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Are Women an Underserved Community in the Information Technology Profession?
Abstract
The role of women as an underserved community in the world of information technology (IT) is both unique and perplexing. In this paper we consider the question of women as an underserved community in IT, and in particular, their role as producers of IT. In order to better understand the ways in which women do and do not represent a coherent underserved community within the IT profession, the research question motivating this paper is: Do women vary with respect to the factors that help to explain the underrepresentation of women in the IT profession and, if so, how? In order to address this question, we draw on data from a multi-year qualitative investigation of the underrepresentation of women in the U.S. IT profession. In doing so, we investigate gender discourses with respect to: domestic responsibilities, career opportunities and IT as a masculine domain. We also demonstrate the range of responses to these discourses. This research contributes to an understanding of socio-cultural factors that serve as barriers to and facilitators of women's recruitment and retention in the IT profession and to the factors that have enabled some women to overcome these barriers.
... One area that has not received attention in information systems is the role of gender in impression formation. This is important because the impact of these impressions can drive low involvement of women in technology fields due to negative attitudes towards women's aptitude for technical work (Gupta et al., 2019) and may consign women technology users to less success in their organizations, despite competency commensurate with their male colleagues (Trauth & Quesenberry, 2006;. The combination of gender and technology may provide a powerful observational stimulus to users, with a number of studies examining perceptions of the expected competence of women users of information technologies indicating persistent stereotypes held by both men and women about differences between male and female technology users (Craig, 2016;Heilman, 2012;Panteli, 2012). ...
... In Study 2, we examine the role of gender and technology competence on subject impressions of male and female individual targets. Surprisingly, results run counter to previous research that suggests deeply entrenched stereotypes viewing IT skills as masculine (Trauth et al., 2016;Trauth et al., 2010) by both men and women (Trauth & Quesenberry, 2006). Instead, we find that technology provides an equalizing effect whereby the mere presence of technology usage causes men and women to be viewed based on their performance alone, a concept that has recently been found with regard to women and IT promotions (Langer et al., 2020). ...
... The literature also indicates that the utilization of technology by a man is seen as more consistent with stereotypical roles for men than the utilization of technology by a woman (Trauth et al., 2016;Trauth et al., 2010;Trauth & Quesenberry, 2006). A man interacting with technology is a consistent fit with observers' stereotypes about men in general and results in observer impressions that are the product of simple categorizations. ...
This research examines the relationship between gender, message sentiment, and technology use on the way that observers form impressions of others. Building on impression formation and gender stereotype research and theory, we develop a two-study research methodology for examining how impressions of technology users are formed. The results of our two studies indicate that technology use is an important component in impression formation, significantly inhibiting the effects of gender stereotyping, such that women and men are not evaluated differently based on their apparent competency in using technology nor on the content of their messaging. Our findings indicate that the use of technology subverts both the male and female stereotypes that observers normally engage.
... Similar statistics have been reported in the European Union with a shortage of about 300,000 qualified engineers in ICT and only one in five computer scientists are women (Barnard, 2009;Gras-Velazquez et al., 2009). Studies of some European countries also revealed that the industry and policy initiatives to attract more women into the profession have not been successful enough (Trauth & Quesenberry, 2006). This problem continues to proliferate in the international community as well with greater disparities noted in developing countries in South America, India, Asia, and particularly Africa; thus, warranting more explication and resolve (Chang, 2013a, b). ...
... Evidence of social exclusion of women in the ICT sector in developing countries and Africa is a typical representation of this international phenomenon (Trauth & Quesenberry, 2006). For instance, a study shows that only 1 in every 250-400 people in Africa had access to the Internet, in contrast to the world average of 1 in every 15 people (Primo, 2003). ...
... It seems that initiatives such as these have the ability to implant and foster women to lead technology empowerment initiatives in their regions as well as provide the administrative clout to combat hindrances (of which there are many) on the home front for the associated women ambassadors of the program. However, more research is needed about the actual outcomes of these intervention strategies because of the lack of international impact thus far as noted in after action reviews particularly in the most industrialized nations of the European Union (Gras-Velazquez et al., 2009;Trauth & Quesenberry, 2006). ...
This study is designed to discover the key factors for the under-representation and lack of career progression or otherwise of women in the ICT field, specifically in South Western Nigeria. Questionnaires were administered to women (i.e., students, lecturers and other staff) studying or working in selected higher institutions. The results show that 90% of the women studied are self-motivated in their choice of the ICT career with very little external incentivizing or encouragement supporting their choice, besides the lure of high compensation and prestige associated with skilled ICT work. The slight influence on the career choice of women to pursue ICT derives from everyday use of computers and career information provided by role models and mentors, which are atypical, while, those women who did not choose a career in ICT did so because of their perception of the overabundance of required programming skills. Other barriers include environmental working conditions, infrastructure and electricity in the work area needed to support ICT related work. Although, many of the career women believe that they are competitive with their male counterparts in ICT; the fact remains in South Western Nigeria that only a few women are senior associates at organizations in the ICT field. Recommendations are offered to decrease this disparity and address enabling conditions for change.
... .] gender composition." (p. 1) (2007) ✓ Personal characteristics Quesenberry & Trauth (2008) ✓ Personal characteristics ✓ Personal characteristics Quesenberry et al. (2006) ✓ Personal demographics ✓ Policy and infrastructure influences Ridley and Young (2012) ✓ Cultural and economic influences ✓ Personal demographics ✓ Cultural and economic influences ✓ Cultural and economic influences Trauth & Booth (2013) ✓ Personal demographics ✓ Personal characteristics Trauth & Howcroft (2006) ✓ Cultural and economic influences Trauth & Quesenberry (2005) ✓ Policy and infrastructure influences Trauth and Quesenberry (2006) ✓ Personal characteristics Trauth et al. (2006) ✓ Cultural and economic influences Trauth, Quesenberry & Huang (2008) ✓ Cultural and economic influences Trauth, Quesenberry & Yeo (2008) ✓ Cultural and economic influences ...
... .] gender composition." (p. 1) (2007) ✓ Personal characteristics Quesenberry & Trauth (2008) ✓ Personal characteristics ✓ Personal characteristics Quesenberry et al. (2006) ✓ Personal demographics ✓ Policy and infrastructure influences Ridley and Young (2012) ✓ Cultural and economic influences ✓ Personal demographics ✓ Cultural and economic influences ✓ Cultural and economic influences Trauth & Booth (2013) ✓ Personal demographics ✓ Personal characteristics Trauth & Howcroft (2006) ✓ Cultural and economic influences Trauth & Quesenberry (2005) ✓ Policy and infrastructure influences Trauth and Quesenberry (2006) ✓ Personal characteristics Trauth et al. (2006) ✓ Cultural and economic influences Trauth, Quesenberry & Huang (2008) ✓ Cultural and economic influences Trauth, Quesenberry & Yeo (2008) ✓ Cultural and economic influences ...
