Female information and communication technology professionals’ perceptive description of work and home intricacies

Abstract

Based on biographical interviews from a telecommunications organisation, this study aims to contribute to the debate on understanding and accounting for the work-life balance intricacies of female Information and Communications Technology (ICT) professionals. An exploratory cross-sectional design adopting a qualitative case study approach with semi-structured interviews with 16 female ICT professionals was used. In male-dominated sectors, understanding female ICT Professionals’ perceptive description of work and home intricacies is essential. It leads to an understanding of the issues emanating from work-life balance. Participants perceived their careers as a large part of their self-identity and were very proud of the dedication and hard work required in the ICT field. Participants also found a sense of collegiality and camaraderie in the workplace, which gave them a sense of belonging and benefit to their self-worth. The findings may be used to adapt various organisational practices and understand the concept of family in ways that include responsibilities other than being a caregiver or homemaker. A more in-depth insight into individuals’ work-life balance intricacies was achieved by adopting a qualitative case study approach. The telecommunications organisation could utilise the results from this study to develop appropriate work-life balance and Human Resource strategies to create flexible workplaces conducive to the attraction, motivation, and retention of highly valued women.

Keywords:

• Females
• work-life balance
• information and communication technology
• professionals
• life course perspective
• intricacies

PUBLIC INTEREST STATEMENT

Research on this topic can help shed light on the specific challenges that female ICT professionals face in balancing their work and home lives, and provide insights into potential solutions to address these challenges. By understanding the perceptive descriptions of work and home intricacies from the perspective of female ICT professionals, insights are gained to better understand the unique challenges females face and how to support them in achieving a healthy work-life balance. Moreover, promoting diversity and inclusion in the ICT industry, including gender diversity, is crucial to creating a more equitable and sustainable future for all. By acknowledging the challenges faced by female ICT professionals and taking steps to address them, organisations can work towards building a more inclusive and diverse industry that benefits everyone.

1. Introduction

The business landscape has undergone significant change because of the globalisation and information technology industries’ steady growth. In addition to changing the employer-employee relationship, it has transformed the way that business is approached and the expectations and attitudes of employees while they are at work (Manoharan et al., 2023).

The ICT sector in South Africa is one of the biggest employers and largest contributors to the economy. In 2018, the telecommunications sector showed the highest year-on-year growth, increasing 14.4% to R187 billion in 2018. Total employment in the sector increased by 18.8% in 2018 (Malinga, 2019). The start of the 20^th century signalled an increase in the number of women entering professions previously reserved for men (Du Plessis & Barkhuizen, 2015). However, it was reported that women still only occupied 23% of jobs in the ICT sector in 2020 (Sebata, 2020) and latest figures reported in a recent 2022 report by Cullen et al. (2022) indicated that, the number of women professionals participating in the IT industry in South Africa is less than 20%.

An early as 2020, a survey by Zikode (2020), investigated the underrepresentation of women and their career advancement in traditionally male-dominated fields and this has received a significant amount of research funding. In spite of the fact that it is generally acknowledged that women’s participation in the economy and at all levels of management has significantly increased over time, more than half of economically active women in South Africa continue to work in fields that are still seen as extensions of the traditional female role. It is crucial to attract and keep women in the technology industry because it is one of the industries that is considered essential to the economic growth and sustainability of any nation. A seminal study by Makura (2022) found that women are known to experience several challenges, chiefly patriarchy and gender discrimination and literature by various authors such as Kasymova et al. (2021), Mavin and Yusupova (2020), Muller and Nathan (2020), Parlak et al. (2021), Walters et al. (2022), Yıldırım-Şahin (2020) & Yildirim and Eslen-Ziya (2021) point to the fact that women are immensely adversely affected by the Work from Home phenomenon that arose after the onset of the COVID−19 pandemic.

The current study’s objective is to assess the intricacies faced by female Information and Communications Technology (ICT) professionals when combining work and family life. In the following sections, the problem statement, research purpose, research objective, and literature on work-life balance, the ICT sector, and the intricacies women face in the workplace and the home is provided. After that, an overview of the research design, a discussion of the results, limitations, and recommendations for future studies have been presented.

2. Problem statement

With changing demands, regulations, and so much pressure, work needs have increased tremendously in today’s competitive age, leading to increases in work-life balance challenges and the ICT sector is no exception making the ICT sector to engage in initiatives such as work flexibility, compressed workweeks, job sharing, telecommuting, leave options, stress management, and child/dependent/elderly care, to attract more women into the sector (Phipps & Prieto, 2016).

Recent research by Yin and Choi (2023) highlight that women were considered as a “disadvantaged” group that just needed support to reach a level of access to ICT in line with the population. Global competition’s general problem has increased the demand for the employee’s time and flexibility (Gregory, Milner et al., 2013). In literature, there has been more emphasis on work-life balance, according to Anitha and Maheswari (2014) and Malone, Issa & ASCE (2013). Valk and Srinivasan (2011) emphasise that balancing personal life and work has become more challenging to manage for women, as their status as professionals within the industries has increased and their “traditional role” of being a homemaker.

Understanding the unique challenges that women face in various domains is crucial for promoting gender equity and creating a more inclusive society. There are numerous issues that disproportionately affect women, such as gender-based violence, workplace discrimination, and limited access to education and healthcare. In the context of the specific problem statement, it is important to recognise that women face unique challenges in various aspects of their lives, including education, employment, healthcare, and social interactions. For instance, women may face discrimination and bias in hiring processes, promotion opportunities, and workplace cultures.

In terms of the current research problem, Monda (2023) asserts that, this is significant because research shows that most women in full-time employment tend to suffer burnout and stress due to the inability to find a work-life balance. These challenges lead to physical and mental health, marriage and parenting challenges, and poor job performance and satisfaction. Furthermore, studies also indicate that role conflict due to playing multiple roles results in reduced effectiveness at home and work, leading to work overload.

