Being an ‘it’ in IT: gendered identities in IT work

Abstract

This paper reflects on aspects of gender and IT work. The core hypothesis is that, if technical skill and masculinity are fundamentally related, then women working in IT jobs who are, in effect, challenging masculine skills by gaining them themselves, must develop a number of strategies to cope with the challenge that they feel is being made to their own gender identities and those of the men with whom they work. One strategy is for women to distance themselves from IT work; a second strategy is for women to distance themselves from their identities as women. Our results are drawn from a set of semi-structured interviews. We adopt the approach of critical research that seeks to expose asymmetric power relations in the organization and to let silenced voices be heard. This is related to the literature on silence in organizations. Within the critical approach, we chose a feminist methodology that looks towards identifying practices that are problematic for women and that acknowledges our biases and interests as researchers. Additionally, we draw upon the theoretical constructs of the gender and technology literature to theorize the relationship between gender and technical skill and how this impacts conceptions of gender identity.

Keywords:

• gender identity
• women in IT
• gender and technology

Acknowledgements

We acknowledge the support of the European Social Fund in funding the WINWIT, WINIT, DEPICT and Disappearing Women projects.

Notes

1 The research project was funded by the European Social Fund (ESF) and its remit was to research women in IT work in NW England.

2 WINIT (Women in IT, 2004–2005), DEPICT (Equal Pay project, 2005–2006) and ‘Disappearing Women’ (women who leave the IT industry, 2006).

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Alison Adam

About the authors

Alison Adam is Professor of Information Systems at the University of Salford, U.K. She has research interests in information systems, gender and technology and computer ethics. Her latest book, ‘Gender, Ethics and Information Technology’ (2005), is published by Palgrave Macmillan. Alison can be contacted at [email protected]

Marie Griffiths

Marie Griffiths recently made the move from industry into academia and is close to completing her Ph.D. on user resistance and the use of metaphors in organizational settings. She is based at the University of Salford as an Academic Fellow working on the ‘Disappearing Women: North West ICT’ Project. This follows a 2-year Women in IT (WINIT) project that considered the complexities and implications of the under-representation of women in the IT sector (both projects were funded by the European Social fund). Marie can be contacted at [email protected]

Claire Keogh

Claire Keogh is currently working as a research assistant for the ‘Directing Equal Pay in ICT’ project at the University of Salford. Since graduating from Salford's Information Systems Institute in 2003, she is also Managing Director for ARC Business IT Solutions Ltd, an organization serving small to medium enterprises in the Northwest England. Additionally, she is continuing her studies at Salford by exploring the field of gender and information technology. Claire can be contacted at [email protected]

Karenza Moore

Dr. Karenza Moore is a Research Associate at the Information Systems Institute (ISI), University of Salford, U.K. She is currently working on the ESF ‘Disappearing Women: North-West ICT’ project, looking at reasons why female ICT professionals leave the ICT industry in the North-West of England. She also conducts research into U.K. club culture and emergent patterns of drug use among young people. Karenza can be contacted at [email protected]

Helen Richardson

Dr. Helen Richardson is a Senior Lecturer at the Information Systems Institute, University of Salford, U.K. and with the five other co-authors of this paper, is involved in a set of four ESF-funded projects on aspects of women in the IT Industry. She has further research interests in critical information systems and cultures of consumption in the digital age, focusing on home E-Shopping. Helen can be contacted at [email protected]

Angela Tattersall

Angela Tattersall joined the Information Systems Institute at the University of Salford in January 2004 as a research assistant to investigate issues relating to gender and technology. Projects to date include ‘Women In North West (WINWIT)’ and the ‘Directing Equal Pay in ICT (DEPICT)’ project. She is also undertaking postgraduate study in the area of gender and technology. Angela can be contacted at [email protected]