Voluntary turnover of women in the IT industry

Abstract

This research seeks to gain an in-depth understanding of the reasons that women voluntarily leave the Information Technology (IT) industry. By speaking directly to those women who left the industry, the study ascertains the environmental, organisational and individual level factors that contributed to their decision to exit. Gaining this level of understanding provides valuable insights that can be used to curb the persistent underrepresentation and decline of women in the IT industry. A two-phased qualitative study was conducted, firstly industry experts were interviewed and provided their comprehension of the situation, thereafter the women who had left were also interviewed and provided the opportunity to express the drivers behind their decision to leave. Some of the findings, such as the importance of organisational culture and the role of the manager echo previous result. Novel insights are also provided, such as the ubiquity of IT, which highlights the fact that the continued reliance on and need for IT may be blurring the lines between IT and "other businesses".