3. Purpose and research questions

The study’s main purpose is to examine the intricacies of female Information and Communications Technology professionals in a telecommunications organisation. The unique intricacies that females face in the home as well as in a male-dominated sector are explored. The current study’s research was guided by the following questions:

• How do female ICT professionals perceive the impact of their work on their home life and their home life on work?

• What are the challenges faced by female Information and Communication Technology (ICT) professionals in balancing their work and home life?

• To what extent do female ICT professionals feel supported by their organisations and colleagues in managing their work and home life responsibilities?

4. Literature review

Casper et al. (2018) and Powell, Greenhaus, Allenet al., (2019) assert that, although the term work-life balance is widespread, there is no clear consensus in the literature regarding what it means (e.g., is it a long-term perception, a state, or a relationship) as well as how using such a broad term adds value or contributes to the literature. Moreover, Casper et al. (2018) furthermore highlight that the ultimate effects of work-life balance on employees’ work and life outcomes are unclear. Wayne et al. (2017) add that the impact of work-life balance on work and life outcomes is contingent on how the work-life balance construct is measured.

Wayne et al. (2017) state that, broadly, prior research has used two approaches to defining and measuring work-life balance. The first, known as the combined spillover approach, and earlier research by Frone (2003) view work-life balance as comprising the interrelationships (e.g., either depleting or enriching) between work-life roles, highlighting the processes that shape work-life balance. The second, known as the global approach (Wayne et al., 2017), views work-life balance as one’s perceptions about their work and life roles, highlighting role outcomes associated with work-life balance. Casper et al. (2018) recent review provides an excellent overview and summary of the global approach to work-life balance. A recent study by Adamson et al. (2023) shows how for the female executives, work-life balance was not simply an instrumental process of time or role management; instead, pursuing work-life balance in a certain way was a key part of acquiring and maintaining a particular desired subjectivity or a sense of self as a better person, better worker and better parent.

The connections between work and life and the topic of work-life balance have been the source of interest in the public as well as for researchers; several recent reviews and meta-analyses have provided an excellent overview regarding the state of the work-life literature (Casper et al., 2018; Sirgy & Lee, 2018; Williams et al., 2016).

4.1. The theoretical frameworks used for this study

In this study, the theoretical approach to work-life balance is rooted in two theories. The Social Role theory and the Life Course (LC) Perspective (Giele & Elder, 1998).

4.1.1. Social role theory in work-life balance

The first one is the Social Role theory, as it suggests that managing multiple roles simultaneously may cause stress (Ruppanner, 2013). Eagly and Wood (2016) also assert that social role theory is a social psychological theory that pertains to sex differences and similarities in social behavior. Its fundamental principle is that differences and similarities arise primarily from men and women’s distribution into social roles within their society. Makabe et al. (2015) assert that, while there are many issues in a working environment, work-life balance (WLB) has attracted attention in recent years. Martin and Barnard (2013) state that women in male-dominated occupations struggle more with work-family conflict than their male colleagues, which is related to the traditional and existing roles of women in African society. A recent study by Yapp (2018) verified that women still needed to do the lion’s share of housework despite going out to work in the ever-increasing digital world.

4.1.2. The Life Course (LC) perspective in work-life balance

The second theoretical approach to the work-life balance of the current study is rooted in the Life Course Perspective by Giele and Elder (1998). The Life Course (LC) Perspective (Giele & Elder, 1998) is a perspective of human development formulated by Elder in 1998 (Newman & Newman, 2010). It offers a framework for understanding and explaining how women perceive and attach meaning to their work-life balance. The perspective is also significant in that it views work-life balance as being fluid and shaped by societal conditions and social norms. This framework is useful for this research because it offers ways of thinking about work-life balance as a subjective experience, which changes over time. It recognises the impact of the historical context on development, the interconnectedness of multiple roles, and the processes which impact the lives of individuals.

4.2. Information & Communication Technology (ICT) sector

Fazili and Khan (2017) state that technology in the workplace has changed the balance of work and life for employees and employers alike. Today, employees are contactable even in their personal lives; similarly, they are interrupted when in office space, which has resulted in a work-life conflict for most 21st-century employees. Powell and Chang (2016.p, 6) highlighted that “women entering the ICT sector in South Africa faced challenges such as work-family balance issues, the undervaluing of women’s contributions at work, adverse stereotypes of women, the relative absence of women role models, difficult re-entry because of the rapid pace of change in ICT, and a lack of guidance on career options.” Research by Rubery and Hebson (2018) emphasised the importance of work-life balance support policies in organisations and Segovia‐Pérez et al. (2020) add on that, gender stereotypes not only have a major impact on the types and conditions of jobs occupied by women, but also affect career decisions, especially in male‐dominated professions and sectors.

It is worth noting that the current study was conducted during the COVID−19 pandemic and research by Jones and Jones (2020) found that, the gender employment gap has been of interest for some time, and the disruption in employment caused by the pandemic warrants an examination of gender inequalities in the labour market. The COVID−19 virus is pervasive, which has led many to argue it’s a great equaliser event that economically has impacted everyone similarly regardless of social status. To this end, according to Manoharan and Ashtikar (2022) because of the unexpected and sudden changes that occurred during the COVID−19 pandemic lockdown, professionals were unable to maintain a work-life balance.

4.2.1. Females’ home-life intricacies

Gudeta and van Engen (2018) asserts that women face several challenges in making a choice and following a preferred strategy for combining their work-life roles. These challenges are presented in two broad categories as expectations and work-life roles, and quality of support at home and at work.

4.2.2. Expectations and work-life roles

In a study by Gudeta and van Engen (2018), it was established that normative expectations by society on women to fulfill certain familial and social obligations (i.e., gender roles), as well as certain work-life roles, emerged as a factor affecting women’s work-life boundary management experiences. More recently, Monda (2023) found that even if the women were to master the art of balancing these roles, life seasons like pregnancy, childbirth, and nursing of babies, as health challenges associated with childbearing and ageing, would still put them at a disadvantage. Amidst the COVID−19 pandemic, teleworking was implemented by many organisations, and according to

Rachmawati et al. (2021), teleworkers need technology and communication, besides needing space and time to work. This was especially true for those who carried out Work from home during the COVID−19 pandemic. In the context of the use of ICT, it includes the use of hardware, software, and the Internet. Based on the results of survey, 95% of the respondents used laptops and cell phones as their hardware to support Work from home.

