Mixed experiences

As mentioned, most of the participating women in this study have had mixed experiences while

working in IT. Starting from the top of table 1., Charlotte belongs to the group of respondendent

that were initially exposed to IT in her upbringing - through her father. Charlotte feels very

comfortable around men. She considered herself part of “the boys''. Therefore, she does not mind

being the only woman at social gatherings like office parties for instance. Her experiences in male

dominated IT work include that men conform to a sort of protective role around her. She believes

that they try to ensure her comfort as much as possible. It has happened on occasion that a male

48

coworker has said something offensive to her, but it has not been on a scale that would constitute a major nuisance. Mainly, there is one aspect of the male dominated environment that she is uncomfortable with, namely talking in front of larger male based audiences. Her experience is that she gets critiqued more than her male coworkers. Therefore, she sometimes refrain from asking questions or making suggestions in larger gatherings unless she has enough quality arguments to support her claims.

I remember my first Christmas lunch, me alone with a bunch of men, but it was super casual.

I am just part of the boys in that way ... Yes, but on the other hand, something that I experienced at Progressive IT, was how the men were very protective of me, and sort of made extra sure that I was feeling comfortable - for example at Christmas lunches. However, once in a while… I remember an episode at Progressive IT… I don’t remember exactly what was said, but it felt like a punch to the stomach. But that is actually not something that has affected me that much ... Well, I sometimes have to struggle a bit to get my comments through in larger gatherings, both during my studies and at work. It could be because I sometimes feel like I get asked more critical questions than if a male coworker would say those things ... I hold in questions that I actually wanted to ask ... I need really good arguments.

As with Nora, this study’s initial assumption is that Charlotte’s exposure to IT through upbringing has made her less susceptible to the prevailing stereotypes of the field, leading to increased confidence, performance and, thereby, acceptance from her male coworkers. However, Charlotte also describes how the men at Progressive IT usually adopted a protective role towards her.

Although sharing this detail in order to emphasize her comfort in the workplace, it actually serves to prove that her workplace is in fact characterized by some level of biased thinking/behavior.

Furthermore, she explains how she perceives the biggest challenge of working in IT as a woman to

be getting a promotion. She believes that women are only considered for promotions if they

perform really well. This statement would either suggest that Charlotte is not performing well

enough to be considered for promotions, or she is working in a company with a glass cei ling,

confirming the presence of bias in the workplace. Whichever is true, it annulls the assumption that

49

Charlotte and Nora’s circumstances are similar. Instead, the study proceeds to assume that Charlotte may fall under the classification of a token woman in her workplace.

Charlotte estimated that the average percentage of women employed in the companies she has worked at was around 7%, thus, making women an underrepresented group.

We were only out of 15 to begin with and in time when more people were employed, it followed the same ratio.

In accordance with Kanter’s view on token women, an underrepresented woman like Charlotte would work under skewed power/opportunity conditions compared to the men of the workplace (1993). Furthermore, Charlotte would not be credited for her performance but viewed as a symbol for the female category. Thus, she would be measured differently than her male coworkers (Kanter 1993). Kanter’s theory on token women could arguably be in correspondence with the circumstances of Charlotte’s experiences. Unless she in fact underperforms at her job, her performance must indeed be measured differently than the performance of her male coworkers , wherefore power/opportunity conditions must be skewed between men and women at her work, explaining why she has missed out on promotions thus far. However, as pointed out by Fairhurst et al. (1983), the numerical majority of men is not necessarily the only relevant source of power in this context. Charlotte should be able to counter the power of being the numerical majority, by acquiring her own source of power through expertise or unique qualifications (Fairhurst et al., 1983). The culture of Charlotte’s workplace is likely to be in the form of a calculation culture, as this is the most common culture In the field of IT (Ahuja, 2002). Charlotte, having primarily acquired IT qualifications in IT management and usability, would perhaps be deemed proficient in what is considered soft skills.

I have had more to do with IT management or focussed on usability.

However, as previously mentioned, hard skills are valued more highly in calculation cultures. Thus,

the circumstances may very well be that Charlotte is not considered an expert, which in turn would

50

signify a lack of power altogether from her side. Assuming the scenario to be true, in which Charlotte can be considered a token woman, there is no clear explanation for why she predominantly has had positive experiences in the field of IT. Literature suggests that the biases and stereotypes that enable the concept of token women would ultimately lead to discrimination, for instance through micro-inequities or microagressions (Camacho et al., 2011; Hill et al., 2010; Rowe, 2008), of which Charlotte makes limited mention. Her experience of men assuming a “protective” role towards her is also not explainable through the reviewed literature on gender and IT.

