Women in IT: The Endangered Gender

Abstract

Information technology (IT) careers continue to grow and yet the number of women in them continues to decline. The gap is even more profound in leadership positions. This paper is a review of existing literature, information and statistics concerning women in higher education information technology leadership. It is a call for recruitment, professional development, and retention aimed at helping women overcome systemic exclusion from IT management. It combines the topics of women, higher education, information technology, and leadership and considers them through the lens of professional development and adult education. Finally, it discusses and endorses ideas for initiating change in our field to increase our diversity and therefore meet the growth demands.