There is a significant shortage of expert Information Technology (IT) personnel in Europe and elsewhere and a marked under-representation of women in the field. This paper identifies important gaps in research on gender imbalance in the IT profession and motivates future Information Systems research to address each of them. First among these gaps is the lack of research on the far-reaching consequences of gender imbalance in the IT profession. Second, despite a considerable body of research, there is the lack of coherent explanation for this imbalance. Third, although many intervention programmes have been implemented in this area, gender diversity in practice has not improved significantly. This research field also requires theorisation based on the cumulative research efforts in the field, comparative studies in various contexts, and longitudinal studies. We point to opportunities to investigate each of these issues and recommend directions for future research and actionable research questions.
... To date, this theory has been used to investigate variation in factors that account for women's participation in the IT field. These differences have been shown to affect the ways that women are exposed to, experience and respond to gender relations in the IT profession (Trauth and Quesenberry, 2006). This theory enables conceptualization of gender relations and IT at two different levels: 1) women as members of a group who encounter group-level (i.e. ...
... While agreeing with the rejection of a 'universal woman' Trauth departs, however, from the postmodern implication that there are no systemic gender biases. Rather, she argues that the variation occurs in the ways in which women are exposed to, experience and respond to systemic gender bias (Trauth and Quesenberry, 2006). Only recently has the idea of within-gender variation been considered in the career anchor literature. ...
Many researchers have argued that additional systematic analysis of the information technology (IT) workforce is necessary in order to more deeply understand organizational human behavior as it relates to career anchors or values and motivations that attract an individual to a particular career. For these reasons the purpose of this paper is to examine the career anchors of women in the American IT workforce and their relationships to occupational decisions. The data for this examination comes from interpretive interviews conducted with 92 women and a quantitative survey conducted with an additional 210 women. The results of our analyses give cause for challenging some longstanding assumptions about career anchors that exist in the literature. This research also makes a theoretical contribution through its extension of an emergent theory about within-gender variation to the context of career anchor variations among women in the IT field.
... Student motivation to consider an IT career is multifaceted, differing along several dimensions, including students' generational status (FGS vs. CGS), individual identity (gender, race, ethnicity), individual influences (abilities, social support), and environmental influences (cultural values). Consistent with Trauth & Quesenberry (2006), our study suggests that flexible interventions by educational institutions that consider students' diversity and account for individual differences in their motivations for choosing IT careers are key to increasing participation in IT. While Table 3 summarizes the major motivating factors for different subgroups that emerged from this study, Table 4 builds on the findings to list potential recommendations to promote student's pursuit of IT career. ...
... Although the AIS has adopted socially inclusive policies and may not deliberately attempt to exclude individuals from membership or participation, passive exclusion still arises due to structural barriers and social behaviors based on unconscious biases that have become norms in our community. Social exclusion relates to not only inequalities in demographics and socio-economic status but also deep-seated issues of political and institutional arrangements and discrepancies among social norms across cultures (Trauth & Quesenberry, 2006). This task force sought to examine D&I issues and, specifically, to: 1) examine how well AIS and its subcommunities (i.e., special interest groups (SIGs), chapters, and colleges) support social inclusion, 2) identify concerns associated with active or passive social exclusion, and 3) look for opportunities to improve inclusion as a practice within AIS to make the community more inclusive. ...
... IT as a profession has been generally associated with masculine traits such as intellect, logic, scientific, and technical skills, whereas femininity is often associated with intuition, emotion, social/soft technical skills, and teamwork organization. This widely held perception of fields greatly impacts the allocation of skill labels, status, prestige, skill rewards, and organization of work in professions (Trauth & Quesenberry, 2006). A review of the research in this domain suggests a number of reasons why women do not seek and/or why they do not stay in the IT field. ...
Women engaged in the Information Technology/Information Systems (IT/IS) sphere of the American collegiate and corporate experience have made significant strides in employment and opportunities for advancement culminating in the recent achievement of women reaching the CEO and presidential levels of the largest corporations in the IT sphere. Despite this significant and welcomed departure from past experiences, the progression of women matriculating in the university IT/IS major, and following through to the career phase has not materialized in numbers that equal the proliferation of male entrants. This research study relates to the factors that have the most influence on the perceptions, constraints and positive experiences leading to the choice of career development at the collegiate level. The specific areas that will be investigated and tabulated within this context are that of role models, mentoring, pre-college perceptions, and equal opportunity considerations.
... IT as a profession has been generally associated with masculine traits such as intellect, logic, scientific and technical skills, whereas femininity is often associated with intuition, emotion, social/soft technical skills and teamwork organization. This widely held perception of fields greatly impacts the allocation of skill labels, status, prestige, skill rewards and organization of work in professions (Trauth and Quesenberry, 2006). Several studies have concluded that even though IT jobs are described as interesting and challenging, IT professionals are often perceived as "geeks" or "nerds" who can relate to machines more than people (Zhang, 2007). ...
... The particular area in which I believe more gender theorizing is needed is in the examination of within-gender variation in men's and women's relationships to information technology and the IT field [47]. My interest in developing, extending and critiquing theory about gender and IT has led to the development of a theorythe individual differences theory of gender and IT -to explain factors that affect the choice of and persistence within an IT career. ...
The purpose of this session is to take stock of the gender and IT research being conducted within the SIGMIS community about factors affecting women's participation in the IT workforce. The ultimate goal is to better understand where we have been and where we need to go in the future with this research. The moderator, Eileen Trauth, will provide the introduction to this session, its rationale, and the four questions that each participant will address. She will begin by explaining her own research interest in gender and IT. All of the participants have developed extended abstracts about their research on gender and IT that appear below. Each participant will briefly summarize her research interests, methods, theories and findings. This phase will be followed by a general discussion of the questions with the audience.
... The sizes and composition of the sample groups, as shown in Table 2, provide a great deal of insight into the difficulty of accurately assessing the gender earnings gap. It is clear that, in terms of sheer numbers, males dominate the (higher paying) professional cohorts to a greater extent, without exception [24] [43]. However, there is a steady increase in the proportion of females in professional level positions, reflecting changes in the nature of IS occupations on a general level, and the role of women in the field as well. ...
