Work-life (IM) balance among women managers in India's information technology sector

Abstract

All working professionals have to contend with issues of achieving a balance between their working lives and other spheres of their involvement, especially the most apparent of all—the home space. But achieving this balance is not always easy. In the information technology (IT) industry in particular, with the mobility of technology enabling the delocation of work from office space, and often aggressive deadlines, job pressures are immense for both men and women. These difficulties are exacerbated for women as they strive to satisfy the needs of their families while still advancing in their jobs. The prevailing value systems that govern behaviour both at home and at work also create sociocultural barriers to the advancement of women. This article looks at some of the issues women with strong academic backgrounds and promising careers in the information technology sector, arguably the most technologically advanced sector of the economy, face when attempting to strike a balance between these two very different aspects of their lives. Through a survey of 273 women managers in the IT sector located in Bengaluru (Bangalore) and Mysuru (Mysore) and in-depth interviews with many of them, it investigates issues related to women in 2 modern workplaces that exist in the midst of a predominantly patriarchal societal ethos. It is argued that a feminine-centric understanding of a career is required if a woman is to be enabled to traverse between these two conflicting spaces—the home and her work.