Hendrik Willem Pretorius
ABSTRACT
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.
- Huang, H. & Trauth, E. M. (2006). Cultural diversity challenges: Issues for managing globally distributed knowledge workers in software development. In P. Yoong & S. Huff (Eds.), Managing IT professionals in the Internet age (pp. 254--276). Hershey, PA: Idea Group.Google Scholar
- Irwin, L. (2000). Gender inequalities in technology in developing nations: Females and computers in traditional cultures. Intercultural Education. Vol. 11, No. 2, pp. 195--200.Google ScholarCross Ref
- Nielsen, S. H., von Hellens, L. & Beekhuyzen, J. (2005). Challenge or Chaos: A Discourse Analysis of Women's Perceptions of the Culture of Change in the IT Industry. Issues in Informing Science and Information Technology pp. 715--727. © Griffith University, Brisbane, Australia.Google Scholar
- Peppard, J. 1995. Broadening Visions of Business Process Re-engineering. Omega, Int. J. Mgmt Sci. Vol. 24, No. 3 pp. 255--270, 1996. © Elsevier Science Ltd.Google Scholar
- Trauth, E. M., Quesenberry, J. L. & Huang, H. (2008). A Multicultural Analysis of Factors Influencing Career Choice for Women in the Information Technology Workforce. Journal of Global Information Management, Vol. 16, Issue 4, 2008. © IGI Global.Google ScholarCross Ref
- Trauth, E. M. & Quesenberry, J. L. (2006). Are women an underserved community in the Information technology profession? Paper presented at the International Conference on Information Systems, Milwaukee, WI.Google Scholar
- Lewis, S., Lang, C., & McKay, J. (2007). An inconvenient truth: the invisibility of women in IT. Australian Journal of Information Systems, Vol 15, No. 1, pp. 59--76.Google ScholarCross Ref
- Ramsey, N. & McCorduck, P. (2005). Where are the Women in Information Technology? Report of Literature Search and Interviews, prepared by the Anita Borg Institute for Women and Technology for the National Centre for Women & Information Technology University of Colorado, Boulder. ©© Anita Borg Institute for Women and Technology.Google Scholar
- Pande, R. (2006). Digital divide, gender and the Indian experience in IT. In E. M. Trauth (Ed.), Encyclopedia of gender and information technology, pp. 191--199). Hershey, PA: Idea Group Reference.Google Scholar
- Staehr, L., Byrne, G & Bell, E. (2006). Gender and the Australian Industry. In E. M. Trauth (Ed), Encyclopedia of gender and information technology, pp. 467--473. Hershey, PA: Idea Group.Google Scholar
- Nielsen, S. H., von Hellens, L. & Beekhuyzen, J. (2005). Challenge or Chaos: A Discourse Analysis of Women's Perceptions of the Culture of Change in the IT Industry. Issues in Informing Science and Information Technology pp. 715--727. © Griffith University, Brisbane, Australia.Google Scholar
- Huyer, S. (2005). Women, IT and the information society: Global perspectives and initiatives. In Proceedings of the International Symposium on Women and IT: Creating Global Transformation. New York: ACM Press. Google ScholarDigital Library
- Rosser, S. V. (2005) Women in IT: Global issues and actions. In Proceedings of the International Symposium on Women and IT: Creating Global Transformation. New York: ACM Press. Google ScholarDigital Library
- Sanders, J. (2005) Gender and technology in education: What the research tells us. In Proceedings of the International Symposium on Women and IT: Creating Global Transformation. New York: ACM Press. Google ScholarDigital Library
- Pretorius, H. W. & de Villiers, C. An Analysis of the International discourse of Women in Information Technology. Proceedings of the Annual Conference of the South African Institute of Computer Scientists and Information Technologists (SAICSIT), Vereeniging, South Africa, October, 2009. Google ScholarDigital Library
- Li, N. & Kirkup, G. (2007). Gender and cultural differences in Internet use: A study of China and the UK. Computers in Education, Vol. 48, No. 2, pp. 301--317.Google ScholarCross Ref
- Ecevit, Y., Gündüz-Hoşgőr, A., & Tokluoğğlu, C. (2003). Professional women in computer programming occupations: The case of Turkey. Career Development International, Vol. 8, No. 2, pp. 78--87.Google ScholarCross Ref
- Hersch, M. (2000). The changing position of women in engineering worldwide. IEEE Transactions of Engineering Management, Vol. 47, No. 3, pp. 345--359.Google ScholarCross Ref
- Minguez, A. M. (2005). New technologies as social fact: Gender and digital divide in Spain in compared perspective. In Proceedings of the International Symposium on Women and IT: Creating Global Transformation. New York: ACM Press. Google ScholarDigital Library
- Moore, K., Griffiths, M., Richardson, H. & Adam, A. (2008) Gender Futures? Women, the IT Workplace and Stories of the Future. Gender, Work and Organization, Vol. 15, No. 5, pp. 523--542.Google ScholarCross Ref
- Crump, B. J., Logan, K. A. & McIlroy, A. (2007). Does Gender still matter? A study of the views of women in the ICT industry of New Zealand. Gender, Work and Organization, Vol. 14, No 4.Google ScholarCross Ref
- Kuntjara, E. (2002). Gender Issues in Information Technology Communication. © 1998--2002 Isis International-Manila. {Online} Available: www.isiswomen.org {April 2006}.Google Scholar
