{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,3,2]],"date-time":"2026-03-02T22:21:31Z","timestamp":1772490091235,"version":"3.50.1"},"reference-count":40,"publisher":"Emerald","issue":"2","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2008,6,6]],"date-time":"2008-06-06T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1212710400000},"content-version":"tdm","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/www.emerald.com\/insight\/site-policies"}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":[],"published-print":{"date-parts":[[2008,6,6]]},"abstract":"<jats:sec><jats:title content-type=\"abstract-heading\">Purpose<\/jats:title><jats:p>This paper seeks to identify aspects of work environment, culture or expectations that contributed to women's comfort or discomfort within the information and communication technology (ICT) industry.<\/jats:p><\/jats:sec><jats:sec><jats:title content-type=\"abstract-heading\">Design\/methodology\/approach<\/jats:title><jats:p>The study is empirical in nature and addresses the perspectives of 178 professional women currently working within the Australian ICT industry who responded to the \u201cWomen in ICT\u201d survey conducted through James Cook University. Likert\u2010scale responses were subjected to principal component analysis and then K\u2010mean cluster analysis, distinguishing four groups of respondents. Explanations for group membership were then sought from responses to open\u2010ended survey questions.<\/jats:p><\/jats:sec><jats:sec><jats:title content-type=\"abstract-heading\">Findings<\/jats:title><jats:p>There was common agreement among respondents that, when making their career decisions, they had expected to enjoy good community image, and that their work would be socially useful, satisfying and flexible. Respondents also agreed that careers in ICT are rewarding, and provide opportunities, and disagreed with prevailing negative stereotypes about the industry. Opinions diverged on the organisation\u2010specific issues of management approachability and equality, as well as around respondents' confidence in their own technical ability and their intention to encourage young women to enter the industry.<\/jats:p><\/jats:sec><jats:sec><jats:title content-type=\"abstract-heading\">Originality\/value<\/jats:title><jats:p>This paper identifies distinct patterns of response and thereby provides support for the thesis that the widely reported discomfort of women within the ICT industry is not a cultural (industry\u2010wide) phenomenon but, rather, one that has its roots within particular workplace relationships. It is these relationships that appear to encourage or undermine confidence and women's intentions to encourage others to enter ICT.<\/jats:p><\/jats:sec>","DOI":"10.1108\/09593840810881060","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2008,6,7]],"date-time":"2008-06-07T07:03:33Z","timestamp":1212822213000},"page":"155-177","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":17,"title":["Riding a hydra"],"prefix":"10.1108","volume":"21","author":[{"given":"Carolyn","family":"Timms","sequence":"first","affiliation":[],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Colin","family":"Lankshear","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Neil","family":"Anderson","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Lyn","family":"Courtney","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]}],"member":"140","reference":[{"key":"key2022020820194335700_b1","unstructured":"American Association of University Women (2000), Tech\u2010savvy: Educating Girls in the New Computer Age, American Association of University Women Educational Foundation, Washington, DC."},{"key":"key2022020820194335700_b2","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Anderson, N., Lankshear, C., Timms, C. and Courtney, L. (2008), \u201c\u2018Because it's boring, irrelevant and I don't like computers\u2019: why high school girls avoid professionally\u2010oriented ICT subjects\u201d, Computers and Education, Vol. 50 No. 4, pp. 1304\u201018.","DOI":"10.1016\/j.compedu.2006.12.003"},{"key":"key2022020820194335700_b3","unstructured":"Armstrong, J. (2005), \u201cIs IT unfriendly to women?\u201d, Tech Republic, June 25, available at: http:\/\/techrepublic.com.com\/5102\u201010878\u20105753934.html."},{"key":"key2022020820194335700_b4","unstructured":"Australian Bureau of Statistics (2006), \u201cDepartment of Communications, Information, Technology and the Arts: building Australian ICT skills\u201d, paper presented to the Australian Council of Professors and Heads of Information Systems, Commonwealth of Australia, Canberra, September 26."},{"key":"key2022020820194335700_b5","unstructured":"Beekhuyzen, J. and Bernhart, S. (2006), \u201cEmployment sharing for IT micro and small business\u201d, in Griffeth, R. 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