Abstract
Due to the increasing importance of digitization, ICT and engineering sectors are also growing. In these sectors, there are a lot of high-qualified and well-paid jobs. However, despite the growing importance and popularity of digital solutions, one fact (at least) is, unfortunately, still very stable within the ICT and engineering sectors: When it comes to employees, there are still huge differences with respect to gender and gender stereotypes. (Commercial) technology development can be regarded as having masculine connotations both structurally and culturally. Therefore, we address these connotations, especially the roles of androcentric bureaucracy, which could be described as hierarchical, technocentric, and very controlling-oriented, and (the structural possibilities of) self-efficacy. We discuss, conceptually and empirically with a focus on software development, whether new management approaches like agile frameworks and new management roles like Feel-good Managers and Scrum Master could be seen as a cure for inequality or if there are new stereotypical gender-related ascriptions for specific activities or processes.
Highlights
As digitalization is becoming more and more important in almost every aspect of everyday life and daily work processes, the sectors of information and communication technology (ICT) and engineering are growing as well
Despite the growing importance and popularity of digital solutions, one fact is, still very stable within the ICT and engineering sectors: When it comes to employees, there are still huge differences with respect to gender. (Commercial) technology development can be regarded as having masculine connotations both structurally and culturally
As our analysis provides a first insight into this very new and specific field of new management roles in the ICT sector, more research needs to be done in order to more accurately identify the affecting variables and causes of gender inequality in this field
Summary
As digitalization is becoming more and more important in almost every aspect of everyday life and daily work processes, the sectors of information and communication technology (ICT) and engineering are growing as well. Despite the growing importance and popularity of digital solutions, one fact (at least) is, still very stable within the ICT and engineering sectors: When it comes to employees, there are still huge differences with respect to gender. To give some examples: Structurally, women comprised 25.8% of the workforce in the ICT sector in the USA in 2019, 18.7% in the field of software development, at which we are especially looking at, and only 9.2% in network architecture (U.S Bureau of Labor Statistics 2020). The gendered division of labor seems to be very stable. Reasons for this could be seen in the gender segregation within socialization processes and their structural perpetuation in the sense of gender-specific career choices (Wiswall and Zafar 2016) as well as by structural issues within the labor market: Such as the glass ceiling effect (Bertrand 2017)
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