Charlotte’s final comment on her experiences in the field, is how she does not feel comfortable presenting her opinions for larger, male-based audiences. She feels as if she gets more critical feedback than her male coworkers would. First of all, this could imply that her exposure to IT has not provided her with complete confidence in her abilities as previously suggested. Furthermore, it implies that Charlotte is affected by stereotype threat to a certain degree. Clearly, she is afraid of being judged by her male peers and to be associated with the prevalent stereotypes of women in IT.

Olivia’s experiences are context dependent. In the most recent years while working in male dominated office environments, she has not paid any mind to male domination in the workplace, but rather enjoyed what she referred to as mutual acceptance. However, in some of her previous jobs, she had a hard time adjusting to the level of mansplaining or the degree to which she was

“talked down to”. She tried to pay it no mind, after all, she wanted to learn as much as she could possibly be taught. In her opinion, this is where being a woman in a male dominated environment actually has its benefits. She always took her time to explain matters carefully and politely, which won her a lot of favor compared to her male coworkers.

Not since I entered an office environment. There, there has been a complete acceptance

with regard to professionalism. There has been a gender neutral jargon. In some of my

different jobs, it has been different. There, it could sometimes be difficult to see through

some things, and the men were talking down to me a lot when explaining. But I did not allow

it to affect me very much. I just said “bad luck, I don’t know anything about that”, but I was

51

determined to figure it out. In that way, I could come back and do a better job next time.

Maybe girls have an advantage over boys in that regard. Boys are very fast-paced and talk down to people, because they see people as stupid if they (people) do not get way they (men) are saying. I won some favor by being the opposite of them. I always took my time to explain and returned to make sure that what I had said had been understood.

Olivia’s experiences with IT work have, like Charlotte’s, been predominantly positive. She has encountered obstacles for her thriving in a male dominated environment, however, these obstacles have primarily been present in IT work outside of office settings. Specifically she mentions the example of how men would talk down to her when explaining something. This study’s initial assumption is that Olivia’s predominantly positive experiences in IT office settings can be explained by similar measures as Clara’s experiences. After all, they work in the same team and in the same company. As Mentioned, the culture of the IT department at the Danish Building Agency is presumed to be balanced between calculation culture and simulation culture. In Cl ara’s case, I argued that she must have exhibited an adequate level of expertise to fit this specific culture.

However, Olivia’s situation is dissimilar to Clara’s in the sense that Olivia does not have a university degree.

My electrician training was completed in 1981. Then I began working in the wholesale company although that was not what I was hired to do. I was hired as a grocer, but every time there was something wrong with the IT systems, they called on me so that I could participate from the sideline. Initially I only looked over the shoulder of others but later I learnt to do it myself.

From this it can be derived that her experience with data work, which she is currently engaged in,

originated coincidentally while working at a wholesale company. Her IT qualifications, therefore,

mainly stem from work experience. However, maintaining the assumption that women’s positive

work experiences in IT can be related to earning the respect of male coworkers through high

performance and expertise, it must be deduced that Olivia exhibits a similar performance level to

that of Clara, resulting in her experiences with IT in office settings, as in in the case of the Danish

52

Building Agency, being positive. Olivia herself is convinced that women have to perform better than average to be taken seriously in male dominated fields. If they do not perform well, they will be judged in accordance with the stereotypes of women in IT. However, she also mentions how it could have something to do with personality and not just gender. She believes that women who are shy and insecure have a more difficult time fitting into the IT field. Being able to perform well is not enough to succeed in the field if women have a hard time standing up for themselves - something that Olivia believes that she is good at. In doing so, Olivia exhibits confidence, which presumably makes her appear more masculine and thus, more skilled (Phipps, 2007; Ramsey et al. 2005).

