Women In Information Technology: New Connections In The Internet-Based Enterprise

Abstract

This study first examines the factors that have resulted in the perceived inequality of opportunity for women in the Information Technology disciplines at the collegiate and corporate levels.  The corporate continuum is analyzed to determine what specific strategies, if any, are employed to capitalize on the resources of women in the Information Technology spectrum. Implied barriers to the acceptance, integration, development and advancement of women are brought into focus.  The article transitions to a review of collegiate innovations in the curriculum that attempt to find solutions that integrate and link corporate needs to university programs, both at the undergraduate and doctoral levels. Corporations ranging in size from small entrepreneurial entities to large multi-national firms, with various degrees of dependence on Internet technology, are surveyed in relation to their utilization of the female technology professional.  The qualities, strengths, and holistic skills of the gender in relation to the electronic business spectrum are documented.