4.2.3. Expectations

An earlier study by Valk and Srinivasan (2011) established that women continue to be the primary provider for domestic and childcare responsibilities though the family structures and female roles vary across countries. This is supported by Gudeta and van Engen (2018) who assert that society expects women to take sole and ultimate responsibility for the household, including caring for children, their husband, dependents (including maids), and other extended family members. Gudeta and van Engen (2018) adds that, moreover, there are numerous obligations related to networks of communities that are considered part of women’s roles. This is seen clearly in how the women describe their responsibilities, particularly at home and in the community.

Work-life balance among women in other sectors has recognised that in comparison to occupation roles, the salience of women’s commitment to family roles is often emphasised in Indian and African culture as being central to their self-identity (Valk & Srinivasan, 2011). Furthermore, many Indian and African women, especially those in traditional joint and extended families, are obligated to care for the elderly, in contrast to women in Western societies (SABPP, 2013). As this current research was conducted during the COVID−19 pandemic, expectations as found by Nafakh et al. (2022) suggested that the pandemic exacerbated some pre-existing inequalities and adds to the growing literature on the impact of the pandemic on gender inequality and employment.

4.2.4. Women’s roles as caregivers

Department of Women, Youth, and People with Disabilities (2019) found that one-third of the female employees had considered quitting their jobs because of difficulties in balancing childcare costs with work. At the same time, one-quarter had encountered pressure from their husbands or other family members to quit work to look after their children. Research by Nafakh et al. (2022) indicated that, during the pandemic, women with children under the age of five were less likely to be employed than those with no or older children. Moreover, the odds of being employed for women with children in age 5–12 group are lower.

A seminal study by Temitope (2015) indicated that the working mother’s fear of underperformance at the workplace and home could stimulate anxiety, influencing her productivity in either sector. Padmanabhan and Kumar (2016) found that elderly care is one of the most demanding responsibilities faced by women today. In addition to childcare, women may find difficulty balancing their careers and families when they must also become caregivers to their aging parent(s) or other relatives.

4.2.5. Access to education

Padmanabhan and Kumar (2016) found that women in the ICT sector stressed the importance of acquiring skills and qualifications over and above the traditional roles of wife and mother. However, in 2016, the least number of women graduated in the STEM disciplines in South Africa (Department of Women, Youth, and People with Disabilities, 2019). Access to higher education has proven to be a challenge for many women from developing countries who come from traditional families, where the dominant role of women is as a caregiver. In the ICT sector, continually upgrading one’s skills is part of the job, as technological advancements happen rapidly. Nafakh et al. (2022) adds on to state that, during the COVID−19 pandemic, women with lower educational attainment became less likely to be employed.

For women, especially those with care-giver responsibilities, studying, working, and having a personal life, often results in role conflict and eventually may lead to women leaving the sector.

In the IT sector, upskilling and retraining regularly are expected due to the IT profession’s nature and are supported by Heerwagen et al. (2010). They argue that jobs have become cognitively more challenging today, requiring employees to continually upgrade themselves in terms of their knowledge and acquiring the latest skill sets.

4.2.6. The effect of females’ employment on their partners/spouses/life partners

ICT women professionals felt that they have a gender bias in their career growth, and they have been affected in promotions, wages, and even in personal life (Shukla & Bagali, 2016).

Sudha and Karthikeyan (2014) highlighted that women were getting into jobs and continued working after marriage. The study established that a married woman had more responsibility than a man in caring for young children and family. Ahmed and Carrim (2016), Caykoylu (2016), and Heikkinen (2015) assert that spouses are essential, if not the most important, source of social support for professional women. However, Mohammed (2019) states that studies on spousal support in dual-career families are more prevalent in developed Western countries than in developing countries such as South Africa. Therefore, this may imply that due to the nature of workplace advances in developed Western countries than in South Africa, spouses are more supportive of their working women. Ahmed and Carrim (2016), Carrim (2012) highlight that, in African cultures, patriarchal pressure remains for women to be submissive to their husbands and perform spousal duties even when they are in professional careers.

However, during the current research, Nafakh et al. (2022)’s research uncovered that, while many people suffered job losses resulting from the pandemic, women were disadvantaged in gaining or maintaining employment during the pandemic compared with men because of the move to working from home. For those with a loss or reduction of work, it had a direct impact on the women’s’ partners/spouses/life partners impacting on the dual-earner aspect of families for those in those family structures.

4.2.7. Females’ workplace intricacies

Pretorius et al. (2015) found that women are hesitant to get involved in the IT industry due to its association with long hours and continuous learning. The situation is at odds with women’s traditional role as homemakers and often leads to work-home conflict. It can be challenging for women to change this socio-cultural norm. Pretorius et al. (2015) found that, on the positive side, these norms are slowly changing. Men and women are becoming more equally responsible for income generation and homemaking. However, Pretorius et al. (2015) state that females’ perception is more suitable for nurturing and supporting roles than strategic and technical roles is evidence that gender is still a common barrier to women’s career advancement and Padmanabhan and Kumar (2016) found that most women in the ICT sector are working 40–45 hrs./week, out of which almost 53% struggle to achieve work-life balance. Kumar and Priyadarshini (2018) state that everyone has several roles throughout life. It becomes a significant challenge when time demands, and conflicts occur; this has proven mostly right for working women.

