In Chapter 1, Elizabeth Koh, Liu Na, and John Lim focus on the interaction between anonymity and gender and their impact on groupwork, particularly in terms of team collaboration processes, satisfaction and performance. The study that the authors report on in the chapter presents a process-based interpretation of virtual team collaboration, incorporating the anonymity of technology feature and the gender difference of team members. Using a multiple case study approach, the authors identify a key set of process variables that help shape team performance, examining the interdependencies among the processes. The major findings from the research are that task-related activities that occurred during team discussion are affected by gender anonymity, and that this in turn influences group performance and members’ satisfaction towards the collaboration process. Group dynamics including member awareness, leader emergence and member’s conformity are also salient process variables that affect the virtual team performance.
In Chapter 2, Yvonne Costin discusses why women start new business, how they select the industry for their business, and where they place their business. The focus of the chapter is on the home worker/ entrepreneur or the mompreneur, namely, mothers who decide primarily for family reasons, to leave paid employment and establish a business operated from home. The chapter examines the adoption and application of ICT in the mompreneur business and discusses challenges encountered in this process. A specific emphasis is placed on the issue of ICT and its use by the mompreneur in undertaking business transactions and as a means of facilitating small firm growth.
In Chapter 3, Elaine Yakura, Louise Soe, and Ruth Guthrie examine issues of support for women in Information Technology (IT) careers. Based on open ended interviews with 38 women from nine different industry sectors and at varying organizational levels, the authors highlight areas of support for women that may influence their success in IT careers, pointing out that knowing these areas of support may give women help in planning their careers in a male dominated industry.
In Chapter 4, Sunrita Dhar-Bhattachaijee and Haifa Takruri-Rizk investigate the dynamics of gender segregation in science, engineering, construction, and technology (SECT) in India and the U. K. the authors point out that even though culturally the two countries differ in various ways, under-representation of women in SECT is widespread in both. Based on in-depth interviews with twenty seven ICT professionals in the two countries, the authors comment on differences between the two countries in education, recruitment and employment practices, work-life balance, changing gender relations, and opportunities for progression and retention, taking into consideration women’s role in power and politics in the two countries and how ‘public’ and ‘private’ patriarchy shapes women’s position in the labour market.
In chapter 5, Erkan Ozdemir discusses the role that gender has in e-marketing, particularly as it pertains to gender differences in online purchasing behaviors. The chapter consists of a literature review on the subject of Internet usage and online purchasing behaviors with a focus on gender-based differences. The aim of the chapter is to explore gender-based differences in Internet usage and online purchasing behavior and to suggest e-marketing strategies for e-marketers.
In Chapter 6, Olca Surgevil and Mustafa F. Ozbilgin analyze women’s participation in the ICT field and the qualifications (fundamental capabilities and training) that women need to get into the sector. Drawing on interdisciplinary insights, this chapter explores the implications of numerical feminization in the context of gendered cultures and processes of work in the information technology (IT) sector, and proposes directions for future research on gender in the ICT field.
In Chapter 7, Bernhard Ertl, Kathrin Helling, and Kathy Kikis-Papadakis describe the situation of gender and ICT in Germany and Greece. Based on an empirical study, the chapter outlines areas in ICT education that suffer from gender inequalities in both countries, explaining how gender inequalities in education affect women’s professional in ICT in Germany and Greece.
In Chapter 8, Rob Macgregor, Peter Hyland, and Charles Harvey discuss the adoption of ICT’s by male and female General Practitioners’ (GPs) in Australia, with particular emphasis on the practitioners’ perceptions of the benefits of ICT to them. Based on a survey of GP’s perceptions, the authors discuss the differences between male and female understanding of the role that ICT can play in their practices and the benefits that they can derive from ICT’s.