Understanding Women’s Presence in ICT: the Life Course Perspective

Considerable effort has been devoted to reaching a gender balance in ICT professions, apparently to little effect. Women still make up under 20% of ICT professionals in most OECD countries, and there is little sign of any substantial increase in their presence. Perhaps we have failed to properly und...

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Detalles Bibliográficos
Autores: Castaño Collado, Cecilia, Webster, Juliet
Tipo de recurso: artículo
Fecha de publicación:2011
País:España
Institución:Universidad Complutense de Madrid (UCM)
Repositorio:Docta Complutense
Idioma:español
OAI Identifier:oai:docta.ucm.es:20.500.14352/42588
Acceso en línea:https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.14352/42588
Access Level:acceso abierto
Palabra clave:ICT
Women
Gender
Life course
Teorías sociológicas
Investigación social
Mujer
6303.05 Teoría
6309.09 Posición Social de la Mujer
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oai_identifier_str oai:docta.ucm.es:20.500.14352/42588
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spelling Understanding Women’s Presence in ICT: the Life Course PerspectiveCastaño Collado, CeciliaWebster, JulietICTWomenGenderLife courseTeorías sociológicasInvestigación socialMujer6303.05 Teoría6309.09 Posición Social de la MujerConsiderable effort has been devoted to reaching a gender balance in ICT professions, apparently to little effect. Women still make up under 20% of ICT professionals in most OECD countries, and there is little sign of any substantial increase in their presence. Perhaps we have failed to properly understand the factors involved in women’s absence, or to design appropriate remedial measures. We may need to reconsider our approach to the issue. In this paper, we advocate a ‘life course’ approach to the understanding of women’s trajectories through ICT studies and careers, situated in the structural and cultural contexts within which these trajectories unfold. This approach has several advantages: it allows us to identify the main factors affecting women’s engagement in ICT at different points in their lives; it highlights the key transition and attrition points in women’s lives; and, it shows how their career patterns are shaped by domestic labour as well as workplace factors. It crucially recognises the role of women’s own choices, as they shape and respond to their situations. Several contextual issues also appear to be crucial in shaping patterns of women’s engagement in ICT. In different countries, there are contrasting education systems, gender regimes and family structures, and employment cultures. All have a decisive influence on women’s careers in the ICT professions in every country. Using this approach, we can identify life events and contextual issues which require targeted action, and thus differentiate practical priorities according to different circumstances.Universidad Complutense de Madrid20112011-06-0120112011-06-01journal articlehttp://purl.org/coar/resource_type/c_6501info:eu-repo/semantics/articleapplication/pdfhttps://hdl.handle.net/20.500.14352/42588reponame:Docta Complutenseinstname:Universidad Complutense de Madrid (UCM)Españolspaopen accesshttp://purl.org/coar/access_right/c_abf2info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccessoai:docta.ucm.es:20.500.14352/425882026-06-02T12:44:21Z
dc.title.none.fl_str_mv Understanding Women’s Presence in ICT: the Life Course Perspective
title Understanding Women’s Presence in ICT: the Life Course Perspective
spellingShingle Understanding Women’s Presence in ICT: the Life Course Perspective
Castaño Collado, Cecilia
ICT
Women
Gender
Life course
Teorías sociológicas
Investigación social
Mujer
6303.05 Teoría
6309.09 Posición Social de la Mujer
title_short Understanding Women’s Presence in ICT: the Life Course Perspective
title_full Understanding Women’s Presence in ICT: the Life Course Perspective
title_fullStr Understanding Women’s Presence in ICT: the Life Course Perspective
title_full_unstemmed Understanding Women’s Presence in ICT: the Life Course Perspective
title_sort Understanding Women’s Presence in ICT: the Life Course Perspective
dc.creator.none.fl_str_mv Castaño Collado, Cecilia
Webster, Juliet
author Castaño Collado, Cecilia
author_facet Castaño Collado, Cecilia
Webster, Juliet
author_role author
author2 Webster, Juliet
author2_role author
dc.contributor.none.fl_str_mv Universidad Complutense de Madrid
dc.subject.none.fl_str_mv ICT
Women
Gender
Life course
Teorías sociológicas
Investigación social
Mujer
6303.05 Teoría
6309.09 Posición Social de la Mujer
topic ICT
Women
Gender
Life course
Teorías sociológicas
Investigación social
Mujer
6303.05 Teoría
6309.09 Posición Social de la Mujer
description Considerable effort has been devoted to reaching a gender balance in ICT professions, apparently to little effect. Women still make up under 20% of ICT professionals in most OECD countries, and there is little sign of any substantial increase in their presence. Perhaps we have failed to properly understand the factors involved in women’s absence, or to design appropriate remedial measures. We may need to reconsider our approach to the issue. In this paper, we advocate a ‘life course’ approach to the understanding of women’s trajectories through ICT studies and careers, situated in the structural and cultural contexts within which these trajectories unfold. This approach has several advantages: it allows us to identify the main factors affecting women’s engagement in ICT at different points in their lives; it highlights the key transition and attrition points in women’s lives; and, it shows how their career patterns are shaped by domestic labour as well as workplace factors. It crucially recognises the role of women’s own choices, as they shape and respond to their situations. Several contextual issues also appear to be crucial in shaping patterns of women’s engagement in ICT. In different countries, there are contrasting education systems, gender regimes and family structures, and employment cultures. All have a decisive influence on women’s careers in the ICT professions in every country. Using this approach, we can identify life events and contextual issues which require targeted action, and thus differentiate practical priorities according to different circumstances.
publishDate 2011
dc.date.none.fl_str_mv 2011
2011-06-01
2011
2011-06-01
dc.type.none.fl_str_mv journal article
http://purl.org/coar/resource_type/c_6501
dc.type.openaire.fl_str_mv info:eu-repo/semantics/article
format article
dc.identifier.none.fl_str_mv https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.14352/42588
url https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.14352/42588
dc.language.none.fl_str_mv Español
spa
language_invalid_str_mv Español
language spa
dc.rights.none.fl_str_mv open access
http://purl.org/coar/access_right/c_abf2
dc.rights.openaire.fl_str_mv info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess
rights_invalid_str_mv open access
http://purl.org/coar/access_right/c_abf2
eu_rights_str_mv openAccess
dc.format.none.fl_str_mv application/pdf
dc.source.none.fl_str_mv reponame:Docta Complutense
instname:Universidad Complutense de Madrid (UCM)
instname_str Universidad Complutense de Madrid (UCM)
reponame_str Docta Complutense
collection Docta Complutense
repository.name.fl_str_mv
repository.mail.fl_str_mv
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score 15.301603

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