The (dis)placement of women in the IT workforce: an investigation of individual career values and organisational interventions

Abstract

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.

Are Women Affinity Groups Enough to Solve the Retention Problem of Women in the IT Workforce?

“…An individual differences lens affords us a deeper understanding of the complexities of women's experiences and responses to barriers facing them [27]. Gaining a more nuanced understanding of how women experience barriers is necessary to illuminate how WAGs may address the barriers women face and improve their retention in the field.…”

“…To benefit from attracting and retaining women [5], [35], organizations often attempt to improve women's experiences in the workplace by implementing diversity and inclusion (D&I) programs (referred to hereafter as interventions) [27], [40]. According to Forbes Insights [15], 97% of companies surveyed had implemented D&I interventions.…”

Influencing the Influencers: The Role of Mothers in IT Career Choices

“…The situation is complex to remedy (Ridley & Young, 2012) and requires intervention to influence perceptions of careers in the IT workforce (Quesenberry & Trauth, 2012). Quesenberry and Trauth (2012) and Sáinz and Eccles (2012) suggest that, given parents and teachers are very influential in young adolescents' lives, perhaps it would be ideal to begin this campaign in middle school as this is when girls form opinions about their interest or lack of interest in computing subjects and/or IT careers (Vitores & Gil-Juárez, 2015).…”

“…Moreover, parents have been identified as very influential in the counselling of their children in non-traditional careers such as entering the IT profession (Adya & Kaiser, 2005;Babin, Grant, & Sawal, 2010;Dickhäuser & Stiensmeier-Pelster, 2003;Quesenberry & Trauth, 2012). Just as fathers condition their sons, mothers do the same for their daughters in terms of academic influence .…”

ICT Interventions for Girls: Factors Influencing ICT Career Intentions

“…There are strong claims that middle school is a critical period for getting girls interested in computing. According to Quesenberry and Trauth (2012), "in creating interventions to increase the representation of women in the ICT profession, it is crucial to develop those that influence young girls' perceptions of careers in the ICT workforce." However, Denner (2011) argues that there is little research to guide the development of interventions.…”