Doing and undoing gender: women professionals' persistence in technology occupations

Abstract

Purpose

This study aims to identify women professionals' strategies to persist in the male-dominated technology industry situated in the Bangladeshi socio-cultural context.

Design/methodology/approach

In-depth interviews with women tech professionals were conducted to identify and explore the strategies. Thematic coding was used for data analysis.

Findings

The findings suggest that the complex interplay of macro-, meso- and micro-factors pushes women to defy societal and gender norms in their choice and persistence, yet they simultaneously conform to these norms. By simultaneous expressions of doing and undoing gender, these women dealt with hierarchies and inequalities, navigated masculinized industry and empowered themselves within a patriarchal culture. The strategies effectively allowed them to demonstrate agency and persist in tech occupations.

Research limitations/implications

The study participants were women and recruited using snowball sampling. Future research could benefit from recruiting a larger, more varied sample using random sampling.

Practical implications

The study can inform teaching and policy initiatives to increase women's representation in tech sectors through awareness campaigns, policy interventions and counseling.

Originality/value

The research extends the doing and undoing framework by integrating the relational perspective to explain women's agency and resilience situated in a patriarchal context. The paper focuses on women's micro-individual strategies to navigate macro- and meso-level forces. Moreover, Bangladesh is an under-researched context, and findings from the study can help design potential intervention strategies to increase women's participation.

Citation

Saifuddin, S.M., Dyke, L. and Hossain, M.S. (2022), "Doing and undoing gender: women professionals' persistence in technology occupations", Equality, Diversity and Inclusion, Vol. 41 No. 4, pp. 673-690. https://doi.org/10.1108/EDI-03-2021-0083