Does Culture Matter? An Empirical Study of Cultural
Influences on the Success of Women in IT.
Louise Soe, Professor, CIS, Cal Poly Pomna
Ruth Guthrie, Professor & Chair, CIS, Cal Poly Pomona
Elaine Yakura, Professor, School of Labor & Industrial Relations, Michigan State
Request for Particiation
The purpose of this study is to explore the reasons for the declining numbers of women working in the information technology (IT) industry. The failure of women to thrive in IT is a very real problem that resists explanation and solution.
Dr. Ruth Guthrie (the current Chair of the CIS Department at Cal Poly), Dr. Elaine Yakura, (Michigan State University), and I plan to conduct a round of in-depth, semi-structured interviews with women in IT in Southern California during July and August of 2008.
The objectives of this stage of the study are to collect and analyze the perceptions of women IT workers about the organizational and professional climates they experience in their work. Ultimately, we would like to propose better strategies for attracting and retaining a more diverse group of professionals to the IT sector.
Open-ended interview questions will ask for a description of your current work environment and your experiences, and ask about past work/school environments and their effect on your experiences. Our best estimate for the time required for an interview is 90 minutes. We will make an audio recording of the interview for more accurate data collection with your permission (which consists of your signature on a consent form—see attached sample). Any reports of our findings will not identify individual participants.
Participants will receive a copy of our report upon request, and may find the interview beneficial because discussion of their experiences may prove helpful.
Our study protocol has the approval of both the Cal Poly Pomona and the Michigan State University Institutional Review Boards.
