Calling Out and Calling In: Women Undoing Gender in the ICT Industry

Abstract

It is well established that women face barriers to successful careers in Information Communication Technology (ICT) due to gendered industry norms and discrimination. What is less well known is how women take action to challenge these norms. This study, based on 12 semi-structured interviews with senior women in ICT in Aotearoa-New Zealand, found that women actively sought to challenge men’s discriminatory behaviour and comments. While their actions broadly fell into categories of ‘calling in’ and ‘calling out’, there was a preference to use ‘calling in’. Despite the women’s own perceptions that ‘calling in’ was more effective, this study instead finds that it perpetuated gendered stereotypes of acceptable behaviour for women in ICT.