This paper investigates the gender earnings gap, adjusted for key determinants, for individuals employed in clerical and professional level information systems positions for the period from 1991 through 2008. It explores changes in the earnings gap for IS workers, and specifically examines changes which occurred relative to the so-called internet "bubble" observed during the late 1990s. Empirical analysis of the wage gap is based on data from the Current Population Survey (CPS). Examination of these data suggests that the gender earnings gap is persistent, despite frequent claims to the contrary from industry surveys. It is narrower for professional level positions. Furthermore, the data suggest that professional level female IS workers may have indeed experienced a beneficial effect from the internet "bubble" of the late 1990s, but it is unknown whether or not that effect may be fading in the internet "bust" of the early 21st century.
... The sizes and composition of the sample groups, as shown in Table 2, provide a great deal of insight into the difficulty of accurately assessing the gender earnings gap. It is clear that, in terms of sheer numbers, males dominate the (higher paying) professional cohorts to a greater extent, without exception (Igbaria, Parasuraman, & Greenhaus, 1997;Trauth & Quesenberry, 2006). ...
Digital training devices in primary schools: use of role models and redistribution of roles. Feedback from players
Training schemes attempt to counter stereotypes. In support of a comprehensive approach, the article shows how devices are being used to balance equality between women and men in the digital field. The «Les filles qui» research field involves digital mediation workshops created in elementary schools in Brittany. The experience redefines the role of professional identity and is helping it evolve. Female students discover a place between big sister and scientific savant. Teaching staff identify in students potentialities which are not mobilized by traditional schools. Their professional identity evolves from a logic of qualification to a logic of competence, without one annihilating the other. The participants design an alternative: a partnership regarding devices that fill gaps by bringing them benefits in terms of the image and representations of the profession.
The first two layers of the STEMcell Model are detailed in this chapter: the cultural and social contexts and their influencing factors. These are largely identified in the voluminous preceding research. Key cultural influencing factors are popular culture, cultural norms, parental expectations, and occupational culture. Key social influencing factors are stereotypes, role modelling, mentoring, clubs, networks, media, peers, family, hygiene factors, and social norms. These factors and the degree of their actual influence are discussed critically, highlighting potential warning signs and issues. The overall conclusion is that, with the exception of cultures that strictly limit female participation, both the contexts themselves and interventions targeted at them have much less influence than is commonly assumed.
The issue of women in IT has attracted voluminous research with many theories framing discussions, such as Essentialist Theory, Social Construction Theory, Individual Differences Theory, Structuration Theory, Theory of Reasoned Action, and their resulting Gender Modelling, Leaky Pipeline, Life Course Approach, Critical Mass, and Dualism Models. Key theories are critically examined in this chapter, and it is concluded that not only have no real world benefits ensued, but in some cases the theories themselves may be part of the problem by negatively framing expectations. However, the years of research should not be wasted: rather, the tools of #SocialIT, such as hackfests, should be applied to gain deeper and wider understanding. The new STEMcell Model is most similar to the Life Course approach and within-gender variants of Gender Theory. However, it goes further to identify an individual’s interests and talents as more drivers in themselves than something passively shaped by society. External influences and barriers do exist but need to be considered in the context of the individual, not the other way around, and those barriers will be swept away by the tools and effects of #SocialIT.
This paper investigates trends and changes in the gender earnings gap for individuals employed in clerical and professional level information systems positions in the U.S. labor market for the period of 1991 through 2008. It examines changes in the earnings gap for IS workers, specifically considering changes relative to the so-called “Internet bubble” observed primarily during the late 1990s. Quantitative analysis of changes in the wage gap, adjusted for key determinants, is based on data from the Current Population Survey (CPS). Examination of these data suggests that the gender earnings gap is persistent despite frequent claims to the contrary from industry surveys and that the gap is narrower for professional level positions. Furthermore, the data suggest that female IS workers, particularly in professional level occupations, may have experienced a beneficial effect from the internet bubble, but it is unclear whether or not that beneficial effect may be fading in the post-bubble internet bust of the early 21st century.
Research on the IT workforce has played an important role in IS
research for the past 40 years. An essential part of IT workforce
research deals with the contextualization of theories. Models and
theories are adapted to the IT environment by integrating contextspecific factors to explicitly account for relevant IT-specific
conditions. Our literature review addresses context-specific
theorizing in IT workforce research to understand IT-specific
contextual factors. By analyzing papers dealing with IT workforce
related topics published in the Senior Scholars’ Basket of Journals
and in selected additional journals, we examine the process of
contextualization in two ways. First, we synthesize predominant
IT-specific contextual factors for IT workforce research. Second,
we investigate approaches of contextualization in IT workforce
literature. We present nine IT-specific contextual factors grouped
by three perspectives. Additionally, we introduce two approaches
for contextualization in the IT workforce research and give
recommendations for context-specific theorizing. Our literature
review contributes to a better understanding of the uniqueness of
IT professionals by providing information about how contextspecific theorizing is being considered in IT workforce research.
This study is designed to discover the key factors for the under-representation and lack of career progression or otherwise of women in the ICT field, specifically in South Western Nigeria. Questionnaires were adminis- tered to women (i.e., students, lecturers and other staff) studying or working in selected higher institutions. The results show that 90% of the women studied are self-motivated in their choice of the ICT career with very little external incentivizing or encouragement supporting their choice, besides the lure of high compensation and prestige associated with skilled ICT work. The slight influence on the career choice of women to pursue ICT derives from everyday use of computers and career information provided by role models and mentors, which are atypical, while, those women who did not choose a career in ICT did so because of their percep- tion of the overabundance of required programming skills. Other barriers include environmental working conditions, infrastructure and electricity in the work area needed to support ICT related work. Although, many of the career women believe that they are competitive with their male counterparts in ICT; the fact remains in South Western Nigeria that only a few women are senior associates at organizations in the ICT field. Recommendations are offered to decrease this disparity and address enabling conditions for change.
This article describes a workshop introduction torobotics for high school girls in order to motivate them andawaken them to areas of technology and engineering. In thisworkshop they learn about sensors, motors, assembly andprogramming a robotic kit. During the learning period the girlscould learn these subjects in practice through dynamic andinteractive activities
This research agenda for social inclusion in the information systems (IS) field reflects on its emergence and considers the possibilities and pitfalls for future research. This background information will be useful to students and scholars who are interested in conducting social inclusion research, and to readers who are not conducting social inclusion research themselves but who want to support those who do. The publication of this research agenda is also an opportunity to record institutional knowledge about social inclusion research in the information systems field. The focus is on both information systems and technology developers, and on those who use and are affected by information technology. In view of strong voices emerging that would drown out the message of social inclusion, it is all the more important that members of the IS field strengthen their commitment to this research area. In considering social inclusion work going forward, it is important to remember that this research topic is ultimately action-oriented. To resist the forces that would suppress social inclusion in the IT field and in society, it is more important than ever to situate our work "on the ground" so that the real lives of real people will permeate our research. This orientation has implications for the research methods employed as well as for the actions and interventions that follow.
