Women Leaders in Information Technology: A ... · women, leveling the playing field of men and women. ... Career Paths by Michelle Santos Newsome MBA, University of Phoenix, 2008

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Women Leaders in Information Technology: A Phenomenological Women Leaders in Information Technology: A Phenomenological

Study of Their Career Paths Study of Their Career Paths

Michelle Newsome Walden University

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Walden University

CollegeofManagementandTechnology

Thisistocertifythatthedoctoraldissertationby

Michelle Santos Newsome

hasbeenfoundtobecompleteandsatisfactoryinallrespects,

andthatanyandallrevisionsrequiredbythereviewcommitteehavebeenmade.

ReviewCommitteeDr.RaghuKorrapati,CommitteeChairperson,ManagementFaculty

Dr.JohnKitoko,CommitteeMember,ManagementFacultyDr.LisaBarrow,UniversityReviewer,ManagementFaculty

ChiefAcademicOfficerandProvostSueSubocz,Ph.D.

WaldenUniversity2019

Abstract

WomenLeadersinInformationTechnology:APhenomenologicalStudyofTheir

CareerPaths

by

MichelleSantosNewsome

MBA,UniversityofPhoenix,2008

BS,EastCarolinaUniversity,2006

DissertationSubmittedinFulfillment

oftheRequirementsfortheDegreeof

DoctorofPhilosophy

Management

WaldenUniversity

December2019

Abstract

IntheUnitedStates,womenremainunderrepresentedinseniorlevelpositionsin

theinformationtechnology(IT)field.Despitethischallenge,afewwomenhave

successfullyascendedintoseniorleadershipinIT.Usingthesocialcognitivetheory

astheconceptualframework,thepurposeofthisqualitativetranscendental

phenomenologicalstudywastounderstandthelivedexperiencesofseniorwomen

leadersintheITfield.Theresearchquestionexploredthelivedpersonaland

professionalexperiencesofseniorwomenleadersinITtogainanunderstandingof

theircareeradvancementintoseniorleadershippositions.Throughtheuseofthe

modifiedVanKaammethodofdataanalysis,6majorthemesemergedfrom

interviewswiththe15participants.Theresultsindicatedthatself-efficacy,hard

work,andmentorshipmayhelpwomenascendintoseniorleadershipinIT.This

studymaycontributetopositivesocialchangebypromotingtheunderstandingof

theexperiencesandperspectivestrategiesforincreasingthecareeradvancementof

aspiringwomenleadersinamaledominatedindustrysuchasIT.Anincreased

understandingofwomenseniorleaders’experiencesinITcouldattractmore

women,levelingtheplayingfieldofmenandwomen.

WomenLeadersinInformationTechnology:APhenomenologicalStudyofTheir

CareerPaths

by

MichelleSantosNewsome

MBA,UniversityofPhoenix,2008

BS,EastCarolinaUniversity,2006

DissertationSubmittedinFulfillment

oftheRequirementsfortheDegreeof

DoctorofPhilosophy

Management

WaldenUniversity

December2019

Dedication

ToAnthonyandIsaac:Ihopeonedayyouwillreadmyworkandbeinspired

tofollowyourownhopesanddreams.Iloveyoubothwithallmyheart.

Acknowledgments

IwouldliketofirstthankmyLordandSavior,JesusChristforblessingme

withthewisdom,strength,andperseverancetocompletethisdissertation.Without

him,noneofthiswouldhavebeenpossible.ToJelaunNewsome,mylovingand

supportivehusband,thankyouforbelievingandencouragingmetogothroughthis

journey.ThankyouforbeingmybiggestcheerleaderwhenIgotdiscouragedand

feltlikegivingupattimes.IloveyousomuchandIcannotthankyouenoughfor

yourloveandsupport.

Iwouldliketothankmyparents,AnthonyThompsonandLuciaThompson,

forinstillingtheimportanceofeducationandbetteringmyself.IhopethatIhave

madeyouproud!VanyaAllen,thankyoufromthebottomofmyheartforpromoting

myresearchstudy.IwouldliketothanktheThompsonFamily,DimarucutFamily,

AllenFamily,NewsomeFamily,andallofmyfriendsandpeersforsupportingand

cheeringmeonthroughoutthisjourney.