Bahn et al. (2020) found that the transition to ICT-supported remote working for those with caring responsibilities had disproportionately placed burdens on women, but suggested that longer-term the rapid transition to remote working may result in a wider acceptance of how flexible working arrangements can be used to support women to participate more fully in paid work. Boland et al. (2020) and Foss (2021) found that, tracing the rapid uptake of ICT-supported remote working and the responses of workers and employers, some analysts have argued that the disruption caused by COVID−19 to traditional workplace models will ensure these emergent ways of working are embedded into workplaces longer-term. More recently, Monda (2023) found that, the dilemma persists when women leave home and venture into the career world, never to return to the kitchen on a full-time basis. Consequently, a better response is not to bemoan the good old days when gender roles were clearly demarcated but to look for ways of promoting equity so that women can find balance both in their social roles and the marketplace.

An intricacy may result since women need to manage their family’s daily requirements on the one hand and the multiple schedules, meetings, business requirements, and other routine responsibilities at work, a heavy workload is one of the main factors resulting in work and life conflict. Spending more time in the office, interacting with clients, meetings, and the pressure of a job will affect one’s personal life. Long working hours mean spending more time in the office and a higher workload, which affects the employee’s personal life. Long working hours mean that an employee will not spend adequate quality time with family or friends. In the medium to long term, an employee’s health will also be adversely affected. In some cases, long working hours lead to job dissatisfaction that results in attrition.

5. Research methodology

5.1. Research design

This research aims to examine the intricacies of female Information and Communications Technology professionals in a telecommunications organisation using a qualitative design using Atlas. Ti 8.

5.2. Research participants

There was a total population of fifty-seven (57) female information communications and technology professionals from the Information Communications and Technology Department at the telecommunications organisation. However, for the current research, 16 participants were used out of a total population of 57 for the qualitative study and this was justified based on practicality, in terms of participant accessibility and availability as well as feasibility, research goals, and the principles of qualitative research. A sample of 16 participants can be considered sufficient for a qualitative study, as the focus is on exploring the perspectives and experiences of individuals rather than generalising about the population. Additionally, the decision to use 16 participants is justified based on the research goals, which included exploring specific themes, experiences, or perspectives related to the current research topic. Interviews were conducted until the researchers felt that saturation of information had occurred

Qualitative research aims to gain a deep understanding of a phenomenon, and smaller samples can often provide rich and detailed insights. A purposive strategy was selected as this was an exploratory, qualitative study that sought to yield insight into and understanding of the phenomenon under study (work-life balance challenges). Malterud et al. (2016) state that, within an exploratory analysis, the ambition is not to cover the whole range of phenomena but to present selected patterns relevant to the study aim. The interview schedule was flexible depending on the dynamics of the discussion between the interviewee and interviewer.

5.3. Measuring instruments

The “The Work-life Interview” was developed to examine the intricacies of female Information and Communications Technology professionals in a telecommunications organisation This instrument consisted of 25 interview questions. (See Table 1).

Table 1. The work-life interview

SECTION A: ALL WORK-RELATED QUESTIONS

How would you define your work-life?

(2) Do you have a work-life that represents you?

(3) What is the boundary between your work and personal lives?

(4) Do you think your work life has limitations?

(5) How has your work life changed over time?

(6) Do you find it hard to manage time in terms of work tasks, given the nature of your work?

(7) Do you think you will stay in your job, in the foreseeable future, given it’s a male-dominated field?

(8) How do your male counterparts treat you in this male-dominated field?

SECTION B: ALL HOME-RELATED QUESTIONS

(1) How would you define your personal/home life?

(2) In what ways does your personal/family life represent you?

(3) What is the boundary between your home and work lives?

(4) Do you think your personal/home life has limitations?

(5) How has your personal/home life changed over time?

(6) What do you do when you get home from work?

(7) What do you do during the weekend?

(8) In your household, how is the work divided; please answer under the following guides as it applies to you: house cleaning, laundry, cooking, taking care of the elderly/other family members, and bathing the young children?

(9) Do you find it hard to manage time in terms of home chores, given the nature of your work?

(10) Has working with ICT and the internet made your personal life easy or complicated?

SECTION C: ALL HOME-RELATED QUESTIONS

(1) When you hear the phrase “work-life balance” what does it make you think about?

(2) As you go through everyday life, how do you manage your career and your personal life?

(3) Do you think your organisation is doing enough to level the field for women in terms of Work-life Balance?

(4) Do you believe in an ideal/perfect balance in life? Kindly explain.

(5) Do you believe that a long-term balance is possible between personal life, professional life, and career?

(6) Do you think you have a balance between your personal life and your professional life?

(7) Is your company or your manager flexible about your labour time, its arrangement, and the place where you are working?

5.4. Research procedure and ethical consideration

A semi-structured interview schedule was used to administer and collect the data. The research ethics committee approved the ethics application to conduct the study. The purpose of this research was clearly described to the participants. The researchers confirmed the consent by stating that participants consented to use this information for research by completing the questionnaire.

5.5. Data collection

Upon receiving permission from on the instruction of the ICT managers. Interviews were conducted in a small, private room, and notes were made during the interview. Six interviews were conducted telephonically and ten were in-person and they were recorded on audio tape with the permission of the interviewees. Participants filled out an informed consent form and a questionnaire about demographic variables. Each interview lasted about one hour. The interviews were performed by one researcher over a 3-week period based on the participants’ availability and under strict COVID−19 restrictions leading to accessibility issues of participants and only having access to 16 participants and not the entire 57 participants. After a first round of interviews, an observation was made on the main findings and aspects to pay attention to in the next set of interviews.

Based on the transcriptions of the audio recordings of each interview, thematic analysis was used to identify themes within the data gathered in the qualitative stage. By qualitatively coding the data and focusing on an organisation within it, one can create a detailed description of the data collected using thematic analysis (Creswell, 2014).

5.6. Statistical analysis

The researchers collected qualitative data to address the identified questions. Empirical data was generated from the data from the interview and cross-referenced with the review of available literature on the topic being investigated. Researchers transcribed, coded, and interpreted data collected from the interview using interpretive phenomenological analysis.