L’informatique joue un role croissant dans l’evolution de nos societes, mais les femmes sont largement sous-representees dans ces metiers depuis plusieurs decennies. Ce phenomene est analyse par les chercheures feministes comme le resultat de processus d’exclusion ou d’auto-exclusion. Cependant, certaines universites ont obtenu de facon perenne une representation quasi paritaire dans les filieres informatiques. L’objectif de l’article est de relire ces actions a la lumiere de la notion d’inclusion sociale et de proposer un cadre qui permet de penser l’inclusion des femmes dans le monde professionnel de l’informatique comme un changement de culture et de pratiques.
In diesem Beitrag untersuchen wir die Wirkung der drei Arbeitsraumfaktoren: „Vereinbarkeit von Arbeit und Leben“, „Organisationsklima“ und „Mentoring“ auf Frauen im IT-Arbeitsumfeld. Wir wollen damit erhellen, inwieweit diese Faktoren zu einer Erklärung für die Asymmetrie der Geschlechter im IT-Bereich beitragen können. Im Unterschied zu einem Großteil der Literatur über Geschlechter und IT, in der Frauen als einheitliche Gruppe mit identischen Bedürfnissen und Problemen behandelt werden, nehmen wir einen alternativen Blickwinkel ein. Wir zeigen, dass es bei Frauen erhebliche Unterschiede darin gibt, auf welche Weise sie durch diese drei Faktoren an ihrem IT-Arbeitsplatz betroffen sind. Wir erörtern diese Unterschiede in den Auswirkungen Organisations-immanenter Faktoren anhand der Analyse von Aufzeichnungen aus Intensiv-Interviews, die in den USA mit 92 — im IT-Bereich erwerbstätigen — Frauen durchgeführt wurden. Die Ergebnisse unterstützen unsere Behauptung, dass diese Faktoren unterschiedliche Auswirkungen auf den Karriereverlauf von Frauen haben. Sie deuten darauf hin, dass ein Bedarf an der Entwicklung einer größeren Vielfalt von Maßnahmen besteht, um den Anteil weiblicher IT-Fachkräfte zu erhöhen. Unsere Ergebnisse zeigen, dass sowohl die Forschung als auch Maßnahmen, die auf eine erhöhte Mitarbeiterbindung von Frauen zielen, flexibel genug sein müssen, um Unterschiede zu berücksichtigen, die bei Frauen und an IT-Arbeitsräumen existieren.
One line of investigation in attempting to better understand the gender imbalance in the information technology (IT) field is to examine gender stereotypes about the skills and knowledge in the IT profession. A survey of 4046 university students in the United States was conducted to examine gender stereotypes held by contemporary university students (White, Black and Latino men and women) about the skills and knowledge in the IT profession. The Individual Differences Theory of Gender and IT was used as the motivating theory for this study because it enabled the incorporation of gender-ethnic intersectionality in the research design. The results revealed that while gender stereotypes about the skills and knowledge involved in the IT profession do exist, they are not uniform across all members of a gender group. The men tended to rate all of the skills as more masculine than did the women respondents. Technical skills were more consistently stereotyped by both men and women in each of the gender-ethnic groups than were nontechnical skills. However, gender stereotypes about nontechnical skills were more contested and revealed both within-gender and within-ethnicity variation. The women students' rating of nontechnical skills as less masculine than the men suggests that these nontechnical skills are being incorporated into the women's sense of gender identity. These results show that gender-ethnic intersectionality provides one important explanation for within-gender variation in gender stereotypes that are held by contemporary university students. These findings suggest promising avenues for interventions to address not only the masculine gender stereotyping of skills in the IT profession, but also differential gender stereotyping of technical vs. nontechnical skills and variation in gender stereotyping by the intersectionality of gender ethnic groups.
This paper investigates trends and changes in the gender earnings gap for individuals employed in clerical and professional level information systems positions in the U.S. labor market for the period of 1991 through 2008. It examines changes in the earnings gap for IS workers, specifically considering changes relative to the so-called “Internet bubble” observed primarily during the late 1990s. Quantitative analysis of changes in the wage gap, adjusted for key determinants, is based on data from the Current Population Survey (CPS). Examination of these data suggests that the gender earnings gap is persistent despite frequent claims to the contrary from industry surveys and that the gap is narrower for professional level positions. Furthermore, the data suggest that female IS workers, particularly in professional level occupations, may have experienced a beneficial effect from the internet bubble, but it is unclear whether or not that beneficial effect may be fading in the post-bubble internet bust of the early 21st century.
Researchers have sought a theoretical perspective to explain the under‐representation of women in the information technology (IT) workforce of many nations. Gender imbalance limits the size and skill sets of IT human resources. The essentialist theory, social construction theory and individual differences theory of gender and IT have been proposed to account for the IT gender gap. This study examined evidence for these theories to explain this gap through content analysis of articles published in the national newspaper, The Australian, over three time periods. Newspaper articles report implicit theoretical perspectives on IT and gender and influence the views of the Australian public, including women. While evidence to support all theories was found over the three periods, the essentialist theory was dominant. Increased utility of the individual differences theory to account for the IT gender gap was seen in 2007–2008. The primary contribution of this study is to provide evidence that suggests that theoretical approaches, whether implicit or explicit, shape how people understand the under‐representation of women in the IT workforce. Media interventions are proposed to help redress the imbalance through increased awareness.
Purpose – IT governance has become the recognized norm system for chief information officers. The purpose of this paper is to understand how CIOs relate to these norms, by studying how they legitimate incompliance with the norms.
Design/methodology/approach – The paper uses an interpretive, qualitative, structured interview study with 18 CIOs in large Swedish organizations regarded as having excellent IT governance practice, using motive talk as analytical lens to identify the informants’ relationship to norms.
Findings – The study identifies norm-specific patterns for how CIOs legitimate incompliance with IT governance, finding that CIOs use a combination of excuse and justifications as strategies of legitimation. The study also finds that CIOs display a tendency of not contesting IT governance-related norms unless these are in conflict with neighboring professional jurisdictions. This is regarded as an identification of the “margins” of IT governance.
Research limitations/implications – The study illustrates how the theory of motive talk is a viable road ahead for future studies of IT professionals. The generalizability of the identified patterns of legitimation is limited by the selection of large organizations with solely male CIOs, as well as the selection of solely organizations that have succeeded in establishing external legitimacy concerning IT governance and the organizations being Swedish.
