragon Girl.