6. Ethical considerations

This study was approved by the Research Ethics Committee of the university where the researchers are based with protocol reference number: HSS/0810/018D. In the next section, the results of the female ICT professional’s perceptions of the intricacies they face at the telecommunications company are presented.

7. Results

The sample was made up of 16 females from the three namely, Information and Communications Technology, Information Technology, and Auxiliary services in the ICT department at the telecommunications organisation, who were single, married, or divorced from the ages of 20 to 50 + .

As seen in Table 2, sixteen (16) female information communications and technology professionals participated in this study. The participants’ age ranged from 20 to +50 years, with the highest age representation of the 31-40 years age range group. Most of the participants were married with some being single and divorced. Twelve participants had dependent children, and four participants had no dependents. The sixteen (16) participants were Operations specialists, Senior data management managers, Junior Information Communications and Telecommunications Technicians, Systems technicians, Information Communications and Telecommunications Technicians, and Database network administrators who ranged from lower-level personnel to managerial level.

Table 2. Sample demographics

Pseudonyms	Department	Job profiles	Age range	Marital status	Dependents	Race
Participant 1	Auxiliary services	Database network administrators	20–30 years	Married	2	Black
Participant 2	Auxiliary services	Database network administrators	31–40 years	Single	0	White
Participant 3	Auxiliary services	Database network administrators	31–40 years	Divorced	1	Black
Participant 4	Auxiliary services	ICT Technicians	41–50 years	Married	2	Black
Participant 5	Auxiliary services	ICT Technicians	41–50 years	Single	3	Mixed Race
Participant 6	Auxiliary services	ICT Technicians	31–40 years	Married	0	Mixed Race
Participant 7	Information Technology	Systems Technicians	31–40 years	Single	1	White
Participant 8	Information Technology	Systems Technicians	31–40 years	Single	3	Black
Participant 9	Information Technology	Systems Technicians	51 or more	Married	2	White
Participant 10	Information Technology	Junior ICT Technicians	20–30 years	Single	1	Black
Participant 11	Information Technology	Junior ICT Technicians	20–30 years	Single	0	Black
Participant 12	Information and Communications Technology	Operations specialists	41–50 years	Married	2	White
Participant 13	Information and Communications Technology	Operations specialists	41–50 years	Married	1	White
Participant 14	Information and Communications Technology	Operations specialists	51 or more	Married	2	White
Participant 15	Information and Communications Technology	Senior data management managers	51 or more	Married	0	Mixed Race
Participant 16	Information and Communications Technology	Senior data management managers	51 or more	Divorced	1	Black

In the following sections, the researcher identified two main themes from the data.

7.1. Theme 1: perceptions of work

Theme 1: Perceptions of work and its respective sub-themes are presented in Table 2 below. This theme looked at how participants view their careers, the different aspects of work, including their relationships with superiors, colleagues as well as clients.

7.1.1. Sub-theme 1: career females’ views of career retention in the ICT field

Nine (9) participants stated that they were willing to stay in the field of ICT even though it was predominantly a male-dominated field. As Participant 5 explained, “Yes, I am willing to stay on in this field given the labour changes and opportunities for women in the South African workplace and I have invested a lot in my education”.

The participants agreed that they had worked hard, and invested in their careers, and so were willing to stay on. Other responsibilities like looking after families financially, given the harsh economic conditions, was another deciding factor as the employees cited, they could not afford to risk becoming jobless in such an environment. Additionally, Participant 1 stated that “I would not leave the ICT field due to the fact that I have worked hard, and I cannot start over in another career”.

Participants who argued that they would like to move away from the fast-paced environment of ICT justified the response, by indicating a desire to start their own business. Other issues such as gender stereotypes, contributed to the reasons why some participants would stay or leave an ICT field. Participants cited the issue of wanting to spend more time with family and creating more time to travel, which they could not have while working in the ICT field.

Participants reflected that they would remain in this field.

Participant 5 explained, “Yes, I am willing to stay on in this field given the labour changes and opportunities for women in the South African workplace, and I have invested a lot in my education”.

Despite the intricacies they faced in terms of work-life balance, given the harsh economic conditions, they cannot afford to be jobless. Participant 1 stated, “I would not leave the ICT field because I have worked hard, and I cannot start over in another career”.

Some participants explained that they would instead start their businesses or change professions because they could not cope with the intricacies of work-life balance.

Participant 6 said, “Ahh, I intend to leave this industry because I am tired of furthering my studies all the time. It’s always studying, study and study. When will I live my life? It is too much”.

This intricacy presented a notion of failing to combine work-life and another aspect of life, which was furthering one’s education and the idea of living life apart from work-life.

There were, however, seven (7) participants who were confident that they could not stay in such a male-dominated field. This emanates from the various roles females perform in daily life, and ICT being too fast paced, some individuals end up having problems managing their work and private lives.

Participant 2 stated that “I will definitely move away from the ICT field because it is very tiring that I have hardly had time for my family-related issues”.

The ICT’s dynamic environment forces people in that field to constantly upgrade their qualifications, thus this presented an intricacy to some of the female employees.

Participant 6 said, “Ahh, I intend to leave this industry because I am tired of furthering my studies all the time. It’s always study, study, and study. When will I live my life? It’s too much”.The next section looks at the sub-theme on career women’s perceptions of workplace conduct.

7.1.2. Sub-theme 2: interpersonal relations at work

Participants perceived their work relations to be both positive and negative. Eleven participants indicated positive interpersonal relations with their male colleagues. They found that their male counterparts exhibited patience, respect, and consideration, and treated them as equals in the workplace.

Participant 14 explained, “My male colleagues are generous and Bayangithanda hehe, (they love me)”.

However, other participants found that hostile interpersonal relations did exist in the workplace. Sexism and discrimination were commonplace, for example, managers who decided on the jobs given to females and those given to males, comments from male colleagues questioning their ability, making inappropriate comments or requests, or most commonly, questioning their capability to have a career and family.