Practical implications – CIOs aspiring to increase their legitimacy should avoid direct conflicts with neighboring professions. In addition to this, they should also aspire to be clear in a separation of motive talk and actual practice, since full norm compliance may be detrimental to their factual operations.
Originality/value – The originality of this paper lies in the methodological approach of combining motive talk and speech acts to investigate CIO legitimation practices.
EduBits, your quarterly roundup of ACM educational activities, focuses on education policy and the way it affects the K--12 educational space. Cameron Wilson, Director of Public Policy for ACM, gives us a glimpse into the challenges of improving CS education ...
Despite many contributions to research on gender and IT ? both empirical and conceptual ? the IS field lacks an overall review of this stream of research. We provide such a review of IS research on gender and IT spanning 20 years, following the guidelines for conducting a ?descriptive review? (King and He 2006). Focusing on IS journals and conferences, we identify over 190 papers in which the authors specifically mentioned one or more of a set of terms in their title, appendix or keywords (e.g., gender, sex, men, women, etc.). We identify the recurring authors in this research stream and we classify these authors? research methods, types of respondents studied, authors? epistemological stance and their gender theory-in-use. We identify four topic areas and, for each, we provide descriptive summaries of corresponding papers: IT ethics; IT careers and education; IT adoption and use; attitudes to telework. Many papers we located neglect to specify a clear theory-in-use regarding gender (i.e., whether the authors believe that observed differences between men and women are socially constructed, due to biological factors, or the result of other influences). We found few studies that regard men, who account for a majority of IT employees, as gendered or consider gender a relevant issue when studying male employees, teleworkers, or computer users. Authors of most papers seem to assume that the presence of women is necessary to trigger gender as an issue.
This paper reports on an investigation of career anchors of women in the information technology (IT) workforce that was directed at enhancing within-gender theorising about career motivations of women in the IT profession. Our theoretical lens, the individual differences theory of gender and IT, enabled us to look more critically at how the effects of interventions are embedded in the range of women's career anchors that takes within-gender variation into account. The analysis demonstrates that organisational interventions must be flexible enough to account for the diversity and variation among women. Further, the analysis shows that it is necessary to move away from ‘one size fits all’ organisational interventions that often reflect stereotypes about women in the IT workforce. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
This paper considers issues, insights and lessons about conducting research in business that are drawn from this author"s experiences with gender research in the information technology (IT) field over the past decade. A research program on gender and information technology (IT) is used as the basis for consideration of methodological insights for business research. The purpose in discussing gender research is not so much to focus on the findings of this work. Rather, the purpose is to focus on research issues that have or could arise, the learning from which is transferrable to business research. The reason is that there are similarities between gender research and business research. Both are action oriented in that the research is driven by real issues and practical problems. The research is conducted into the phenomenon in order to inform actions and interventions. This problem-orientation that drives business research also drives gender and IT research. Seven lessons relevant to business research methods are: the effect of data type, the choice of epistemology, the role of theory, building on disparate literature, the influence of researcher standpoint, stakeholder perspective that is privileged, and resolving the rigor vs. relevance conundrum. This review of insights for business research that is drawn from experiences with conducting research on gender and IT makes a case for increased methodological pluralism. Arguably, the degree to which institutions and publication outlets take these issues into account is indicative of their openness to exploring emergent topics. Methodological conservatism might be in order in some areas. But business research, which endeavors to respond to real world problems, needs to have the methodological tools available to respond to them. It must also be responsive to business trends and issues that might bring with them challenges for current methods for conducting research. New economic constraints, issues such as climate change that blur business area boundaries, globalization, social inclusion and innovation are 21 st century issues that will encourage the research community to overcome resistance to different ideas, methodologies, epistemologies and theories.
The question of a possible shift in Millennials' perceptions about gender and ICT resulted from a survey of gender stereotyping of ICT skills among college age Millennials in the USA. The results identify three clusters of skills: masculine (includes computer programming, database and networking); feminine (includes communication, working in teams, ethics, global and cultural awareness, and openness to new experiences) and gender neutral (includes initiative, ability to work under pressure, critical thinking and problem solving). These findings suggest a possible shift of gender stereotypes about ICT skills among Millennials. Nevertheless, the gender stereotyping of the more technical skills in the IT profession as masculine argues for continued interventions to alter these perceptions and expand the gender neutral space in order to broaden the participation of women in the IT field.
In this paper I introduce the concept of eco-masculinities as a philosophical and critical project to understand the links between gendered and pro-environmental behaviour. The background of the feminist project, the sociology of masculinity, and the post-gendered world to which they both aspire, alongside a brief history of the project of ecofeminism, occupy the bulk of the paper. In the last section I briefly consider how these philosophical approaches might impact upon analysis of an EU Project entitled Digital Environment Home Energy Management System.
Currently there is a declining participation of women in Information Technology (IT) education and profession. In this article a critical interpretive analysis of the international discourse about women in IT is performed. The aim is to understand why women experience such a low level of career satisfaction in IT by taking their experiences and the context of the IT industry into consideration. The authors will critically analyse the results from the interpretive analysis and challenge the reasons identified as the cause for the under-representation of women in the IT industry. This study can be used to gain more insight into and understanding (reflection) of the current situation, but it can also contribute to communities such as feminists or governments in the creation of an emancipation theory or a series of interventions to improve the situation for women in IT.
Currently there is a declining participation of women in Information Technology (IT) education and profession internationally. This article builds on international research - the international discourse about women in IT - by performing a critical interpretive analysis of the South African situation. The aim is to understand if South African women experience similar levels of career problems in the IT industry compared to international trends. In the analysis the experiences of women and the context of the international IT industry is taken into consideration. The authors furthermore investigate what attracts women in South Africa to the IT industry. Data was collected and analysed from women working in the IT industry in South Africa by means of an anonymous online questionnaires consisting of open- and close-ended questions. The authors critically challenge the results from the interpretive analysis. This study can be used to gain more insight and understanding of the current situation in South Africa, but it can also contribute to communities such as feminists, academia, practitioners or governments in the creation of an emancipation theory or a series of interventions to improve the situation for women in the South African IT industry.
