The COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 accelerated a new digital era and created a new societal order, which led to an expansion of IT in all levels of society. This increased expansion resulted in a greater need for IT-solutions, indicating a need for expertise within the industry. Despite this significant societal change, the number of professional women did not increase. The reason for this is believed to be due to a lack of female role models to attract more women to the industry. It has been shown that the main reason why women do not pursue careers in this industry is because it is a non-inclusive environment, and they actively choose to seek other careers whereas white men remain in the field. The respondents of this study, who are currently working in the industry, have through qualitative interviews provided useful insights regarding their experiences in a non-gender-equal industry and the ways in which this phenomenon unfolds in practice. The results reveal several pitfalls, including recruitment, where there is a tendency touse male-coded language, which deters women from pursuing careers in the field. There is also a problem with "one hires his own equal", which hinders the advancements of adiverse workforce. The study highlights systems and initiatives that aim to reduce these tendencies, but it is found that these systems have not really made an impact in the field as respondents had limited knowledge about them. However, the study indicates that there is some resistance to the outcome of initiatives, and that the respondents believe that it is more about diversity and inclusion rather than just focusing on women to solely achieve a gender-equal industry. Respondents believe that women do not need more support in their professional roles than men, and the vision for gender-equality promoting systems and innovation is applicable in both society and the IT-field.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:UPSALLA1/oai:DiVA.org:umu-208520 |
| Date | January 2023 |
| Creators | Stackhammar, Ellen, Hedenström, Ida, Israelsson, Jennifer |
| Publisher | Umeå universitet, Institutionen för informatik |
| Source Sets | DiVA Archive at Upsalla University |
| Language | Swedish |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Student thesis, info:eu-repo/semantics/bachelorThesis, text |
| Format | application/pdf |
| Rights | info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess |
| Relation | Informatik Student Paper Bachelor (INFSPB) ; 2023.24 |
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