Theoretical approaches to gender and IT: examining some Australian evidence

Researchers have sought a theoretical perspective to explain the under-representation of women in the information technology (IT) workforce of many nations. Gender imbalance limits the size and skill sets of IT human resources. The essentialist theory, social construction theory and individual differ- ences theory of gender and IT have been proposed to account for the IT gender gap. This study examined evidence for these theories to explain this gap through content analysis of articles published in the national newspaper, The Australian, over three time periods. Newspaper articles report implicit theoretical perspectives on IT and gender and influence the views of the Australian public, including women. While evidence to support all theories was found over the three periods, the essentialist theory was dominant. Increased utility of the individual differences theory to account for the IT gender gap was seen in 2007–2008. The primary contribution of this study is to provide evidence that suggests that theoretical approaches, whether implicit or explicit, shape how people understand the under- representation of women in the IT workforce. Media interventions are proposed to help redress the imbalance through increased awareness.