THE woman who heads Dell in Scotland has declared the industry has a battle on its hands to convince more women to pursue careers in the sector.

Ishbell MacPhail, who in her post as general manager had a high-profile role during Dell's sponsorship of the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow last summer, said the IT industry faces the same challenge as sectors such as engineering in trying to appeal to young women.

Ms MacPhail emphasised that the industry offers a much broader range of careers than many females may perceive.

And she believes females should be encouraged early in their school career to not overlook STEM (science, technology, engineering and maths) when deciding what to study, stating those early decisions have a massive bearing on the careers people ultimately pursue.

Ms MacPhail said: "We have a programme called IT is Not Just for Geeks, which we take into schools. It is quite a simple message about what IT is about and how we can change young people's perception and just drive enthusiasm and greater awareness about the careers there are to be had.

"It's not about sitting programming a computer forever. There are great opportunities in IT that are across the sector - sales, marketing, leadership.

"It's not just about being sat in a code or programming environment. It's a vast industry."

Ms MacPhail said Dell is attempting to spread the message about careers in IT in schools and by inviting school kids to the firm's base in Glasgow's east end. She takes the opportunity to promote the industry in the regular speaking engagements she undertakes in her role, noting that Dell works closely with bodies such as Skills Development Scotland, the Department of Work and Pensions and local councils on initiatives designed to boost pupils' career prospects.

Asked if Dell's involvement in Glasgow 2014 raised the profile of IT as a career choice, she said: "Well I think definitely. When you are on the world stage on something like the Commonwealth Games it makes people think about IT very differently.

"When you think about the criticality of IT and how it drives a major sporting event, it just causes questions to be asked. It has allowed us to go into the community to share those conversations, to present that very perhaps glamorous front of the athletes - we had ambassador athletes working with us - and share with the children and perhaps business groups the impact IT has on their ability to train and be on the top of their game."