To what extent is the Indian IT sector gender-neutral? : an exploration of the extent to which the existing Western 'women and IT' literature is applicable to the Indian case using discourse analysis of the perceptions of female IT workers in Delhi

Western literature focused on the 'women in IT' problem, highlights a close and mutually determining relationship between masculinity and technology underpinning low female participation rates in occupational IT. Conversely, there is a tendency in the small, but growing, literature relating to the Indian IT sector to argue that it is 'gender neutral', or even that it can potentially challenge unequal gender relations. In this literature, gendered disparities in IT are explained with reference to social cultural factors external to the sector. This thesis draws upon original interviews carried out in Delhi with female IT workers, and the wider Indian gender literature, in order to examine the extent to which these themes apply to the Delhi case. Using discourse analysis, it explores different ways the notion of women's gendered 'self' is constructed and positioned in relation to IT in the Indian context, and compares this with similar research undertaken in other non-Western and Western (with particular focus on the UK) contexts. Centrally, it is argued that, although in the West women experience difficulty taking up technical work because technical discourses are constructed in relation to masculinity, in India, this is not the case. There is a lack of comparable relationship between masculinity and IT, and women are positioned as more able to take up IT employment due to the way the modern, technical workplace coincides with the construction of 'suitable' employment. Nevertheless, the Indian IT sector remains gendered because of its relationship with the overarching gender system within the country, and the positioning of women as primarily oriented to the private sphere.EThOS - Electronic Theses Online ServiceGBUnited Kingdo