In an effort to better understand the under- representation of women within the IT profession, one promising line of investigation is the influence of factors in the socio-cultural environment. In order to examine this topic, we draw on data from a multi-year field study of women IT professionals in three regions of the U.S.: Massachusetts, North Carolina and Pennsylvania. We employ Trauth's (2000) conceptual framework of environmental influences on the development of a region's information economy to consider economic and cultural influences on women's recruitment and retention in the IT field. The findings reveal a range of influences and a wide variety of responses to them. The contribution of this research to theoretical understanding is twofold. First, we demonstrate that socio-cultural factors serve as both barriers to and facilitators of women's recruitment and retention in the IT profession. This suggests the need for investigations of not just women themselves, but also of the societal environments within which they grow up, live and work. Second, we demonstrate that there is not one unilateral set of environment factors that can explain women's under-representation. Rather, a combination of differing regional influences and individual responses to them is in evidence. This finding of variability both among environmental influences and among women's responses to them provides empirical support for ongoing theory development efforts regarding the role of individual differences in explaining women's under-representation in IT
The challenge of meeting the demand for information technology (IT) workers is addressed by examining three important organizational factors that affect women's retention in the IT field. Much of the research on gender and IT assumes a unilateral effect: all organizational factors affect all women in the same ways. An alternative view that is explored in this research is that within-gender differences offer rich insights into the gender imbalance in the IT profession. The individual differences theory of gender and IT enabled us to examine variation in organizational influences on women through analysis of transcripts from in-depth interviews conducted with 92 women in the IT workforce in the U.S.A. The results show that three organizational factors – work–life balance, organizational climate, and mentoring – affected the women's career development in a range of ways. Our findings shed new light on what has been interpreted by other researchers as contradictory findings because our theoretical starting point is the assumption that women are not all the same, that within-gender variation is expected and that it provides an opportunity to develop a deeper understanding of gender relations in the IT field. Using this theory we were able to identify opportunities for the development of interventions by linking the themes embedded in the three workplace factors to the constructs of the theory. The individual identity construct revealed the ways in which a woman's demographic and professional characteristics affect her career choices. The individual influences construct focused attention on the ways in which differences in personality, abilities, and influential people shape one's career. Finally, the environmental influences construct characterized contextual influences on women's participation in the IT profession. Our findings show that both research and interventions directed at increasing the retention of women must be flexible enough to respond to the variation that exists among women and within IT workplaces.
Purpose
Social exclusion as a result of gender, race, and class inequality is perhaps one of the most pressing challenges associated with the development of a diverse information technology (IT) workforce. Women remain under represented in the IT workforce and college majors that prepare students for IT careers. Research on the under representation of women in IT typically assumes women to be homogeneous in nature, something that blinds the research to variation that exists among women. This paper aims to address these issues.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper challenges the assumption of heterogeneity by investigating how the intersection of gender, race, and class identities shape the experiences of Black female IT workers and learners in the USA.
Findings
The results of this meta‐analysis offer new ways of theorizing that provide nuanced understanding of social exclusion and varied emancipatory practices in reaction to shared group exposure to oppression.
Originality/value
This study on the under‐representation of women as IT workers and learners in the USA considers race and class as equally important factors for understanding variation among women. In addition, this paper provides rich insights into the experiences of Black women, a group that is largely absent from the research on gender and IT.
In this paper, we explore the methodological and epistemological implications of conducting feminist projects in management information systems (MIS) research. These implications revolve around four core themes: that feminist research is situated in the margins; that current gender and MIS research is not adequately problematized; that feminist research questions the legitimacy and appropriateness of positivist research; and that reflection on the personal characteristics of the researcher such as race, gender, sexuality, and class can inform feminist research. We propose three criteria for giving voice to feminist projects in MIS research: (1) challenging the hegemonic dominance, legitimacy, and appropriateness of positivist epistemologies; (2) theorizing from the margins; and (3) problematizing gender.
At the present time, youngsters develop gender identities in a context in which contradictory discourses exist on femininity and masculinity. They have to accommodate both the fact that gender is an important structuring category in society and the fact that many people currently consider gender inequality to be undesirable. This article argues that an understanding of the ambivalences in current discourses on gender provides the key to the development of more effective feminist strategies in education. This tenet is illustrated by means of interpreting the data of two studies on recent curricular experiments—one on women's history and one on information and computer literacy—in which girls and boys in secondary education talked and wrote about their views on gender equality/inequality and the meaning thereof in their personal lives.
In this paper, I examine how and why the situated knowledge and lived experiences of working-class African American women shape their standpoint on information technology (IT). Using the biblical metaphor of the exodus and narratives of ascent, these women view IT access and training as part of a strategy for escaping poverty and despair. Whereas most of the extant gender and IT research provides rich insights into the marginalization of women, the women in this study felt empowered by IT. This contradictory outcome has three implications for the study of gender and IT. First, researchers must consider the multiple identities such as gender, race, ethnicity, socio-economic status, and sexuality that shape and are shaped by women's engagement with IT. Second, the notion of IT workforce should take into account not only the highly skilled IT workers who design and build IT artifacts, but should also consider the lower skilled workers who indirectly use IT. Third, IT training programs that serve working-class women must go beyond the transfer of IT skills to individuals. They must also redress the persistent structural barriers of poverty, spatial isolation, illiteracy, sporadic work, and racial and ethnic discrimination that systematically limit women's ability to compete for jobs that provide higher incomes, greater safety, more security, full-time hours, increased benefits, higher status, and less stressful work environments.
»Genus» och »genussystem» är användbara begrepp inom kvinnoforskningen, menar Yvonne Hirdman. Genussystemets två grundläggande logiker är isärhållningen av könen och etablerandet av det manliga som norm. Kvinnoforskaren måste ställa frågan om hur isärhållningen fungerar och när den kan upphävas, för att undvika att reproducera dikotomin mellan manligt och kvinnligt i den egna teorin.
The study of identity forms a critical cornerstone within modern sociological thought. Introduced by the works of Cooley and Mead, identity studies have evolved and grown central to current sociological discourse. Microsociological perspectives dominated work published through the 1970s. Sociologists focused primarily on the formation of the "me," exploring the ways in which interpersonal interactions mold an individual's sense of self. Recent literature constitutes an antithesis to such concerns. Many works refocus attention from the individual to the collective; others prioritize discourse over the systematic scrutiny of behavior; some researchers approach identity as a source of mobilization rather than a product of it; and the analysis of virtual identities now competes with research on identities established in the copresent world. This essay explores all such agenda as raised in key works published since 1980. I close with a look toward the future, suggesting trajectories aimed at synthesizing traditional and current concerns.
For several years I have been reviewing submissions for SIGCSE conferences and, unfortunately, recommending rejection of the majority of the submissions. While some undoubtedly deserved the recommendation, others described work that is potentially interesting ...