Participant 4 explained, “On a number of occasions, I have been taken off a job because some male colleagues felt that I would not do a good job”.

Moreover, Participant 6 stated, “Yes, I also have had my technical ability and knowledge questioned by male colleagues doubting whether I can handle the business”.

A very different view from previous sentiments, 5 participants made it clear that negative interpersonal relations existed in the workplace, which included stereotypical profiling of females in the ICT work environment and resulted in abuse from the males. For example, males would discriminate the females when assigning work, deliberately downplay the quality of the female workers’ tasks, as well as ignore any ideas provided by women for tasks solutions.

In reference to Table 3, the participants acknowledged that the support for them to stay in the ICT sector and encouragement in terms of interactions they received from their mentors/ supervisors/male colleagues guided them and made them want to stay in the ICT sector. Most of the participants which made up of 9 representing 56.25 percent expressed views that were positive and stated they would continue working in the ICT sector while 7 (43.75 percent) expressed negative views. Eleven Participants (68.75 percent) participants showed that they had positive inter-relations with male counterparts against five participants (31.25 percent) who expressed negative responses.

Table 3. Perceptions of work

Theme 1: Perceptions of work	Sub-theme (s)	Frequency	Percentage (%)
	Sub-theme 1: Career women’s views of career retention in the ICT field
	Participants’ willingness to stay in a male-dominated job (YES)	9	56.25
	Participants’ willingness to stay in a male-dominated job (NO)	7	43.75
	Total	16	100
	Sub-theme 2: Interpersonal relations at work
	Participants’ views on interrelations with male counterparts (positive)	11	68.75
	Participants’ views on interrelations with male counterparts (negative)	5	31.25
	Total	16	100

Participant 13 stated: “As a female when you are too opinionated and ambitious, you are seen as a threat by the males”.

Some of the participants shared stories of their own experiences with gender discrimination in the ICT profession. This often came in the form of comments from male colleagues, questioning their abilities making inappropriate comments or requests, and most commonly, questioning their capabilities to manage both a career and family.

Participant 4 explained, “On a number of occasions, I have been taken off a job because some male colleagues felt that I would not do a good job.” In addition, Participant 6 supported Participant 4 by saying, “Yes, I also have had my technical ability and knowledge questioned by male colleagues doubting whether I can handle the business”.

7.2. Theme 2: perceptions of home life

Theme 2: Perceptions of home life and its respective sub-themes are presented in Table 4.

Table 4. Perceptions of home life

Theme 2: Perceptions of home life	Sub-theme (s)	Frequency	Percentage (%)
	Sub-theme 1: Views of home/life	10	62.5
	Sub-theme 2: Different roles at home	6	37.5
	Total	16	100

7.2.1. Sub-theme 1: views of home life

Flexible work schedules such as shift work, being on-call, and weekend work, resulted in a blurring of the home and work domain. Time spent on work activities during the weekend presented an intricacy in terms of time management for other activities.

Participant 7 stated, “I am always busy at work and have no time to do what I love in my own private life”.

The participants all indicated that they had to choose between work and life roles like taking care of spouses or homemaking over work, and this influenced their career decisions. When work-life balance conflict occurred, the females indicated that they choose the home role over their work roles by attending to the care of children and elderly people.

Participant 3 stated, “I have to make provision to make sure my children have clean clothes as well as take care of my husband”.

7.2.2. Sub-theme 2: different roles at home

The married participants indicated that the roles of homemaker and caregiver were critical to home life. The tasks ranged from cooking, helping children with homework, doing laundry, clothes ironing, doing personal schoolwork for those participants who were furthering their education. Those women with elderly or sickly parents or in-laws spent a substantial amount of time at home, caring for them.

Participant 16 stated, “Since my elderly mother is physically challenged, I spend over 6 hours tending to her cares”.

Participant 15 stated, “I spend 4 hours looking after my diabetic dad who needs constant monitoring”.

Participants indicated that they would not take on overtime work, as a general rule, as this would impact the quality of time spent with the family. Participants with children explained that they had to prioritise time for their caregiver, homemaker, and personal roles while attempting to balance their work-related activities.

Participant 16 stated, “The homemaker role presents a serious challenge to the career woman as she tries to perform the demands of home-role as well as the demands of the work role”.

Women must prioritise the tasks they had to perform in a day, to make sure that they can balance their home and work lives.

Participant 15 explained, “I create a to-do list for the next day, and I usually have to fit in other peoples’ activities and schedule in mine. That takes a lot of time, I must say”.

Some participants mentioned that they had to make time to fulfill their filial obligations over the weekends, such as attending family gatherings, weddings, funerals, or just spending quality time with the family. Others used their free time to do their household chores, such as laundry and spring- cleaning. Unmarried, single participants found that they would engage in catching up with their work that they were not able to complete during the workweek.

Participant 13 explained, “I get to catch up on work because Thursdays and Fridays are reserved for meetings, so I do not get much done at the office because, man, I am so busy, and I lose two days of the week”.

The homemaker role occupied a large amount of time while not at work. The following made up the activities covered:

• Cooking: All activities that involved meal preparation for the household.

• Laundry: All activities involved in washing and ironing clothes for the household.

• House cleaning: All activities that involved cleaning and maintaining the household.

Some participants relied heavily on technology, to help them get through their tasks, employing a washing machine and tumble dryer to help alleviate the burden of laundry. Some participants concentrated on the “Most Important Areas or M.I. As”. For example, only the high traffic areas in the house would receive attention regularly, while others would receive attention as and when it was required. Other participants have help from family members in terms of sharing house cleaning activities. This presented an intricacy in terms of the female roles to activities of the home.

Participant 1 stated, “I spent about 2 hours cleaning with a little help from my 13-year-old daughter”.

8. Discussion

The current study’s research questions were as follows:

• How do female ICT professionals perceive the impact of their work on their home life and their home life on work?

• What are the challenges faced by female Information and Communication Technology (ICT) professionals in balancing their work and home life?

