This study explored barriers to women's adoption and use of information technology (IT) in business environments through focus groups. The analysis identified three key dimensions that influence IT usage: individual factors like attitudes and motivation; close environment like family and education; and cultural/social norms. Preliminary findings suggest lack of early exposure, perception that IT is not for women, and defensiveness around gender gaps in skills. Further research includes validating the model through surveys and applying social identity theory.

1. Towards a Gender and Social Identity Theory Analysisbarriers
An Exploratory Analysis of the of
Information Technologythe Adoption of Information
in Adoption and Usage in Business
Environments
Technology by Women in Business
Environments
José Esteves, Célia de Anca, Salvador Aragón

2. Background
• Some studies show that women are the predominant users of ICT
in the work (e.g. Instituto de la Mujer 2006).
• The cultural norms work clearly like entrance and permanence
barriers in computer engineering and sciences (Webster 1996).
• Nowadays, in Europe the female Internet use for educative
y p
activities is higher than men (45% of the women use it as
opposed to 40% of the men in EU 15).
• However, this percentage changes a lot if we analyze Internet use
for financial services (40% of the men use it as opposed to 25%
of the women).
omen)

3. Background
• The perception of the science and technology careers like socially
isolated, consuming of time, intensely competitive and
incompatible with a healthful family, animate women to avoid
these careers.
• A confirmed tendency by the empirical works is the smaller
disposition of the female gender to course technical classes in the
school or university which has direct implications in the nature of
its future work (Gaskell 1992 Cohoon 2001 Joshi and Khun
1992, 2001,
2001).
• Women have low shares of ICT-specialist employment and andand,
if anything, these shares are decreasing or remaining constant, but
rarely show an increase (Montagnier and Welsum 2006).
y ( g )

4. Introduction
This research in progress study attempts to investigate
research-in-progress
the reasons for women to adopt and use certain types of
IT in business environments and the impacts of that IT
adoption.

5. Research Methodology
We have started doing focus groups analysis, and in a second
phase,
phase we will do a survey to confirm results
results.
Demographics:
•A group of 7 women
• age between 28 45
28-45
•Pos-graduated education (all with mba or finishing it)
•All with laptop

6. Research Methodology
• Exploratory Analysis
p y y
• Qualitative research study
• To obtain in depth information about attitudes
in-depth
beliefs, perceptions, behaviour, interests,
emotional response and concerns
concerns.

7. What is a focus group?
A group interview or discussion
(i.e.,
(i qualitative approach) to
lit ti h) t
access memories, feelings and
p
perceptions concerning a specific
p g p
focused topic.
A data collection procedure.
Reference:
Krueger, R. A. & Casey, M. A. (2000). Focus groups: A practical
guide for applied research. Sage Publications
7

8. Strengths of Focus Groups
• Provides concentrated amounts of rich data, in
participants’ own words, on precisely the topic of
i i d i l h i f
interest.
• Interaction of participants adds richness to the data
that may be missed in individual interviews.
• Provides critical information in development of
hypotheses or interpretation of quantitative data.
yp p q

9. Sample
Group 1
p Group 2
p Group 3
p Group 4
p
Spain Brazil Spain Spain
7 7 8 10
All with a master or All with an Doing an EXMBA Doing an EXMBA
MBA degree university or master
degree
Age: 30 40
30-40 Age: 35 45
35-45 Age: 30 45
30-45 Age: 30 45
30-45
All with a PC or All with a PC or All with a PC or All with a PC or
laptop d i t
l t and internet t laptop d i t
l t and internet t laptop d i t
l t and internet t laptop d i t
l t and internet t
connection at home connection at home connection at home connection at home
Most of them with Most of them with Most of them with
children children children

10. Focus Groups: Initial Questions
• Do you think there is a technological gap between
men and women?
d
• What reasons may cause resistance to the adoption
and use of ICT?
• How the ICT helps in your work?
p y

11. Cultural/Social Environment
Close Environment
Individual

12. Cultural/Social Environment
1. Lack of perception of gender differentiation
Close Environment
1. Family
2. Educational
3. Work
Individual
1. Attitude
2. Basic Motivation

13. Individual Dimension: Attitude
• The first aspect in which all the group agreed is that women in their talks they
never speak of ICT.
• The exception is to mobile phones, but even the talks on mobiles are due to the
visual and fashionable aspects, rather than its capabilities of the mobile phone.
• Even if they are in a mixed group of women and men, they do not talk about
ICT, or if a topic like that appears, they try to change it immediately.
• Although most of the women see a potential in ICT tools, they have preferred
to focus in the problems associated to ICT use, mainly discussing the issues of
“the iti
“th writing and communication style of emails”, th ethical problems, and th
d i ti t l f il ” the thi l bl d the
problem of confidentiality because everything is kept registered and can be
sent to others.
• They feel safer commenting certain issues/problems by telephone rather than a
digital medium like email.