ELLENBALKA Simon Fraser University ebalka@Sfu. ca 1. INTRODUCTION In developing the call for papers for the 7th International Federation of Information Processors (IFIP) Women, Work and Computerization Conference, we sought to cast our net widely. We wanted to encourage presenters to think broadly about women, work and computerization. Towards this end, the programme committee developed a call for papers that, in its final form, requested paper submissions around four related themes. These are (1) Setting the Course: Taking Stock of Where We Are and Where We're Going; (2) Charting Undiscovered Terrain: Creating Models, Tools and Theories; (3) Navigating the Unknown: Sex, Time, Space and Place, and (4) Taking the Helm: Education and Pedagogy. Our overall conference theme, 'Charting a Course to the Future' was inspired in part by Vancouver's geography, which is both coastal and mountainous. As such, navigation plays an important part in the lives of many as we seek to enjoy our environs. In addition, as the first Women, Work and Computerization conference of the new millennium, we hoped to encourage the broad community of scholars that has made past Women, Work and Computerization conferences a success to actively engage in imagining--and working towards-- a better future for women in relation to computers. The contributions to this volume are both a reflection of the hard work undertaken by many to improve the situation of women in relation to computerization, and a testament to how much work is yet to be done.
This accessible introduction to gender and sexuality theory offers a comprehensive overview and critique of the key contemporary literature and debates in feminism, sexuality studies and men’s studies. Chris Beasley’s clear and concise introduction combines a wide-ranging survey of the major theorists and key concepts in an ever-growing and often passionately debated field. The book contextualizes a wide range of feminist perspectives, including: modernist, liberal, postmodern, queer and gender difference feminism; and in the realm of sexuality studies covers modernist liberationism, social constructionism, transgender theorising and queer theory. In men’s studies, Chris Beasley examines areas of debate ranging from gender and masculinity to questions of race, ethnicity, imperialism and gay masculinities. Interconnections between the subfields are highlighted, and Beasley considers the implications of body theory for all three. Key theorists covered include: Altman, Brod, Butler, Califia, Carbado, Connell, Dowsett, Grosz, Halberstam, Hook, Jackson, Jagose, Nussbaum, Rich, Seidman, Spivak, Stoltenberg, Weeks, Whittle, Wolf, and Wollstonecraft. The only book of its kind to draw together all the important strands of gender analysis, Gender and Sexuality is a timely and impressive overview that is invaluable to students and academics taking courses on gender and feminist theory, sexuality and masculinity.
A fundamental consideration when attempting to understand the complex factors leading to the underrepresentation of women in IT is the choice and use of theory. Theories about women and their relationships to information technology and the IT profession guide the conceptualization of the research problem, the methods of data collection, the basis for analysis, and the conclusions that are drawn. However, a criticism of gender and IT research is that the topic of gender and IT is currently undertheorized (Adam, Howcroft, & Richardson, 2001, 2004). This undertheorization takes on several different forms. First, there are cases in which there is no theory in evidence to guide the conceptualization of the research project or to inform the data collection and analysis. Rather, the focus is typically on compiling and representing statistical data regarding the differences between men and women with respect to technology adoption, use or involvement in the IT profession. This form of undertheorization can be labeled pre-theoretical research. Second, other research, while not explicitly articulating a particular theory, nevertheless, is guided by a theory-in-use. For example, quite often a theory of inherent differences between males’ and females’ relationships to IT is used implicitly to guide data collection and analysis. This form of undertheorization can be labeled implicit-theoretical research. This approach is considered to be a type of undertheorization in that the lack of explicit discussion of a theory makes it difficult for others to discuss, challenge or extend the research. Finally, the body of research that reflects explicit theory-in-use has been shown to have gaps in the theoretical landscape (Trauth, 2002). That is, an argument has been made that current theories about gender and IT do not fully account for the variation in men’s and women’s relationships to information technology and the IT field. This form of undertheorization can be labeled insufficient-theoretical research. It is this third condition that is addressed in this article: the need for new theoretical insights to guide our effort to understand the underrepresentation of women in the IT profession. Purchase this chapter to continue reading all 6 pages >
This paper aims to attend the under-theorisation of gender within the Information Systems (IS) literature by adopting a critical and feminist approach to the organisational context of IS development and use. The IS are conceived of as innovations with theoretical concepts and observations for comprehending the innovation process advanced within Social Studies of Technology being described and applied to IS. Consequently, a conceptual framework for studying gender and IS is constructed by combining insights derived from: (1) gender and computing, concerning the differences and inequalities of development and use of IS; (2) gender and society concerning the existence of gendered spheres; (3) studies of gender and organisations concerning the social division of labour; and (4) gender and technology, concerning the masculinity of technology culture. The developed framework is tabulated, areas for future research suggested and potential research questions outlined. The latter employ examples from the field of nursing to illustrate their tangible application. The framework constitutes a contribution to IS research by providing access to additional explanations for organisational phenomena (such as user rejection); by deepening our understanding of the innovation process; by improving IS practice through increased awareness of social issues (especially gender); and by promoting further potential topics for IS researchers.Journal of Information Technology (2004) 19, 81–92. doi:10.1057/palgrave.jit.2000008
Previous research (Steiger and Wardell 1992) assessed post-industrial society and labor process hypotheses using data representing the entire United States paid workforce for 1950, 1970, and 1990. Results indicate a better fit between changes in the skill composition of the workforce as expected by labor process theory than by post-industrial society theory. The present research focuses on the United states service sector from 1950 to 1990 using detailed occupation by industry data. The research questions are whether the knowledge-based work of the services industries encourages 1) an upgraded and 2) a less gender segregated distribution of workers over time. We find that inclusion of women from the latent labor reserve offsets, in some industries severely an otherwise upward shift in the proportion of service workers occupying higher skilled jobs. Moreover, where women have maintained a numerical majority, such as in professional services, their standing in the skill structure relative to men significantly deteriorated over the forty years.
The American Diabetes Association currently recommends that all youth with type 1 diabetes over the age of 7 years follow a plan of intensive management. The purpose of this study was to describe stressors and self-care challenges reported by adolescents with type 1 diabetes who were undergoing initiation of intensive management. Subjects described initiation of intensive management as complicating the dilemmas they faced. The importance of individualized and nonjudgmental care from parents and health care providers was stressed. This study supports development of health care relationships and environments that are teen focused not merely disease-centered and embrace exploring options with the teen that will enhance positive outcomes.
Despite the recent growth in the number of women in the U.S. labor force, women are still underrepresented in IT work. This paper presents a framework for analyzing work-family conflicts as a way of better understanding the contribution of this factor to the underrepresentation of women in IT. Data from a field study of women employed in the American IT workforce is examined through the lens of the individual differences theory to show the range of ways in which work-family considerations influence women's IT career decisions. This framework depicts four categories of decisions made by women: the "non mom," the "working mother," the "back-on-track mother" and the "off-the- track mother."