• To what extent do female ICT professionals feel supported by their organisations and colleagues in managing their work and home life responsibilities?

To address the research questions of the current study, the discussion of the findings are classified into two broad themes, namely, Theme 1: Perceptions of work and Theme 2: Perceptions of home life. This is presented in the next section.

8.1. Theme 1: perceptions of work

Work represents achievement as well as a place where relationships with superiors, colleagues, and clients are formed. Therefore, a woman’s self-identity is enhanced by her work-related roles. These findings concur with the Department of Women, Youth, and People with disabilities (2019) as well as the Life Course perspective by Giele and Elder (1998) which offers a way of thinking about perceptions of work by the female ICT professionals. The analysis by Nafakh et al. (2022)’s research was consistent with the current research that indicated that women’s perceptions of work regarding the odds of being employed were, in some cases, was significantly less across all considered explanatory variables, except variables representing age, the social interaction found at the typical workplace, and work-from-home as a change desired to be continued in a post-pandemic world.

In terms of challenges, women found their experiences of workplace conduct to be both positive and negative, where, in some cases, men treated them as equals. However, in other cases, they were discriminated against because of stereotypical attitudes exhibited by their male colleagues and managers. This finding is supported by Dover et al. (2020), who found those policy initiatives around gender were often undermined by unfair and biased treatment of women by men in the workplace. Boland et al. (2020) and Foss (2021) findings also confirm the current study’s findings by exploring and revising the issue of work-life policies which would be looked at post COVID−19 pandemic in managing work and home life responsibilities. The findings by Jones and Jones (2020) and Nafakh et al. (2022) also indicate that the COVID−19 pandemic negatively impacting pre-existing inequalities, especially for women, individuals with low educational attainment and low income, and other vulnerable population groups. The implementation of teleworking during COVID−19 as explored by Rachmawati et al. (2021) and Manoharan and Ashtikar (2022) are consistent with the findings of the perceptions of work by participants in terms of how work was conducted and in managing work and home life responsibilities and issues related to female ICT challenges regarding balancing work and life.

Some participants found that their male counterparts exhibited patience, respect, and consideration, and treated them as equals in the workplace. While for others, sexism and discrimination were commonplace, for example, managers who decided on the jobs given to females and those given to males, comments from male colleagues questioning their ability, making inappropriate comments or requests, or most commonly, questioning their capability to have a career and family. The aspect of segregation is in line with findings by Segovia‐Pérez et al. (2020) which reflect the ways in which gender stereotypes affect women, who are professionally penalised, who are segregated to some occupations, and whose progression is hampered. Segovia‐Pérez et al. (2020)’s obtained results stressed the relevance of a sector approach for addressing the challenges that the ICT profession faces in terms of gender equality. While in ICT‐intensive sectors, a cultural change is needed to fight the effects of a male dominated environment, in non‐ICT‐intensive sectors, a crucial factor would be the implementation of human resources policies that break with the current gendered organisational management policies in order to tackle sticky floor problems.

8.2. Theme 2: perceptions of home life

Participants indicated that working during the weekend and overtime was challenging. The intricacy emanating from the role of homemaker and caregiver occupied most of the time spent at home. Role conflict arose when overtime or shift work happened over the weekends or when studying to improve their qualifications at home. Allvin et al. (2013) support this by stating that, as boundaries collapse, this can lead to the blurring of work and non-working lives, working times, and a lack of free time become a negotiation between employers and employees. This is also in line with the Life Course perspective by Giele and Elder (1998), which offers to understand and explain how women perceive and attach meaning to their work-life balance as they navigate their different life roles. Nafakh et al. (2022)’s finding of balancing home-life in relation with mothers with children between 5 and 12 years is consistent as it highlighted how it was first challenging to obtain employment and work from home during the COVID−19 pandemic and in managing work and home life responsibilities

Results showed that changes in the job space had a direct influence on the home space. Masuda and Visio (2012) supported this finding. They found that the more opportunities the work domain provides, the greater the home domain’s impact, as the more likely job resources will be transferred from one domain into another.

The home’s perceptions revealed that all the participants, irrespective of marital status, number of dependents, race, and age, had intricacies that emerged from their caregiver and home-maker roles that they assume at home. Reddy (2015) concurs and asserts that, although men’s roles in the household context have evolved over the years, women are still responsible for childcare, elderly care, and home responsibilities. The Life Course (LC) Perspective (Giele & Elder, 1998) also supports the current findings as it offers an understanding of perceptions shaped by societal conditions and social norms. The findings are also in line with the Social Role Theory, which examines the multiple roles people take on in life and Segovia‐Pérez et al. (2020)’s findings are also in line with the current findings in terms of challenges presented by gender stereotypes which highlight the career paths and challenges women take.

Furthermore, the Department of Women, Youth, and People with Disabilities Report (2019) also support these findings by arguing that women spend considerably more time on unpaid/household work than their male counterparts do. The gap is enormous in the 30+ age group, prime ages for childbearing and childrearing. The results indicate women’s different roles at home implied the mastery of knowing how to utilise their organising skills to achieve a balance. Sudha and Karthikeyan (2014) support that some of the strategies and skills at work, such as planning, organising, and setting limits, can be used at home and workplace for accomplishing a satisfying and fulfilling well-balanced life both professionally and personally. This study finding is also in line with thinking about work-life balance as a subjective experience, which changes over time as developed by Giele and Elder (1998) as well as Rubery and Hebson (2018) who found that due to the challenge of reconciling professional and personal lives, family support policies as support from organisations could reduce this, although feminists have warned that work arrangements to provide family care could also reinforce gender differences. This is important for in managing work and home life responsibilities for women in the Information and Communication and Technology sector.