Dr.DonnaBrown,mymentor,thankyouforcoachingmetobethebest

scholarpractitionerthatIcanbe.Iwillforeverappreciateandrememberyour

mentorship.Dr.RaghuKorrapati,mydissertationchair,thankyouforhelpingme

getoverthefinalhumpofmydissertationjourney.Dr.JohnKitoko,mysecond

committeemember,andDr.LisaBarrow,myUniversityResearchReviewer,thank

youbothforchallengingmetothinklikeascholarofpositivesocialchange.

i

TableofContents

ListofTables................................................................................................................................................v

Chapter1:IntroductiontotheStudy.................................................................................................1

BackgroundoftheStudy.................................................................................................................1

ProblemStatement............................................................................................................................4

PurposeoftheStudy.........................................................................................................................5

ResearchQuestions............................................................................................................................6

ConceptualFramework....................................................................................................................6

NatureoftheStudy............................................................................................................................9

OperationalDefinitions.................................................................................................................12

Assumptions......................................................................................................................................13

ScopeandDelimitations...............................................................................................................13

Limitations..................................................................................................................................14

SignificanceoftheStudy...............................................................................................................15

SignificancetoTheory............................................................................................................15

SignificancetoSocialChange..............................................................................................16

SummaryandTransition..............................................................................................................16

Chapter2:LiteratureReview.............................................................................................................18

LiteratureSearchStrategy...........................................................................................................19

ConceptualFramework.................................................................................................................20

SocialCognitiveTheory.........................................................................................................20

LiteratureReview............................................................................................................................23

ii

Women'sPerceptionsoftheITField...............................................................................24

MaleDominatedIndustry.....................................................................................................26

ConstructionIndustry.....................................................................................................28

STEMFields.........................................................................................................................29

WomeninIT...............................................................................................................................31

GenderandLeadership..........................................................................................................32

BarrierstoAdvancementforWomen.............................................................................37

Mentoring....................................................................................................................................42

ResearchMethodology...........................................................................................................45

DataAnalysis..............................................................................................................................47

SummaryandConclusions..........................................................................................................48

Chapter3:ResearchMethod..............................................................................................................51

ResearchDesignandRationale.................................................................................................51

RoleoftheResearcher...................................................................................................................55

Methodology......................................................................................................................................56

ParticipantSelectionLogic...................................................................................................56

Instrumentation........................................................................................................................58

InterviewProtocol...................................................................................................................60

ProceduresforRecruitment,Participation,andDataCollection........................60

DataAnalysisPlan....................................................................................................................61

IssuesofTrustworthiness............................................................................................................63

Credibility....................................................................................................................................65

iii

Transferability...........................................................................................................................66

Dependability.............................................................................................................................66

Confirmability............................................................................................................................66

ConfidentialityandEthicalProcedures..........................................................................67

Summary.............................................................................................................................................67

Chapter4:Results...................................................................................................................................69

ResearchSetting...............................................................................................................................69

Demographics...................................................................................................................................70

DataCollection..................................................................................................................................72

DataCollectionRecruitment................................................................................................72

DataCollectionTechnique....................................................................................................73

DataAnalysis.....................................................................................................................................74

DataCoding.................................................................................................................................75

EvidenceofTrustworthiness......................................................................................................75

Credibility....................................................................................................................................75

Transferability...........................................................................................................................76

Dependability.............................................................................................................................76

Confirmability............................................................................................................................77

StudyResults.....................................................................................................................................77

Theme1:ITIsaGoodField.................................................................................................78

Theme2:MidcareerChangetoIT.....................................................................................79

StrategiesforSuccess...........................................................................................................81

iv

Theme3:Mentors/SupportiveProfessionalNetwork.............................................82

Theme4:ResearchYourFuture........................................................................................83

Theme5:Self-Efficacy............................................................................................................85

Theme6:DifficultWork-LifeBalance.............................................................................87

Summary.............................................................................................................................................89

Chapter5:Discussion,Conclusions,andRecommendations...............................................91

InterpretationofFindings............................................................................................................92

Theme1:ITIsaGoodField..................................................................................................93

Theme2:MidcareerChangetoIT.....................................................................................94

Theme3:Mentors/SupportiveProfessionalNetwork.............................................96

Theme4:ResearchYourFuture........................................................................................98

Theme5:Self-Efficacy............................................................................................................99

Theme6:DifficultWork-LifeBalance..........................................................................101

LimitationsoftheStudy..............................................................................................................102

Recommendations.........................................................................................................................103

ImplicationsForPositiveSocialChange..............................................................................105

ImplicationsForDifferentMethods...................................................................................107

ImplicationsForPractice........................................................................................................107

Conclusions......................................................................................................................................108

References................................................................................................................................................110

AppendixA:ParticipantInvitationandConsentForm.........................................................133

AppendixB:InterviewProtocol.....................................................................................................136

v

AppendixC:SocialMediaAnnouncement..................................................................................139

vi

List of Tables

Table1.ParticipantDemographics.................................................................................................71

Table2.Themes.......................................................................................................................................79

Table3.Theme1:ITIsaGreatField..............................................................................................78

Table4.Theme2:MidcareerChangetoIT..................................................................................79

Table5.Theme3:Mentos/SupportiveProfessionalNetwork............................................82

Table6.Theme4:ResearchYourFuture.....................................................................................83

Table7.Theme5:Self-Efficacy.........................................................................................................85

Table8.Theme6:DifficultWork-LifeBalance...........................................................................87

1

Chapter1:IntroductiontotheStudy

TherearemanyreasonswhychoosingacareerinITfieldisasuitablechoice

forwoman.TheunemploymentratefortheITfieldin2013waslessthan3.6%,

whereastheoverallunemploymentratefortheentireUnitedStateswas7.4%(U.S.

