Gender Segregation and ICT

Gender segregation in science, engineering, construction, technology (SECT) is a persistent feature, both in India and the UK. Although culturally the two countries differ, under-representation of women in SECT is widespread and a cause for general apprehension, and in recent years, this has gained recognition in the study of gender, work, and family. In this paper, the authors discuss findings of a comparative study undertaken between India and Britain in the ICT sector. Using 27 interviews with ICT professionals in the two countries, the authors discuss views on ICT education, recruitment, and employment practices, work-life balance, changing gender relations, opportunities for progression, and retention in the two countries. The authors take into consideration women’s role in power and politics and how the “public” and “private” patriarchy shapes women’s position in the labour market, with an essential backdrop of “patrifocality” in the Indian context.