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The silicon ceiling : women managers and leaders in ICT in Australia

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posted on 2013-01-01, 00:00 authored by Annemieke Craig, Jo Coldwell-NeilsonJo Coldwell-Neilson, J Fisher, C Lang
When I was in high school, it was always talked up that women could do science, engineering and technical [work] too. While we are just as capable as men, when we get into these industries, we face other challenges. There have been brave women who have done their bit to overcome these challenges, but it also requires brave men to challenge the attitudes of these industries to women participating in their workplaces. (APESMA, 2010) Silicon: Elemental silicon has a large impact on the modern world economy ... Because of wide use of silicon in integrated circuits, the basis of most computers, a great deal of modern technology depends on it. (Wikipedia, 2011) The chapter begins with a historical and current analysis of female participation in the workforce, in education and in leadership. The second section focuses on the information and communication technology (ICT) workforce in particular. The third section presents findings from a recent case study that gathered both quantitative and qualitative data from a diverse group of professional women in ICT. The case study provides a view into the ICT profession from the female perspective and identifies a selection of factors that would make a significant difference to female participation and longevity in the profession. The conclusion reached after this investigation is that the silicon ceiling is certainly not visible, yet remains fixed due to nonessential job characteristics that persist in the industry. The future looks bleak unless more female managers and male champions ensure that these nonessential employment characteristics are removed from ICT positions.

History

Title of book

Women and management : global issues and promising solutions

Chapter number

8

Pagination

177 - 200

Publisher

Praeger

Place of publication

Santa Barbara, Calif.

ISBN-13

9780313399411

ISBN-10

0313399417

Language

eng

Publication classification

B1 Book chapter

Extent

8

Editor/Contributor(s)

M Paludi

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