DepartofLabor,2017).Inconjunction,theunemploymentrateforwomeninITwas

4.2%.Computingrelatedoccupationsisthefifthfastestgrowingsegmentsofthe

professionalworkforcethrough2022(UnitedStatesDepartmentofLabor,2016).

Fallingbehindtomanagementoccupations,IToccupationshavethesecondhighest

annualwagesofallotherprofessionaloccupationalsegments(U.S.Departmentof

Labor,2016).

DespitethepositiveadvantagesofworkingintheITfield,womenarenot

personallyattractedtothefieldofIT,whichinturniscausingfeweropportunities

forcareeradvancement.Manyresearchershavearguedtherationaleforthelimited

ofnumberofwomenintheITfield.HeilmanandHaynes(2005)statedthatmen

dominatedseniorleadershippositions.Historicalperceptionsportrayedwomenas

lackingkeyattributesrequiredofaneffectiveorganizationalleaderincludinglower

leadershipaptitude,lesseffectiveleadershipstyles,andfewerattributesfor

organizationalsuccess(Heilman&Haynes,2005;Leslie,Manchester,Dahm,2017).

Atthepresenttime,numerousissuespreventwomenfrommovingupintosenior

leadershippositions(Leslieetal.,2017).

Background of the Study

Asoneofthefastestgrowingfieldsintermsofnumberofworkersandtheir

2

respectivesalaries,thecomputingandITfieldisexpectedtogrowby12%from

2014to2024(U.S.DepartmentofLabor,2015).Duringthistime,488,500newjobs

willbeaddedfrom3.9millionjobsto4.4millionjobs(U.S.DepartmentofLabor,

2015).Thisisanopportunityforemploymentforbothmenandwomen.Women

held57%ofprofessionaloccupationsintheworkplacein2015(NationalCenterfor

Women&IT,2016).Duringthistime,thenumberofcomputingjobsheldbywomen

wasatalow26%(NationalCenterforWomen&IT,2016).Thisconcludesthat

womenarenotadvancinginthegrowthofcomputingjobsastheyareinother

professionaloccupations.

Torepresentadiverseworkforce,organizationshaveimplementeddiversity

programstoalignwiththeimplementationofTitleXIandotheremploymentlaws.

GenderdiversityinITisimportantbecauseitexpandsthequalifiedemployeepool,

improvesthebottomline,enhancesinnovation,promotesequality,andis

representativeoftheorganization’scustomerbase(NationalCenterforWomen&

IT,2014).

In1991,theGlassCeilingCommissionwasaskedbytheU.S.Departmentof

Labortoconductastudytoseehowbarriersappliedtowomenandminoritiesto

addresstheissueofdiscriminationandsexism(Cook&Glass,2016).CookandGlass

(2015),reportedthatcompanyboardsthathadmorewomeninleadership

positionssawincreasedprofitability.Thesefindingssupportthebusinessmodel

premiseofmystudythatadiverseworkforceofbothmenandwomencreates

greaterprofitabilityforacompanycomparedtoanondiverseworkforce.

3

Thetermglassceilingdescribesaninvisiblebarrierthatpreventsqualified

individuals,particularlywomenfromadvancingwithinanorganization.Ageneral

stanceonwhywomenfailtoadvanceintoseniorleadershippositionsintheITfield

isduetothelackoftalentintherecruitmentpoolduetoyearsofemployment

inequalitiescomparedwiththeirmalecounterparts(Smith,2014).Theemployment

discriminationstemsfromthefactthattheITfieldisapredominatelywhitemale

industry(Cook&Glass,2014).

Womenareoftenviewedtopossesstraitsthatalignwithcompassionfor

others,whereasmenareviewedasmoredominantandauthoritative(Lakshmi&

Peter,2015).Whetherthisisastereotypethatsocietymaintains,itstillexistsand

whenwomendonotfitthestereotypeanddisplayassertionandcontrol,itcanbe

riskyforthem.Womenwhoexhibitthesebehaviorsmaynotbeacceptedinthe

samewayasmenare;theymaybeviewedasintimidatingandalienating(Lakshmi

&Peter,2015).Assertionandcontrolareleadershipqualitiesthatareviewedby

individualsasimportantcharacteristicstopossesstobeaneffectiveleader

(Lakshmi&Peter,2015).Women,whodisplayassertionandcontrol,riskpossibly

intimidatingandalienatingothers.Thisissuemakesitchallengingforwomento

overcomeintheworkplace.

