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The Persistence of Traditional Gender Roles in the Information Technology Sector: A Study of Female Engineers in India

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  • Reena Patel

    (The University of Texas at Austin Department of Geography and the Environment 1 University Station-A3100 Austin, TX 78712-1098)

  • Mary Jane C. Parmentier

    (Information Management Technology Department' Building 50 College of Technology and Applied Sciences Arizona State University' East Campus 7001 E. Williams Field Road Mesa, AZ 85212)

Abstract

As women in India enter the rapidly expanding Information Technology (IT) workforce, it could be predicted that their active participation in this sector will change their socio-economic status within the employing organization and the communities in which they reside. It is often expected that women's participation in the professional realm will contribute to a breakdown of traditional gender roles. And indeed, the data illustrate that women are working in the IT sector in India in increasing numbers. However, data collected in 1992 and again in 2002 by the Indian Institute of Technology suggest that not only does women's participation fail to occur at the same speed as IT expansion, but that their participation is based on a continuation of traditional gender roles, which places women on the periphery of an employing organization. Questioning the paradigm of technological determinism, this paper examines how technology and its development can adapt to the existing social structure. The persistence of such gender divides perpetuate the notion of gender segregation and do not enhance women's socio-economic and political status, nor provide equal participation in the information economy. (c) 2005 Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Suggested Citation

  • Reena Patel & Mary Jane C. Parmentier, 2005. "The Persistence of Traditional Gender Roles in the Information Technology Sector: A Study of Female Engineers in India," Information Technologies and International Development, MIT Press, vol. 2(3), pages 29-46.
    • Handle: RePEc:tpr:itintd:v:2:y:2005:i:3:p:29-46
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    Cited by:

    1. Zhang Yu & Gros Tristen & Mao En, 2021. "Gender Disparity in Students’ Choices of Information Technology Majors," Business Systems Research, Sciendo, vol. 12(1), pages 80-95, May.
    2. Namrata Gupta, 2016. "Perceptions of the Work Environment: The Issue of Gender in Indian Scientific Research Institutes," Indian Journal of Gender Studies, Centre for Women's Development Studies, vol. 23(3), pages 437-466, October.
    3. Felix Akpojene Ogbo & Mansi Vijaybhai Dhami & Ebere Maureen Ude & Praween Senanayake & Uchechukwu L. Osuagwu & Akorede O. Awosemo & Pascal Ogeleka & Blessing Jaka Akombi & Osita Kingsley Ezeh & Kingsl, 2019. "Enablers and Barriers to the Utilization of Antenatal Care Services in India," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 16(17), pages 1-14, August.
    4. Anindita Paul & Krishnan TN & Hugh Scullion, 2018. "Career Progression of Women in the Indian IT Sector: Matching Talent Management Practices and Employee Perspectives," Working papers 274, Indian Institute of Management Kozhikode.
    5. Woszczynski, Amy B. & Dembla, Pamila & Zafar, Humayun, 2016. "Gender-based differences in culture in the Indian IT workplace," International Journal of Information Management, Elsevier, vol. 36(4), pages 507-519.

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