IT is a male-dominated industry and most of the high technology oriented people are male (Hor — rigan, 2007). In other words, women are underrepresented in IT field (Allen et al., 2006). This sector also suffers from a class divide between highly sought after knowledge workers and highly dispensable temporary workers, and women are placed at the lower proletariat end of the spectrum in the sector, so this class divide is also gendered (Gutek, 2006).
In most countries ofthe world, men outnumber women in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) fields (Lee, 2002). Some scholars have attempted to provide human capital arguments for under-representation of women in the sector. For example, Little (1999) argued that computer science demands mathematical skills which women are less qualified. Some scholars even revert to essentialist arguments about gender differences in terms ofknowledge, skills and abilities and argue that, women do not possess requsite mathematical and spatial abilities in order to be successful in the field of IT. However, essentialist approaches to gender and IT are ill equipped to account for the significance of relations of power as well as social constructions of such relations which underpin how IT becomes gendered. Tatli et al. (2008) examined gendered organizational cultures and practices that create hostile climates for women and found that women continue to experience gendered outcomes in professional occupations including STEM fields. Wilson (2003) identifies a mismatch between the culture of IT work and the social construction of suitable work for women as a barrier of women’s full inclusion to the sector.
Today, computer and communication systems are part of a daily life for majority (Kling, 2000). The proportion ofwomen in computing area is also very low, and there are different reasons for it. For example, just seeing computing a masculine area can dissuade women from going into computing. And some other factors can be listed as gender stereotyping of subject choices at school, a lack of role models for women, a lack of confidence and experience with computers and the perception of computers as lacking social involvement (Forson&Ozbilgin, 2003).
Because of the culture that they have been raised, women are generally afraid of computers compared to men (Spotts et al., 1997). Perceptions are also important to create psychological discrimination. For example, perceptually some disciplines such as biology and psychology appeal more to girls, and some others such as engineering and physics more to boys (Lee, 2002).
Men and women are differing from each other in terms of accessing to information, to technology, and to scientific and technological careers. According to Hornig (1992) these differences are not arising solely from institutionalized discrimination but also from cultural differences. These cultural differences can be taken as a result of differential socialization and unequal life experiences, and the source of these cultural values can be located in a historically unequal division of labor.
Women also generally face hiring and promotional barriers in IT sector. Discrimination, the absence of mentoring, work-family challenges, and the structure of work environments are some constraints that prevent equal opportunities for hiring, promotion and advancement to senior management for women (Mujtaba, 2007). Also women are not offered full access and participation in the implementation process of IT and they feel inadequately informed about the process (Zauch — ner et al., 2000). They tend to receive lower salaries (Truman&Baroudi, 1994) and less favorable promotion chances than men (Igbaria&Baroudi, 1995), and face obstacles to advancement, quality mentoring and choice assignments that men may not encounter (Allen et al., 2004). According to a survey on information systems (IS) demographics, also the ‘glass ceiling’ keeps women in midlevel jobs in the IS departments (Bretts, 1993).
These reasons which impose barriers to women’s advancement can also sometimes lead women to leave the IT positions as well as the field (Ahuja, 2002). Women leave the IT sector due to inflexibility of work schedules, imposition of family responsibilities, higher levels of work stress, discrimination, the problematic attitudes of upper management, supervisors and coworkers, and lack of consistency in workplace policies as they apply to women and men (Allen et al., 2004; Allen et al., 2006). In parallel with this, women generally receive more support from friends and family members when they switch out of SME majors compared to men and they feel more freedom to leave the major if it creates dissatisfaction (Lee, 2002).
To explain the role of women in the field of IT, Ahuja (2002) offers a life-cycle stage model. This model incorporates factors that constrain or enable womens’ entry and advancement, and illustrates ‘the pyramid structure’ of women presence in the field of IT, and shows the effects of barriers for women across three separate dependent variables as career choice, career persistence and career advancement. These three dependent variables represent the three stages of an IT career. Ahuja (2002) suggests that there are several social and structural factors that affect women’s careers in IT:
Social factors: These are social and cultural biases that incorporate both the internal view that women have ofthemselves (self expectations) and the external view of women (stereotyping) that is held by society in general.
Structural factors: Organizations sometimes can limit the opportunities of its own workers. Lack of role models and mentors and the existing proportion of women in the top management are examples of structural factors.
Gender discrimination in IT sector can be classified into two practices as access and treatment. While the access is related to discrimination in practices of recruitment, treatment is related to objective and subjective differences between experience of women and men (Truman&Baroudi, 1994).