LeadersinthefieldofITarefailingtoattractmorewomentothefieldand

arehavinganevenhardertimeretainingthewomenthatarealreadyworkinginthe

field(NationalWomenCenter&IT,2014).WithashortageofwomenworkinginIT,

thechancesforthesewomenarediminishedforanorganizationforanorganization

4

toconsiderwomenforseniorlevelpositionsagainstamuchlargerpoolofmale

applicantsduetostereotypes.Agapintheliteratureexistsfromanorganizational

standpointthatdoesnotaddresswomeninseniorleadershippositionsintheIT

field(Dubow,2014).Thisstudymayassistfillingavoidinmanagementand

leadershipbyprovidingabetterunderstandingofhowwomenareabletoadvance

toseniorleadershippositionsintheITfieldandwhattheirneedsmaybe.

Problem Statement

TheriseofglobalcompetitivenesshasincreasedthedemandofIT

professionals(Major,Morganson,&Bolen,2013).AlthoughademandexistsforIT

professionalsacrosstheboard,ashortageofwomenworkersexistsinthisfield

(Majoretal,2013).WithfewerwomenaccountedforintheITfield,thisissue

createsalimitednumberofwomentoobtainseniorleadershippositionsinIT.

Womenheld26%ofprofessionalcomputingoccupationsintheUnitedStatesin

2017(NationalCenterforIT,2017).Thislowpercentageofprofessionalwomen

workingincomputingoccupationsdemonstratestheshortageofwomenintheIT

fieldandofthereasonsitlackswomenseniorleadersduetonothavingenough

talenttorecruitfrom(Jung,Clark,&Patterson,2017).

Agapintheliteratureexistsfromanorganizationalstandpointthatdoesnot

addresswomeninseniorleadershippositionsintheITfieldandhowtheyarrivedin

thosepositions(Dubow,2014).ThegeneralproblemthatIaddressedisthatofthe

percentageofwomeninIT,stillfewerwomenworkersofthatpercentagewho

achieveseniorleadershippositions(NationalCenterforIT,2017).Forwomen

5

tryingtoacquireseniorlevelpositionsinafirmcompetingwithalargernumberof

menmakesitcompetitiveforwomen.ThespecificproblemthatIaddressedinthis

studyisthatnoclearunderstandingexistsofhowwomenadvanceintoseniorlevel

leadershippositionsintheITfield(Anderson,Edberg,Reed,Simkin,&Stiver,2017;

Berdousis&Kordaki,2014;Dubow,Farmer,Wu,&Fredrickson,2013).Exploring

womenwhoarecurrentlyinseniorleadershippositionsintheITfieldwillprovide

anunderstandingoftheircareerpaths,whichmayhelpotherwomeninthefield

whowishtoenterseniorlevelleadershippositions.

Purpose of the Study

Mypurposeinthisqualitativetranscendentalphenomenologicalstudywas

tounderstandthelivedexperiencesofwomenseniorleadersintheITfieldtogain

anunderstandingoftheircareeradvancementintoseniorleadershippositions.In

thisstudy,IsolelyfocusedonwomenwhoworkintheITfieldandareinsenior

leadershippositions.Thephenomenonthatallwomenparticipantshadincommon

wascareeradvancementinthefieldofIT.Transcendentalphenomenological

researchfocusesontheessenceofthelivedexperiencesofpeoplewithparticipants

describingtheirownreality(Moustakas,1994).Inthisstudy,Ifilledavoidin

managementandleadershipbyprovidingabetterunderstandingofhowwomen

canadvancetoseniorleadershippositionsintheITfield.Atthepresenttime,little

tonoresearchexistsontheadvancementofwomenintoseniorleadershippositions

intheITfield(Smith,2013).Theimplicationsforthisstudymayalsofillagapin

otheradvancementfieldsforwomenbesidestheITfieldthatmightbeappliedto

6

thosesituations.Theresultsofthisstudymayassistotherwomeninterestedin

leadershippositionsintheITfieldbydescribingthewomenleaders’careerpaths

whocurrentlyareinleadershippositionsinthefield.

ResearchQuestions

Mypurposeinthistranscendentalphenomenologicalstudywasto

understandthelivedexperiencesofwomenseniorleadersintheITfieldasit

pertainedtotheirleadershipcareerpath.Theprimaryobjectiveofresearchers

usingclassictranscendentalresearchistounderstandthelivedexperiencesofan

individual.Livedexperiencescanincludeanindividual’slivedspace,livedbody,

livedtime,andlivedhumanrelations(Willis,Sullivan-Bolyai,Knafl,&Cohen,2016).