Despite increases of women in the labor force, females are largely under- represented in the American IT workforce. Among the challenges that managers face in addressing the under representation of women in the IT workforce is the identification of an appropriate theory as a basis for understanding data about gender and IT in order to reverse the gender imbalance. Hence, the purpose of this chapter is to demonstrate the managerial implications of theory choice when addressing the under representation of women in the IT workforce. We provide an overview of the three main theoretical perspectives, the essentialist theory, the social construction theory, and the individual differences theory of gender and IT,
This article deals with gender stereotypes in popular children's books. I propose an exercise in which students use content analysis to uncover latent gender stereotypes present in such popular books as those by Dr. Seuss. Using a coding frame based on traditional gender-role stereotypes, I assign students to small groups who then undertake a close analysis of selected children's books to see whether or not traditional gender-role stereotypes are apparent. Students examine the text, symbols, characters, use of color, and major themes in each book. In this article, I briefly review the theoretical underpinnings of the exercise, offer a brief summary of content analysis, and outline the delivery of the exercise, its learning goals, and major discussion points. Through a take-home assignment, students are asked to articulate the manner in which gender stereotypes may be perpetuated by the media. Additionally, students are encouraged to think about the ways in which their own gender identities have been shaped by the media. Actual student comments are used throughout to highlight the major discussion points.
This paper presents the case that research on gender and information systems (IS), from both quantitative and qualitative traditions, is problematic as the concept of gender continues to remain under-theorised. This will be elaborated upon with a critique of some recent qualitative and quantitative research papers that have been published in key IS journals within a ten-year period.
The study of sex and gender is concerned with documenting the existence of differences between the sexes and explaining why those differences exist. This paper first examines what we know about how women and men differ, focusing on differences in social roles, and in the abilities and traits associated with those roles. The paper then examines why women and men differ. In addressing this question, the roles of both biological and social influences are considered. Although there is reason to believe some sex differences in behavior and attitudes have a biological basis, the existence of historical and cross-cultural variation in gender role differentiation and stratification provides strong evidence that social influences play an important role in the determination of differences between the sexes. Both biological and social factors have influenced the division of labor by sex, and the division of labor provides the basis for gender stratification by affecting the degree to which each sex is able to acquire and control the valuable resources of a society. Reduction of gender inequality in contemporary societies therefore requires reduction of gender differentiation in the division of labor.
1. ABSTRACT Increasing dependence on organizational technology coupled with the short supply of qualified IT professionals has resulted in a severe market imbalance within the IT workforce. Recruiting the necessary personnel to meet these current and future demands in this tight labor market presents tremendous challenges for IT and human resource managers alike. Organizations are finding it increasingly difficult to attract, motivate, and retain IT workers and
The proposed research will systematically assess the causes of gender-related differences in attraction to information systems (IS) as a career. We propose a Theory of Reasoned Action (TRA)—based model of intention to pursue an IS career which incorporates work value congruence, attitudes, norms, and self-efficacy. Undergraduate students in an introductory IS course, which for many will be their first introduction to the field, will be surveyed to test this model and also the extent to which their perceptions change with exposure to IS through the course.
This paper develops a theoretical perspective on gender and information technology (IT) by examining socio-cultural influences on women who are members of the information technology profession in Australia and New Zealand. In-depth interviews with both practitioners and academics give evidence of a range of socio-cultural influences on the professional development and working lives of women IT professionals. The paper rejects the essentialist view of women and their relationship to IT that has been put forth in the information systems literature arguing, instead, the primacy of societal and structural influences. The particular contribution of this paper is a theoretical perspective of individual differences which is presented to characterize the way individual women respond in a range of specific ways to the interplay between individual characteristics and environmental influences. This perspective contributes to a better understanding of women’s involvement in the IT sector and suggests areas for proactive policy response.
The article focuses on the different ways in which web-based shopping is perceived by men and women of the U.S. Women have yet to welcome web-based shopping as readily as men as of August 1, 2002. Understanding differences in perception of men and women will help vendors address this vital pool of consumers. Despite the dot-corn collapse, online retail sales continue to grow. According to the U.S. Department of Commerce, online retail sales increased over 19% from 2000 to 2001. The New York Times argued the Internet gender gap is disappearing. However, empirical evidence indicates that although men and women are equally likely to use the Internet for business and personal purposes, men are more likely than women to purchase products or services from the web. If the business community is equipped with an understanding of what motivates, encourages and discourages the female consumer from purchasing online, steps may be taken to meet these expectations and reach this growing segment of web users.
Among the research challenges in studying the under representation of women in the IT field is that of developing appropriate theory to provide a basis for understanding and explanation about this gender imbalance. At present, there are two dominant theories in the gender literature that are used to explain the participation of women in the IT profession. The essentialist perspective dichotomizes gender based upon the presumption of significant inherent differences between women and men. This view finds the causes of gender under representation in biology. The social construction perspective focuses on the social construction of IT as a male domain, which is interpreted as incompatible with the social construction of female identity. This view finds the causes of gender under representation in the IT sector. The research discussed in this paper is directed at the development of a new theory that focuses on individual differences among women as they relate to the needs and characteristics of IT work and the IT workplace. This view finds the causes of gender under representation in the socio-cultural environment that shapes each woman's gender identity and her professional development, and her individual responses to these influences.
ABSTRACT Despite the recent growth in the number of women in the American labor force, women are still under-represented in the IT workforce. Key among,the factors that account for this under- representation is balancing work-family issues. This article presents a framework for analyzing work-family balance from a field study of women employed,in the American IT workforce. The findings are examined,through the lens of the Individual Differences Theory of Gender and IT to show,the range of ways in which work-family considerations influence women’s IT career decisions. The framework,is used to support the theoretical argument,that women,exhibit a range of decisions regarding career and parenthood: the non-parent, the working parent, the back-on-track parent, and the off-the-track parent. These findings illustrate an identifiable theme that crosses geographical,regions and timeframes; societal messages are complex,and difficult to digest and are processed in different ways by different women, yet they contribute to the decisions women,make about their professional and personal lives. Keywords:,gender; human,resource management;,Individual Differences Theory of Gender
Typescript. Thesis (Ph. D.)--Georgia State University, 2002. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 308-320).
Do women do science differently? This is a history of women in science and a frank assessment of the role of gender in shaping scientific knowledge. Science is both a profession and a body of knowledge, and Londa Schiebinger looks at how women have fared and performed in both instances. Shoe first considers the lives of women scientists, past and present. Schiebinger debunks the myth that women scientists - because they are women - are somehow more holistic and integrative and create more cooperative scientific communities. However, have feminist perspectives brought any positive change to scientific knowledge? Schiebinger provides a nuanced gender analysis of the physical sciences, medicine, archaeology, evolutionary biology, primatology, and developmental biology. She also shows that feminist scientists have developed new theories, asked new questions, and opened new fields in many of these areas.
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