Employee Turnover And Retention Briefings Abstract: 67
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Study: Why Women Leave IT [University of Oklahoma] Friday 03/11/05 3:04 PM
Women are leaving the Information Technology(IT) field. Women represent 46.6% of the US workforce. In 1996 women represented 41% of the IT workforce. In 2002 the ratio dropped to 35%.
The study found that work family balance was a significant issue specifically for women in IT. Stress is the main culprit and it is caused by two conflicting sets of issues that interact negatively with each other.
Family scheduling:
- Family obligations require flexible work schedules.
- Flexible work schedules require constant scheduling and negotiation.
- Changing work schedules impact upon family obligations.
The nature of the IT industry:
- The IT industry requires constant re-learning and upgrading of skillsets.
- The IT industry rewards the most challenging assignments.
- Both continuing education and aggressive assignments demand extra time commitments that impact upon each other and upon family obligations.
One workplace change that tends to alleviate these issues is instituting a formal flextime policy. When there is a formal policy as opposed to an adhoc or continual renegotiation, the female worker feels more in control of the situation.
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