Inthisstudy,thelivedexperiencewaswithregardtothephenomenonofcareer

advancementofwomenseniorleadersintheITfield.Duetotheprimaryfocusof

thelivedexperiencesoftheindividualintranscendentalphenomenological

research,theresearchquestionforthisstudywasasfollows:

RQ1:Whatistheessenceofthelivedprofessionalandpersonalexperiences

ofwomenintheircareeradvancement,whichledtothemtoachievetheirsenior

levelpositionsintheITfield?

Conceptual Framework

Aconceptualframeworkisasystemofconcepts,assumptions,expectations,

beliefs,andtheoriesthatsupportsandinformstheresearchstudy(Leamy,Bird,

Boutillier,&Williams,2011).Theconceptualframeworkexplainsinnarrativeform

themaintheoriesand/orconceptsthatwillbethefoundationofthestudysuchas

7

keyfactors,concepts,variables,orpresumedrelationshipsamongthem.The

conceptualframeworkforthisstudywasbasedonBandura’s(1986)social

cognitivetheory(SCT).Theconceptofself-efficacyisanimportantfacetwithin

Bandura’stheory.Bandura(1997)describedself-efficacyas“thebeliefinone’s

capabilitiestoorganizeandexecutethecoursesofactionrequiredtoproducegiven

attainments”(p.3).Self-efficacyisthebeliefinone’sabilitytobesuccessfulina

givensituation.Self-efficacycanbeachievedthroughmasteryexperiences,

modeling,socialpersuasion,andthephysiologicalstateofaperson(Wood&

Bandura,1989).

IntheITfield,womenaretheminoritycomparedwithmeninthefield

(Machina&Gokhale,2015).Womenworkinginmaledominatedfieldshaveto

continuouslyprovethattheyareworthytoworkwithinthe“goodoleboys”

environment.Somewomenmaylackconfidenceinthemselvestobesuccessfulin

theirjobsorcareersintheITfield.Inaddition,somewomenmaylackmotivationto

succeedintoseniorleadershippositionsbecausetheymayfeelthattheydonotfit

intothehierarchyofbeinginamale-dominatedindustry.Allthesefactorsmay

contributetoalackofself-efficacyinwomenworkingintheITfield.

IbasedthisstudyonthebeliefthatwomenseniorleadersintheITfieldhave

ahighsenseofself-efficacyforcareeradvancement.Itisimportanttounderstand

howwomeninseniorleadershippositionsviewtheirownself-efficacyaswellas

howtheyviewtheadvancementofotherwomeninIT.Anindividual’ssuccessful

performanceataccomplishingsomethingstrengthenstheirself-beliefsofhisorher

8

owncapabilities(Wood&Bandura,1989).Peopleneedsocialpersuasiontovalidate

thattheyaredoingthingsrightandorsuccessful(Wood&Bandura,1989).The

physiologicalstateofapersongreatlyaffectsaperson’sself-efficacy(Wood&

Bandura,1989).

Thesocialcognitivetheory,detailedmoreinChapter2,ispoweredby

influences,whicharederivedfrombehavior,cognition,andtheenvironment

(Dooley&Schreckhise,2016).Bandurabelievedthatanindividual’sownmindwas

anactiveforcethatcreatedone’sreality,processedinformation,performed

behaviors,andactedonthesebehaviors(Dooley&Schreckhise,2016).Reciprocity

andfeedbackallowsanindividualtogaugeifhisorherownrealityisaproductof

theirenvironment(Dooley&Schreckhise,2016).

Varioustypesofenvironmentsandsocialsystemsinfluencethehuman

behavior(Kier,Blanchard,Osborne,&Albert,2014).Theenvironmentofan

individualplaysamajorimpactonthedevelopmentandbehaviorofaperson.The

socialcognitivetheoryexplainsthatfactorssuchaseconomicconditions,

socioeconomicstatus,andeducationalandfamilystructuresaffectindividuals

directly(Kieretal.,2014).

Self-efficacyaffectseveryaspectofhumanbehavior.Byidentifyingand

understandingthebeliefsapersonholdsregardinghisorherpowertoaffect

situations,itstronglyinfluencesboththepowerapersonactuallyhastoface

challengesandmakedecisions.Thesocialcognitivetheoryisthefoundationto

9

explainhowself-efficacyisdisplayedthroughoutthecareerpathsofthewomen

seniorleaders.

Nature of the Study

Thisstudyconsistedofaclassictranscendentalphenomenologicalapproach.

