Feminism theory
with regard to women in IT
Group 3 Members
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Caroline Nzui
Edwin Mwangi
Victoria Atema
Angela Kamaru
Valentine Mugabi
Feminism is not…
Men should submit
to women……… NO!
Nyeri Women beating up
their men………NO!
What is Feminism?

Feminism is the recognition &
critique of male supremacy &
efforts to change it.

It focuses on limiting or
eradicating gender inequality
to promote women's rights,
interests, and issues in
society.

Belief in the social, political,
and economic equality of the
sexes.
Feminism Goals

To demonstrate the
importance of women

To reveal that historically
women have been
subordinate to men

To bring about gender
equity.
Types of Feminism.

Liberal feminism – seeks no special privileges for women and
simply demand that everyone receive equal consideration
without discrimination on the basis of sex. It remove barriers
that prevent equal access for women to information
technology jobs. It focuses on changing legislation &
employment regulations.

Social feminism - believes that technology and the social
shaping of technology have often been conceptualized in
terms of men.
Types of Feminism cont…

Radical feminism - maintains that women’s oppression is the
first, most widespread, and deepest oppression. Reject most
scientific theories because they exclude women & they are
not women-centered.

Post-modern feminism - various women will have different
reactions to technologies depending upon their own class,
race, sexuality, country, and other factors. Gender
difference is manifested differently in different societies
thus, addressing the gender gap in IT employment based
upon an assumed "woman's perspective" is problematic
Cyber-feminism (fuses gender & IT)

Cyber-feminists saw the potential of the Internet and
computer science as technologies to level the playing field
and open new avenues for job opportunities and creativity
for women

Cyber-feminism - advocates women’s use of new information
and communications technologies for empowerment.

Technologies is viewed as inherently liberatory and argue
that their development will lead to an end to male
superiority because women are uniquely suited to life in the
digital age
Gender and IT Background

Two dominant theoretical viewpoints are currently
reflected in the majority of literature about gender and
IT.
 Essentialism
 Social
construction
Essentialist theory

Essentialist theory presumes the existence of relevant
inherent differences between women and men with respect
to information technology.

It uses the observed differences in the participation of
women and men in the IT field as evidence of this view.
Thus, the causes of gender underrepresentation in IT are
attributed to biology.

Inference that could be drawn from an essentialist approach
to gender and IT research is that women and men should be
treated differently.

Thus, policies for addressing the gender imbalance would
focus on differences between women and men and the
equality issue would focus on “separate but equal.
Social construction.

This explanation for women’s relationship to information
technology looks to societal rather than biological forces.

There is a fundamental incompatibility between the social
construction of female identity and the social construction
of IT and IT work as a male domain.

According to this view, the social shaping of information
technology as “men’s work” places IT careers outside the
domain of women.
Social construction.

Another school of thought focuses on the need to
reconstruct the world of computing to become more of a
“female domain”

Spender (1995) predicted an influx of “female values”
into the virtual world that would accompany increased
female presence.

Issues with this school of thought. There is no universal
definition of masculine or feminine behavior

While gender differences exist they are manifested
differently in different societies
Social construction.

Hence, addressing the gender gap in IT employment
based upon an assumed “woman’s perspective” is
problematic.

This analysis suggests a gap in current theory and
motivates the articulation of new theory to help us better
understand the underrepresentation of women in the IT
field.
Individual Differences Theory

Focuses on individual differences among women as they
relate to the characteristics of IT work and the IT
workplace.

This view finds the causes of gender underrepresentation in
the varied individual responses to generalized societal
influences. Thus, it represents the middle ground between
the essentialist and social constructionist theories.

It investigates the individual variations across genders as a
result of the combination of personal characteristics and
environmental influences in order to understand the
participation of women in the IT workforce.
Individual Differences Theory

Explains women’s decisions to enter and remain in the IT field.

Personal demographic items (such as age, race, ethnicity)

Nationality, socio-economic class, and parenting status)

Professional items (e.g., industry, type of IT work, etc.).

The individual influence construct includes personal
characteristics (e.g., educational background, personality
traits, and abilities) and personal influences (e.g., mentors,
role models, experiences with computing, and other significant
life experiences).
Individual Differences Theory

The environmental influence construct includes cultural
attitudes and values (e.g., attitudes about IT, about
women in IT), geographic data (e.g.about the
geographical location of one’s work) and economic and
policy data (e.g., about the region.

Collectively, these constructs account for the differences
among men and women in the ways they experience and
respond to characteristics of IT work, the IT workplace
and societal messages about women and men and IT.
Application of Feminism in Kenya

Kenya Association of Women Business Owners.

Kenya Women’s Finance Trust.

UNDP PROGRAMS- Amkeni Wakenya- Women's Leadership
Academy

Kenyan Constitution- Affirmative action
Conclusion

Insufficient attention has been paid to the differences among
women rather than between women and men with respect to
information technology adoption, use and work.

The development of the Individual Differences Theory of
Gender and IT is intended to address this need by providing
additional theoretical insights to help us to better understand
the individual and environmental forces that account for the
underrepresentation of women in IT.

It accomplishes this by focusing on women as individuals,
having distinct personalities, experiencing a range of sociocultural influences, and thus exhibiting a range of responses
to the social construction of IT.
References

Lovegrove, G., & Segal, B. (Eds.). (1991). Women into computing: Selected papers 1988-1990.
London: Springer-Verlag.

Odd girl out: an individual differences perspective on women in the IT profession Eileen
M.Trauth.

Cockburn, C., & Ormrod, S. (1993).Gender and technology in the making. London: Sage