From the margins to a field of opportunities: Life story patterns of women in ICT

This article deals with the experiences of women working in IT professions in seven European countries. It describes what we identified as life story patterns in the material of 107 biographical interviews. One reason to look for patterns is the diversity of our informants' professional traject...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Women's studies international forum 2007-11, Vol.30 (6), p.486-498
Main Authors: Birbaumer, Andrea, Lebano, Adele, Ponzellini, Anna, Tolar, Marianne, Wagner, Ina
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Employment Opportunities
Europe
Feminism
Information and communication technologies
Information Technology
Interviews
Life stories
Occupations
Opportunities
Self Actualization
Self-perception
Social conditions
Sociocultural Factors
Women
Women's participation
Womens studies
Work Environment
Working Women
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Summary:This article deals with the experiences of women working in IT professions in seven European countries. It describes what we identified as life story patterns in the material of 107 biographical interviews. One reason to look for patterns is the diversity of our informants' professional trajectories. The trajectories themselves are not ‘telling’ unless seen in the context of the women's life stories — opportunities, choices, and life themes. The life story patterns shed light on how the women perceive themselves and their working environment, considering national/cultural differences. Here we focus on one of the patterns we identified — from the margins to a field of opportunities. These are women who have seized the chance to move out from their milieu — a rural background (Austria) or an area with limited job opportunities (the South of Italy) into jobs that offer good pay, a high level of job security, and the opportunity for learning.
ISSN:0277-5395
1879-243X
DOI:10.1016/j.wsif.2007.09.001