Environmental influences on gender in the IT workforce

In an effort to better understand the underrepresentation 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 themselv...

• Type: Journal
• Year: 2008
• Where: DB
• Authors: Eileen M. Trauth, Jeria L. Quesenberry, Benjamin Yeo
• Keywords: DB 2008, Environmental Influences, Multi-year Field Study, Socio-cultural Environment