Yes / The four theories—gendering of careers, glass ceiling, gender stereotypes and work-life balance—of the lack of inclusion of women in the technology sector have a certain face validity when looking at Nigeria, a historically patriarchal nation undergoing significant growth in penetration and diffusion in the technology sector. Consequently, this article is the first to further develop these theories through a critical realist exploration of the experiences of female senior managers in the Nigerian technology sector. The findings show that women technology leaders are ambitious and driven to scale the barriers to senior management roles. These four theories are extended by providing empirical data and insights into how this phenomenon is experienced differently in the Global South. The article recommends that organizations implement policies that support skilled and high-potential women employees to fulfill their career aspirations, thereby disrupting stereotypes and changing the dominant, masculine narrative of the technology industry. / The full-text of this article will be released for public view at the end of the publisher embargo on 19th Dec 2023. / Research Development Fund Publication Prize Award winner, June 2022.

Purpose: The aim of this study was to explore the experiences of female senior managers in technology organizations and understand how they feel about themselves, their roles and their technology organizations. The study highlights the issues faced by women working in a gendered role, a masculine industry and a non-western, strong patriarchal society. Methodology/Design: A qualitative research methodology was adopted for this study. Eleven semi-structured interviews were used to collect empirical data from women senior managers in Nigerian technology organizations, which was thematically analyzed. Findings: The findings from this study indicate that women in technology are no longer reluctant to progress in this gendered career. Women technology leaders are ambitious and driven to scale the semantic barriers to top management roles. They experience workplace discrimination, insecurities and work-family conflicts, but do not punish themselves for sometimes dropping the ball. Rather, they show up to take on daunting assignments that prove their competence and choose to lead assertively in order to align their core values with the expectations of their role. Research Implications: This thesis makes a contribution to the wider literature on women leaders in technology by providing new insights on the role of patriarchal institutions in technology leadership, from a developing country in Africa. Practical Implications: Practical contributions are to support aspiring women in technology to fine-tune their leadership strategies in order to succeed in this gendered career and become beneficiaries of the vast opportunities in this dynamic industry. For technology organizations, to understand the issues faced by women leaders so that they can support women’s career aspirations by implementing and managing policies that support skilled and high-potential women employees to fulfill their career aspirations, and become change agents at the top management level. These efforts will disrupt stereotypes, change the narrative of inequalities in this industry and improve firm performance. Originality: This study is the first of its kind to focus on the role of patriarchal structures on women leaders’ careers in the technology industry within the context of an African society, which is rare in the literature on women leaders in technology.