- Kreitner, R. & Kinicki, A. (2004). Organisational Behaviour. 6th edition. New York, NY: McGraw-Hill.Google Scholar
- Adamm A., Howcroft, D & Richardson, H. (2004). A decade of neglect: Reflecting on gender and IS. Technology and Employment, Vol. 19, No. 3, pp. 222--240.Google ScholarCross Ref
- Medeiros, C. B. (2005). From subject of change to agent of change -- Women and IT in Brazil. In Proceedings of the International Symposium on Women and IT: Creating Global Transformation. New York: ACM Press. Google ScholarDigital Library
- Adams, J. C., Bauer, V & Baichoo, S. (2003). An Expanding pipeline: Gender in Mauritius. In Proceedings of ACM SIGCSE Conference, pp. 50--53. New York: ACM Press. Google ScholarDigital Library
- Adams, J. C., Baichoo, S. & Bauer, V. (2006). Women embrace computing in Mauritius. In E. M. Trauth (Ed.), Encyclopedia of gender and information technology, pp. 1258--1266. Hershey, PA: Idea Group.Google Scholar
- Eidelmann, L & Hazzan, O. (2005). Factors influencing the shrinking pipeline in high schools: A sector-based analysis for the Israeli high school system. In proceedings of the ACM SIGCSE Conference, pp. 406--410. New York: ACM Press. Google ScholarDigital Library
- Eidelmann, L & Hazzan, O. (2006). The shrinking pipeline in high schools: In E. M. Trauth (Ed.), Encyclopedia of gender and information technology, pp. 1092--1098. Hershey, PA: Idea Group.Google Scholar
- Nielsen, S., von Hellens, L. A., Greenhill, A, & Pringle, R. (1998). Conceptualising the influence of cultural and gender factors on student's perception of IT studies and careers. In Proceedings of the 1998 ACM SIGPR Conference, pp. 86--95. New York: ACM Press. Google ScholarDigital Library
- Razavi, S. & Miller C. (1995). From WID to GAD: Conceptual Shifts in the Women and Development Discourse. ISSN 1020--3354. ©© United Nations Research Institute for Social Development (UNRISD).Google Scholar
- Cohoon, J. M., & Aspray, W. (2006). A Critical Review of the Research on Women's Participation in Postsecondary Computing Education. Women and Information Technology. Cambridge Massachusetts, the MIT Press: pp. 137--180Google Scholar
- Mahony, K. & Van Toen, B. (1990). Mathematical formalism as a means of occupational closure in computing -- why "hard" computing tends to exclude women. Gender and Education, Vol. 3, pp. 319--331.Google ScholarCross Ref
- Wacjman, J. (2004). Techno Feminism. Cambridge, Policy Press.Google Scholar
- Webster, J. (2005). Women in IT Professions: Corporate Structures, Masculine Cultures. 3rd European Symposium on Gender & IT: Working for Change, Manchester, UK.Google Scholar
- Fletcher, J. K. (2001). Disappearing Acts: Gender, Power, and Relational Practice at Work. Cambridge, Massachusetts, the MIT Press.Google Scholar
- Margolis, J. & Fisher, A. (2002). Unlocking the Clubhouse: women in computing. Cambridge, Massachusetts, the MIT Press.Google Scholar
- Connel, R. W. (2002) Gender. Cambridge, Polity Press.Google Scholar
- Murphy, P. F. & Whitelegg, E. (2006). Girls in the Classroom: A Review of Research on the participation of Girls in Physics. London, Institute of Physics: 61.Google Scholar
- Boaler, J. (1997). Experiencing School Mathematics: Teaching Style, Sex and Setting. Buckingham, Open University Press.Google Scholar
- Murphy, P. F. & Elwood, J. (1998). Gendered experiences, choices and achievement -- exploring the links. International Journal of Inclusive Education, Vol. 2, No. 2, pp. 95--118.Google ScholarCross Ref
- Robbins, S. P. (1993). Organizational Behaviour. Sixth edition. © 1993, 1991, 1989, 1986, 1983, 1979 by Prentice Hall International, Inc. A Simon & Schuster Company, Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey 07632.Google Scholar
- Dollar, D. & Gatti, R. (1999). Gender Inequality, Income, and Growth: Are Good Times Good for Women? ©© The World Bank Research Group/ Poverty Reduction and Economic Management Network.Google Scholar
Index Terms
- A South African perspective of the international discourse about women in information technology
Recommendations
An analysis of the international discourse about women in information technology
SAICSIT '09: Proceedings of the 2009 Annual Research Conference of the South African Institute of Computer Scientists and Information TechnologistsCurrently 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 ...
Work alienation among IT workers: a cross-cultural gender comparison
SIGMIS CPR '08: Proceedings of the 2008 ACM SIGMIS CPR conference on Computer personnel doctoral consortium and researchInformation Technology (IT) has experienced a worrisome decline in female participation over two decades, much of which can be attributed to fewer women choosing IT careers. However, women IT professionals also demonstrate mid-career turnover for ...
Factors Influencing Women’s IT Career Choice in South Africa
The Role of Digital Technologies in Shaping the Post-Pandemic WorldAbstractThe number of women professionals participating in the IT industry in South Africa is less than 20%. A number of factors influence women’s IT career choices, such as previous programming exposure and the influence of parents, teachers and role ...
Comments