14. Individual Dimension: Basic Motivation
• All participants feel comfortable with of Microsoft Office tools, trying more and
more to llearn tools lik PowerPoint or Excel b
l like i l because of their professional needs.
h i i l d
Nevertheless, most of them do not have an advanced usage level, only
developing the capabilities needed to perform their tasks.
• The topic of communication is probably the one that attracts more them,
although the majority has admitted that they think that tools like the E mail or
E-mail
the Messenger are time consuming, and they prefer ICT tools using audio
communication.
• As far as ICT projects, only one participant explained that she was involved in a
project of Customer Relationship Management (CRM) In her case since her
(CRM). case,
childhood, ICT was present in her close environment. Her motivation for the use
of the ICT is recognized in her company, what it has often made possible to
invite her to participate in projects where there is a technological base as the
base,
case of the implementation of a CRM.

15. Individual Dimension: Basic Motivation
• If they have some free time available, the participants
mentioned that they do not think either about seeing something
of ICT, or in venturing themselves to learn a new tool if they
do not see a practical utility in a short-term or medium-time
period.
i d
• This aspect may have a critical importance in the way ICT
courses are designed and taught
taught.
• The participants agreed that in the case of men exists an aspect
of the personality more of adventure and curiosity to learn
something, although they do not see it as applicable in the near
future.

16. Close Environment: Family
• Women who have had a computer and contact with ICT in their
houses since they were kids (although they had not used it), they
feel more comfortable with ICT and its usage.
• Those women, who have not had previous contact with the ICT,
continue having much more resistance to the ICT and they
perceive it as something related to work.
• Also it was analyzed the fact that the new technologies must allow
the woman to combine i work with the education of i children,
h bi its k ih h d i f its hild
without this disable her to evolve in its career.
• The fathers are who spend more time with the children in front of
ho ith
the computer.
• Although part of the reason can be the overload of work of the
woman, we thought that the main aspect is the cultural one and
the own attitude of the woman to ICT.

17. Social/cultural
• Most of the participants have mentioned that culture stills seeing men like
whom must have knowledge on ICT or “mechanical things” whereas women
should have knowledge or experience in “more sensible” aspects.
• Some participants mentioned th t sometimes th h
S ti i t ti d that ti the human resources d department
t t
directors in their companies promote the same cultural mentality by not inviting
or proposing more ICT courses for women.
• All the participants agreed that the adoption of the ICT can bring them
professional benefits
benefits.
• Nevertheless, they have seen it like a need of the modern society to compete
equally with men, but not as much as gender discrimination medium, probably
because professionally they d not f l di i i
b f i ll h do feel discriminated.
d
• At personal level, they see there is a disadvantage in relation to men. Those that
have children, still noticing that their daughters are not interested in ICT,
, g g ,
whereas their children are those that use more the computers in house.

18. Social/cultural
• When we began to argue with the evident numbers that exist of lack of women
in technical careers, and the fact that most of the participants did not have an
advanced l l of t h l i l skills, some of th
d d level f technological kill f them h
have expressed th need
d the d
of this issue of gender differentiation has to be improved.
• We perceive this factor of lack of perception of gender differentiation as a
defensive way to not show that at this moment women are more vulnerable in
ICT skills
skills.
• Group thinking behaviours and social identity theory - Even some of them
admitted ICT was an issue, after 5 minutes they changed their position for
the opinions of the rest of the group, and they prefer to say (and being
contradictory to previous position) that ICT skills were not a problem
y p p ) p
between men and women discrimination.

19. Limitations
• Yes, it is an exploratory study☺
• Only women as participants
• Social Pressure in Group Decisions – group polarization
• Groupthink
– group members try to maintain harmony and unanimity in
group
– can lead to some better decisions and some worse
decisions than individuals

20. Conclusions
• An exploratory conceptual model of the adoption barriers and
use of ICT by women in business environments.
• 3 important dimensions have been identified: the individual
dimension, the dimension near surroundings, and finally the
cultural di
lt l dimension.
i
• These factors may have strong implications in the way women
are educated in ICT and the way ICT courses are designed
designed.
• The main implication would be the change of the design of
ICT courses trying to give eminently character of practice and
courses,
applicability sense in the topics taught and sense of awareness
of the need to improve the ICT skills.

21. Further work
• Model Validation – Survey development.
• Comparison between women and men.
• Use of social identity theory
theory.