Women employees should care for the family both physically and financially to satisfy the family needs. The interpretations of the different roles at home found that participants were the primary caregivers of children, which led to a division of activities but with priority for children. Wattis et al. (2013) supported these findings when they found that childcare responsibility was still a constraint for working women and influenced parents’ labour market assessment, particularly mothers with younger children. Participants felt an obligation to fulfill their domestic duties such as cleaning and laundry and the care of spouses. Moosa (2018) concurs and opines that women generally feel responsible for domestic tasks according to socio-cultural norms. The findings show that time spent taking care of children with both married and unmarried participants was similar. The findings concur with Bianchi et al. (2006), who found that married and single mothers spend similar amounts of time in direct childcare. However, single mothers reported less total time with their children and perceived more work and family sacrifices than married mothers. This is also in line with Monda (2023)’s finding that highlighted the fact that achieving a work-life balance for women is a challenge due to their various life roles.

Findings indicated that some participants were struggling with a balance due to issues that involved the number of responsibilities they had at home. The expectation of the females to perform home chores even after work high levels of stress and exhaustion. These results are consistent with Kollinger-Santer and Fischmayr (2013), who found that women experience more family-to-work conflict as they primarily take care of family responsibilities and childcare activities. Sundaresan (2014) supports this finding as he states that women’s responsibilities in a family directly impact their achievements in the workplace. Padmanabhan and Kumar (2016) concur that the added responsibility based on upskilling resulted in the struggle only made the situation worse. A more recent finding by Adamson et al. (2023) also supports the current finding that emphasise the importance of managing and balancing work and life for executives especially women.

9. Practical implications for management

The telecommunications organisation could improve its policies or practices by employing gender-based mentorship programmes. The telecommunications organisation could strengthen its involvement in the transformation agenda through ongoing compliance with the South African legislation and by inserting transformation and empowerment in the organisations’ strategy. The telecommunications organisation could further develop transformation interventions centered on sensitivity training and diversity awareness practices.

10. International implications

A key theme of this article has been how the requirement to work long hours in the ICT sector works against women’s other responsibilities in terms of home and the extent to which work-life balance initiatives might help deal with this. It is still the case that women rarely have access to flexible hours and that a male model of a career based on commitment in long hours persists.

According to Doherty and Manfredi (2001), a solution would be to put in place more vital legislation to give women the right to work flexibly at all levels. This might include longer paid maternity leave, paid parental leave, a right to career breaks, and a right to work part-time, even at senior levels.

11. Limitations and future studies

This study’s results are not generalisable to other industries due to the small sample size and the focus on the telecommunications organisation. Furthermore, due to the qualitative nature of the study, a more statistically sound analysis of the participants’ experiences was not possible.

Future research could look at women in other STEM industries as these are viewed as traditionally male-dominated occupations. A mixed methodology would better serve a more balanced view of the WLB of women in the ICT industry. Also, it is essential to consider the limitations of qualitative research. Qualitative research tends to work with smaller samples. It is always important to note that qualitative research does not always yield generalisable results.

12. Conclusion

The field of information technology (IT) has traditionally been male-dominated, and women who choose to pursue careers in this industry often face unique challenges that can lead to difficulties in their career progression and ultimately, cause them to leave the industry altogether. There are a number of factors that contribute to these challenges. One of the main factors is a lack of representation and visibility of women in IT. This can lead to a sense of isolation and make it more difficult for women to find mentors or role models who can provide guidance and support. It can also lead to a lack of opportunities for networking and career advancement, which can limit women’s ability to progress in their careers.

From a practical perspective, this study enriches the understanding that women face different intricacies relating to occupational interpretations of work, revealing that staying away from work because of family responsibilities such as childbearing and rearing resulted in a lack of improvement of specialised skills. In addition, practical challenges that can make it difficult for women to balance their personal and professional lives, such as long hours, inflexible schedules, and a lack of family-friendly policies. Domestic interpretations of the home revealed that care for elderly parents presented an intricacy as much of the time is spent dealing with older people, which was stressful and financially draining. Findings relating to work-life synergy interpretations indicated that hostile interpersonal relations existed in the workplace, such as stereotypical profiling of females in the ICT work environment.

Despite these challenges, there are also many factors that can encourage women to pursue careers in IT and remain in the industry. For example, many women are drawn to the creative and innovative aspects of IT work, as well as the opportunities for intellectual challenge and problem-solving.

Author’s contributions

The first author wrote and prepared most of the article and collected the data.

The second author gave guidance about the format and content of the article. She also helped with the technical preparation of the manuscript, the data analysis, and the conceptualisation of the study.

Disclaimer

The views expressed in this article are the authors’ own and not an official position of the university where the researchers are based.

Ethical considerations

This research received ethical clearance from the University of KwaZulu-Natal’s Humanities & Social Sciences Research Ethics Committee of the University of KwaZulu-Natal to begin the research with Protocol Reference Number: HSS/0810/018D was obtained.

Acknowledgments

The article is based on the doctoral thesis of the first author, who is a doctoral graduate at the University of KwaZulu-Natal in South Africa. The co-author is the supervisor of the thesis.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Data availability statement

Data sharing does not apply to this article https://researchspace.ukzn.ac.za/handle/10413/20110.

Additional information

Funding

This research received no specific grant from any funding agency in public, commercial or not-for-profit sectors.

Notes on contributors

Wiza Munyeka

Wiza Munyeka specialises in Human Resource management. He possesses a PhD from the University of KwaZulu-Natal in South Africa, as well as a Master of Commerce in Human Resource Management from the University of Limpopo, Turf Loop Campus in South Africa. As a former lecturer at the University of Venda in South Africa, Wiza Munyeka has experience in education. During his tenure, he delivered courses on Contemporary Issues in Human Resource Management, Labour Relations, and Occupational Psychology. His research interests are Labour Relations, Talent Management and Employee Well-Being.

Ashika Maharaj

Ashika Maharaj is an accomplished academic with expertise in Human Resources Management and Industrial Relations. She completed her PhD in 2015 and has since held several positions in the discipline at the University of KwaZulu-Natal. Currently, she serves as the Academic Leader of the discipline. Her research interests lie in the areas of International HRM, Talent Management, Skills development and Employment Engagement.