Qualitativeresearchseekstounderstand,describe,andexplorebyanalyzingand

comparingdifferentaccountsinvarioussettings(Park&Park,2016).Thistypeof

researchisfocusedonappliedandtheoreticalfindingsbasedonthegivenresearch

questionthroughfieldstudyinnaturalenvironments(Park&Park,2016).

Quantitativeresearchisusedtopredictandcontrolsocialphenomena(Park&Park,

2014).Researchersmeasure,evaluate,andmakegeneralizationsofagiven

populationandencouragerepetitionofthestudyinquantitativeresearch(Gray&

Milne,2015).Aquantitativestudycannotanswerthisresearchquestionduetothe

factthatthedataoutputisnumericalinnatureandcanbeusedstatisticallyto

derivetoconclusionsaboutthedata.Whereasdatacollectionforaquantitative

studytypicallyiscollectedwiththeuseofasurveyinstrument,aqualitativestudy

usesaninterviewasitsprimaryformofdatacollection.Forthesereasons,

conductingaquantitativeresearchstudywasruledoutbasedonthestatedresearch

questionofthisstudy.

Selectingatranscendentalphenomenologicalapproachwasthebestoption

forthisstudybecauseIexploredthelivedexperiencesofthestatedphenomenon,

whichinthiscasewasthecareeradvancementofwomenseniorleadersintheIT

field.Phenomenologyseekstounderstandthelifeofhumanexperiencesasitis

10

lived(Moerer-Urdhal&Creswell,2014).ThephenomenonthatIstudiedwasthe

careeradvancementasexperiencedbywomenseniorleadersintheITfield.The

researchrationaleandresearchmethodologyforthisstudyisdiscussedinfurther

detailinChapter3.

Apurposefulsamplingapproachwasusedtoidentifyparticipantsforthis

study.Sixteenparticipantswererecruited;however,datafrom15participantswas

usedforthisstudy.Istartedsolicitationandrecruitmenteffortswithmycurrent

professionalnetworktoidentifywomenwhometthecriteria.Toparticipateinthis

study,theparticipantshadtomeetthefollowingrequirements:

1. FemaleseniorleadercurrentlyworkingintheITfield(Seniorlevel

positionsforthisstudyincludepresident,vicepresident,C-level

positionssuchaschiefexecutiveofficer(CEO),chiefoperationsofficer

(COO),chiefinformationofficer(CIO),chieftechnologyofficer(CTO),

vicepresidentofIT(VPofIT)anddirectorandmanageriallevel

positions).

2. Workincurrentrolefor2ormoreyears.

3. LiveandworkinthecontinentalUnitedStates.

Theprimaryformofdatacollectionforthisstudywasa1-hourtelephone

interviewsthatIconducted,astheresearcher,witheachoftheparticipants.Each

prospectiveparticipantwasaskedtoreviewthe“ParticipantInvitationandConsent

Form”andreplybackthatthey“consent”tobeingincludedinthestudy.Withthe

permissionoftheparticipant,eachinterviewswasrecordedandtranscribedfor

11

transcriptionvalidation.Theinterviewprotocolincludedasemistructured

interviewandademographicquestionnaire.Iconductedmembercheckingby

emailingparticipantsacopyoftheirtranscribedinterviewwithin72hoursoftheir

completedtelephoneinterview.

Datacollectionfortranscendentalphenomenologicalstudiesisderivedfrom

first-personaccountsduringinformalone-to-oneinterviews,whicharetranscribed

andanalyzedforthemes,patterns,andcontextualmeanings(Roberts,2013).The

dataanalysiswascompletedusingthemodifiedVanKaammethodasrecommended

byMoustakas(1994),whichisdetailedfurtherinChapter3.Theresearcheriskey

inanalyzingandattachingmeaningtothelivedexperiencesandthisstudywas

throughthetranscendentalviewoftheworld.Astheresearcher,itwasimportant

thatIsetasidemypersonalfeelingsandbiastonotinfluenceparticipantsorthe

conclusionsofthestudy.Intranscendentalphenomenology,epocheistheprocessof

settingasideone’spriorjudgmentandknowledgeinordertobeopento

understandingthephenomenoninafresh,unbiasedmanner(Moustakas,1994).

Transcendentalphenomenologyisoneoftwophilosophicalassumptions

aboutexperienceandwaystoorganizeandanalyzephenomenologicaldata

(Moerer-Urdahl&Creswell,2004).Comparedwithhermeneuticphenomenology,

transcendentalphenomenologyfocusesonmeaningsthatanalyzethehuman

experience(Moustakas,1994).Transcendentalphenomenologyreductiontakes

eachexperienceandconsidersitinitssingularity,inandforitself(Moustakas,

1994).Moustakas(1994)states“thephenomenonisperceivedanddescribedinits

12

totality,inafreshandopenway”(p.33).Transcendentalphenomenologyreduction

allowstheresearchertoderiveatextualdescriptionofthemeaningsandessences

ofthephenomenon,theparticipantsthatexperiencethephenomenon,andthe

vantagepointofanopenself(Moustakas,1994).