Something that I have noticed as a woman in a male dominated field, is that you always have to be in the top half to be taken seriously. You can’t just wiggle around at the bottom. Then you immediately get the comment “it’s because you are a woman” … It also has something to do with personality … I am just being myself, and I still believe, to this day, that it is important to be yourself. I think it is important to express yourself if there is something that you do not agree with, as I often do for example … If you are too shy and a bit insecure about failing or having the right skills, then it is hard. I knew a girl that unfortunately had to give up. She was really good at what she did, but she could not stand the atmosphere any longer.

This study has established that Olivia’s experiences in an office setting of the IT field have be en positive, and suggested that the reasons for her positive experiences are rooted in her own competence. However, as mentioned, Olivia has had some negative experiences with IT work outside of the office setting. Specifically, she points out how men would talk down to her when explaining things. This statement could indicate that the culture of IT companies with more hands -on IT work lies closer to that of calculati-on, than the culture of IT companies relying -on office work.

As suggested by Ahuja (2002), women may miss out on opportunities for learning in cultures of

calculation due to high levels of male domination and, thus, stereotypes and biases. Along those

lines, the statement could also illustrate how Olivia’s experiences in the field became more positive

as she became more skilled with IT work, which implies that she increased her level of expertise

over time. Once she began working in office environments, her expertise was at a level considered

sufficient by her male coworkers, which is why her performance was not questioned and she did

53

not experience any more negative behaviors. Circling back to the concept of improvement over time, Olivia’s increasingly positive experiences could also serve as a representation of an evolution of gender role perceptions. According to Kvinfo (n.d.), Denmark’s knowledge center for gender and equality, significant milestones for gender equality in the country have been reached since the 1980’s when Olivia first entered the labor market. Changes have, for instance, revolved around the role of household caregivers, with men being granted parental leave in 1984 (Kvinfo, n.d.). However, a 2016 study, published in the journal Psychology of Women Quarterly, found that gender stereotyping about female roles has actually increased since 1983 (Brown et al., 2016). Haines et al.

(2016), posit that the maintenance of gender stereotypes between 1983 and 2014, despite an increase in social role similarities, can be ascribed the preservation of essentialist categorical beliefs, among other factors. Henn’s (2014) observation of a decrease in women working in IT since the 80’s would contribute to the assumption that the evolution of gender role perceptions in Denmark, has not affected how Olivia would have been perceived in the field of IT over time. Therefore, this can be excluded as a reason for Olivia’s increase in positive experiences.

Emma has been in the IT field for many years and has by now gotten used to being stared at and her

abilities questioned. However, she does not think the IT field is any different from other fields. In

her opinion, it all depends on what managers you have and the opportunities presented to you. For

some women it can be somewhat rough to be surrounded by men, and if you cannot be steadfast

and hold your head high as a woman, the workplace can become a serious stress factor. Emma

herself has learnt to be persistent and tell the men off if they get judgemental or question her

abilities. An additional experience that she has made, is that it can be more difficult as a woman to

create a network in a male dominated field. Men tend to have a lot in common and network with

ease, however, it can be harder for women to take initiative in networking contexts. In her opinion,

the masculinity of men creates an aura of authority around them, which she realizes can be

intimidating for some women. Something that would help women in their networking endeavor

would be to find a common interest with the male coworkers. She has for example always been

interested in motor sports, which has provided her with a conversation opener.

54

I think I have had the same amount of negative experiences as I would have had in any other company. It has more to do with what managers you have and what opportunities you have had. The one thing that I have learned in this field, is that you have to be able to say no.

Otherwise, you will eventually become sick with stress ... I have been to conferences on IT where 90% of the participants were men. They would stare at me a lot, as if I had lost my way and ended up in the wrong room. This has happened not just once, but many times.

Similarly, when I ask relevant questions at conferences or meetings, 80-90% of the men turn around and think “well that was actually relevant”, and look surprised that it was in fact relevant. But you get used to that… ... Personally, I don’t have a problem with it, but some women have issues with authority and approaching men. “Do they think i am stupid?” and so on. It helps to have some common interests, that are not knitting patterns or whatever was said in the latest gossip magazine. I have an interest in motor sports for instance ... Being of the female gender can be hard when trying to network. It has been a help for me to have different interests than other females ... I think that people usually base the process of creating a network on the world of men ... It is the alpha omega. If you want to function in a larger company you need a network. You need that too in smaller companies, but that is easier to achieve.

Emma and Olivia belong to the same category with regard to both the gaining of interest for IT work through exposure and the classification of their experiences, being predominantly positive but with some negative experiences. Other similarities between them are that they have both worked in the IT field for several years and do not have an IT specific education.

