Unga kvinnor om IT-sektorn : En kvalitativ utvärdering av rekryteringsprocesser

This paper explores and evaluates methods used by several larger Swedish companies working in the IT sector to ensure a greater equality between the sexes, mainly by employing more women. Today the IT field is widely known to be a sector dominated by men, and we were interested in how companies employ and evaluate their methods to reach a more equal workplace. The data in this qualitative study was collected by interviews with these companies as well as several young women studying an IT profession at university. This will give companies useful insight in how women want the IT sector to change to accommodate their needs better. Through analyzing our interviews and by examining the relevant research literature the following aspects were discovered: The reason why women are not as attracted to IT as men is largely due to a negative mental picture associated with the field, this should therefore the primary focus of companies who wants to employ more women. Furthermore, the work towards equality should be both internal and external in nature, with an emphasis on high visibility so that women outside of the company sphere can take part in the process. Moreover, focus on female role models are important for women to feel represented and welcomed to the company. As the women who we were in contact with could not name a single female role model active in the IT sector, more work towards this is necessary. However, we also advise caution in methods who draws near to feminising aspects of the IT field. As this can have an alienating effect on the largest current workforce, i.e. men. We also advice against methods that segregate the sexes in an attempt to make it easier for women to enter the field of IT, as this has shown to be counterproductive when put in to practice