Operational Definitions

IT:Theapplicationofcomputerstostore,study,retrieve,transmit,and

manipulatedataorinformation(Priya&Mahadevan,2013).

ITfield:Forthepurposeofthisstudy,thisincludesemployeeswiththe

followingoccupations:webdeveloper,softwaredeveloper,networkandcomputer

systemsadministrator,informationsecurityanalysts,databaseadministrator,

computerssystemsanalysts,computersupportspecialists,computerprogrammer,

computernetworkarchitect,computerandinformationresearchscientist,IT

projectmanager,chiefinformationofficers(CIO),chieftechnologyofficers(CTOs),

chiefoperationsofficer(COO),chiefexecutiveofficer(CEO),andvicepresidentofIT

(VPofIT)(U.S.BureauofLaborStatistics,2014).

Genderdiscrimination:Thepracticeoftreatingorbeingbiasedofone

particulargenderunfavorably(Baker,2014).

Glassceiling:Aninvisiblebarrierwhichismainlybasedongender

discriminationthatpreventsqualifiedindividuals,particularlywomenfrom

advancingwithinanorganization(Berrey,2014).

13

Male-dominatedindustry:Industriessuchasengineering,technology,

manufacturing,logistics,anddistribution,whichtraditionallyhiremenandare

controlledbymen(Sweida&Woods,2015).

Seniorleaders:Personswithatitleofchiefexecutiveofficer(CEO),chief

operationsofficer(COO),chieftechnologyofficer(CTO),anddirectorand

managerialleveltitle(Priya&Mahadevan,2013;Woszczynski,Dembla,&Safar,

2016).Thesewomenareseniorleadersbecausetheyareeitherinchargeofa

company,department,andoragroupofpeoplethattheymanageandlead.

Assumptions

Aswithanystudy,specificassumptionsexistedforthisresearchstudy.I

assumedthatparticipantswouldfreelyshareanddiscusstheirpersonalwork

experiencesinacompleteandfactualmanner.Ialsoassumedthatthequalitative

methodologyusingatranscendentalphenomenologicalapproachwasthebest

approachtoexploretheexperiencesofwomenseniorleadersintheITfield.Last,I

assumedthattherewouldbesomesimilaritiesincareerexperiencesofthewomen

seniorleadersthatcouldbeincorporatedintocommonthemesandcontributeto

socialchangewithincompanies.

Scope and Delimitations

Thisstudyincluded15womenseniorleaderparticipantsworkingintheIT

fieldforthepast2yearsintheUnitedStates.Seniorleadershippositionsinclude

president,vicepresident,C-levelpositionssuchaschiefexecutiveofficer(CEO),

chiefoperationsofficer(COO),chieftechnologyofficer(CTO),directorand

14

manageriallevelpositions.ThisstudywasconfinedtotheITfieldonly.

NonmanagerialwomenworkersintheITfieldwerenotconsideredforthisstudy.

Limitations

Thesamplesize,researchfindingsandissuesoftrustworthinesscontributed

tothelimitationsofthestudy.Thehonestyoftheparticipantswasthefirst

limitationofthestudy.Astheresearcher,Ihadtotrustthattheparticipantswere

beingtruthfulinsharingtheirlivedpersonalexperiencesaswomenseniorleaders

intheITfieldwithme.ToensurethatIaccuratelycapturedthelivedexperiencesin

theirownwords,Icompletedtheprocessofmembercheckingbyhavingeach

participantreviewandverifytheirinterviewtranscriptsforaccuracy.

Thesecondlimitationforthisstudywasthepurposivesamplesizeof15

participantslocatedwithinthecontinentalUnitedStates.Asamplesizeof15was

determinedtobethepointatwhichdatasaturationwouldbeachieved.Data

saturationisthepointtodiscontinuecollectingdata(Saundersetal.,2018).Data

saturationwasachievedaftertheninthparticipant,however;Icontinuedonto15

participantsasoriginallyproposedforthestudy.Thefirstnineparticipantswere

easytosecure,however;thelast6participantsweredifficulttosecure.

Thelastlimitationofthestudywastimeconstraintsoftheparticipants.Data

collectionwascompletedin42days.Coordinatingaroundtheparticipant’s

schedulesandtaskingintoconsiderationdifferenttimezonesmadeitchallengingat

timestocompletethedatacollectionprocess.Atotaloffiveprospectiveparticipants

15

expressedinterestinthestudy;however,theirworktravelscausedthemnottobe

abletocommit.