I have worked in a smaller company called IT Dan, which has now been acquired by IT Relation but initially was a part of TDC Hosting. I was there a few years before I came here.

Before that I was at IBM for 13 years.

No I don’t - not even close (answer to whether she has an IT specific education)... I started

out as a business language correspondent, but I have never worked a day as a

correspondent, which had also never really been the plan. It was to learn english. And then

I got a bachelor's degree in sales and marketing later.

55

The main difference between them is that since Olivia got into an office setting, she has not experienced any sort of negative behavior towards her, whereas Emma simply states that she has gotten used to being stared at and her abilities questioned. This study assumes that the differences between the two women lies in a variance of culture. As opposed to Olivia, I assume that Emma works in a company where the organizational culture more closely resembles that of calculation as Emma works in an IT consultant house, whereas Olivia works in an IT department of a building agency. In support of this assumption, Emma states how one of her negative experiences in the field of IT has to do with networking. As mentioned, it is Emma's perception that her male coworkers network with ease, whereas it can be harder for women to take initiative in networking contexts.

One of the characteristics of a culture of calculation according to Ahuja (2002) is that women may miss out on faculty and colleague interactions and opportunities for learning and participating.

Emma’s perceived networking issues for women correspond with Ahuja’s posit that a culture of calculation inhibits women’s opportunities for participating and colleague interactions.

Emma herself does not have difficulties networking with her male coworkers. Her advice to other

women is to do what she has done: find common interest with the men. Elsbach et al. (2019) make

mention of a natural coping mechanism for women that defy the general association between men

and computers and other IT related biases and stereotypes. These women are forced to develop

strategies for overcoming said biases and stereotypes, which usually results in them emphasizing

their masculine traits or downplaying their female status. I believe that by finding common interests

with the men of her workplace, such as motorsports, Emma subconsciously developed this coping

mechanism for fitting in better in a male dominated workplace. The reason for my suspicion of this

coping mechanism being executed subconsciously by Emma is first of all that she does not mention

it during our interview. However, it seems likely that she is downplaying the role of IT stereotypes

and biases by causally claiming that her experiences would not have been any different, had she

worked anywhere else instead of in the IT field. Thus, she arguably downplays her female status by

brushing off biases and stereotypes that are proven to affect most other women, and at the same

time, she emphasizes her masculine traits through her association with typical male interests.

56

Assuming the hypothesis from the section above to be true, that the culture of Emma’s workplace is in fact that of calculation, the reason for Emma’s positive experiences and the lack of discrimination against her could be acreddited a high level of performance an self confidence gained through exposure to IT. As with Nora, this would suggest that Emma has been unaffected by stereotype threat and is considered part of the in-group or experts at her workplace. Emphasizing her masculine traits and downplaying her female status could have aided her in becoming part of the in-group.

No, but I am not the type of person that anyone would dare discriminate against (answer to whether she has been discriminated against based on her gender).

The final woman from the category intersection of respondents, that have gained an interest for IT through exposure and have had predominantly positive experiences apart from a few infrequent, negatively perceived occurrences, is Sophia. After her career in the Danish Military, shifting towards a career in IT actually made her work environment less male dominated in numerical terms. At IT conferences or network gatherings where she is usually the only woman present, she can feel somewhat judged by the male participants. In response, she feels that she has to somehow show them that she fits in with them. The men often mirror each other, have the same background and wear the same clothes. Therefore, she sometimes feels like an outsider in their presence. Another thing which she deemed worthy of note, was how she presented herself to men. She caught herself on many occasions deepening her voice when talking in a room full of male coworkers, to the point where her throat was hurting afterwards. She did so because she was afraid to sound shrill.

I was very conscious about it (the ratio of women to men in the workplace), especially in the

military. There it was 5%. In the Danish Building Agency, it was more like 25% ... Something

that I think a lot of women have experienced: For instance, I have often been in a room

where I was the only one of “my kind”. That could have been at a network gathering or at a

conference or when taking some educational courses, where women maybe have made out

5% of the total number of participants. I believe that I can feel how the men mirror each

other, maybe through their more casual attire or that they come from a specialist

In document THE GENDER GAP IN THE DANISH IT SECTOR (Sider 48-67)