Don't try to be one of the boys and think of yourself as an equal are two of the views shared at a women in IT networking event.

Hosted by Women in IT and Diversity Milkround employer JP Morgan, it looked at women already achieving success in technology and how to take careers to the next level.

Many of the audience's comments at "Aiming for the top – how to be a successful woman in IT" emphasised the importance of networking and access to mentors and role models. Some women felt that it was important to leave gender out of the equation and get on with just being great at the job:

One attendee said: "Male programmers may feel threatened by a woman as smart as them at first but will quickly see you as 'one of the boys' if you are competent." Another said: "Don’t see being female as a barrier to achieving success – it’s all down to knowledge skills and experience combined with networking."

However, one attendee claimed: “I’ve generally ignored the fact that I’m a woman and focused on getting on with my job. As I’ve become more senior and have roles where personality seems to be a major component in success, this strategy is less successful”

Maggie Berry of womenintechnology.co.uk said: "With women making up only 20% of the UK technology workforce but accounting for 50% of the UK working population it’s obvious that the technology profession is missing out on a wealth of female talent.

"Organisations obviously want to recruit the best employees regardless of gender, figures show that there are more women leaving the IT profession than joining it – IT departments need to therefore consider all the options for holding onto their female staff. Hopefully these networking events will go some way to promoting the IT industry as an employer of choice for women.”