Significance of the Study

Thisstudyservestosupportpositivesocialchangeandaddressthegapin

literatureofwomenadvancingintoseniorleadershippositionsforwhichtheyare

qualifiedforinthefieldofIT.Inaddition,theresultsofthisstudymayaddresswhy

womenarenotattractedtothefieldofIT.Aqualitativestudycanaddressthegaps

inliteraturebyexamininganddescribingaphenomenon.Thephenomenonunder

studywastheessenceofthelivedexperienceofcareeradvancementofwomen.This

studymayhelporganizationsintheITfieldimprovementoring,leadership

development,andmoreefficientcareerpathstrategiesforwomeninterestedin

seniorleadershiproles.

Significance to Theory

Aspreviouslystated,thegeneralproblemthatIaddressedinthisstudywas

thelimitednumberofwomeninseniorleadershippositionsintheITfield.Withfew

womenbeingrepresentedinthefield,onecandeducethatthereareevenfewer

womenwhocurrentlyholdseniorleadershippositions.ThespecificproblemthatI

addressedisthatnotenoughisbeingdonebyorganizationstoattractwomentothe

fieldofIT,whichinturniscausingfeweropportunitiesforcareeradvancement.

Pretorius,Mawela,Strydom,deVilliers,andJohnson(2015)pointedoutthathaving

morewomeninseniorleadershippositionsmaymaketheindustryappearmore

attractivetowomen.

16

ThisresearchstudymayuncoverpossiblebarrierstoentryintotheITfield

aswellasadvancementoncealreadyworkinginthefield.Inaddition,thisresearch

studymayuncoverpossiblewaystopromotepositivewaystoprovidecareer

supporttowomeninIT.

Significance to Social Change

Thisstudymayfillavoidinmanagementandleadershipbydemonstratinga

betterunderstandingofhowwomenadvancetoseniorleadershippositionsinthe

ITfield.Atthepresenttime,littletonoresearchontheadvancementofwomeninto

seniorleadershippositionsexistsintheITfield(Smith,2013).Theimplicationsfor

thisstudymayalsofillagapinotheradvancementfieldsforwomenbesidestheIT

fieldthatmightbeappliedtothosesituations.Theresultsofthisstudymayassist

otherwomeninterestedinleadershippositionsintheITfieldbydescribingthe

womenleaders’careerpathswhocurrentlyareinleadershippositionsinthefield.

SummaryandTransition

Inthischapter,Iprovidedanoverviewoftheresearchproblem,purpose

statement,andresearchquestionsthatwillbeaddressedbythisdissertation.I

basedthisstudyonthebeliefthatwomenseniorleadersintheITfieldhaveahigh

senseofself-efficacyforcareeradvancement.Itisimportanttounderstandhow

womeninseniorleadershippositionsviewtheirownself-efficacyaswellashow

theyviewtheadvancementofotherwomeninIT.InChapter2,Idiscussboththe

socialcognitivetheoryandself-efficacyasthebasisforthestudy’stheoreticaland

conceptualframeworkfurtherintheliteraturereview.Includedinthischapterisan

17

overviewoftranscendentalphenomenologicalresearchmethodologyandthedata

analysisapproachthatIfurtherdiscussedinChapter3.Ipresenttheresultsofthe

studyinChapter4toincludethedemographicinformationoftheparticipants.Last,

inChapter5,Idiscussthedataresults,conclusions,implicationsforpositivesocial

change,andrecommendationsforfuturestudy.

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Chapter 2: Literature Review

Inthisstudy,Iexaminedthejourneysthatwomenseniorleaderstookinthe

informationfieldtogainanunderstandingoftheircareerpathsandhowthey

advancedintototheirleadershippositions.Understandingthejourneysthatwomen

seniorleaderstookinITprovidedinsightintoareasofmanagementthatwerenot

previouslyaddressedorunderstood.Thegapintheliteraturefroman

organizationalstandpointdidnotaddresswomeninseniorleadershippositionsin

theITfield(Dubow,2014).Theriseofglobalcompetitivenesshasincreasedthe

demandofITprofessionals(Majoretal.,2013).AlthoughademandexistsforIT

professionalsacrosstheboard,ashortageofwomenworkersexistsinthisfield

(Majoretal,2013).WithfewerwomenaccountedforintheITfield,thiscreatesa

limitednumberofwomeninseniorleadershippositionsinIT.Womenheld26%of

professionalcomputingoccupationsintheUnitedStatesin2017(NationalCenter

forIT,2017).Thislowpercentageofprofessionalwomenworkingincomputing

occupationsdemonstratestheshortageofwomenintheITfieldandthereasonit

lackswomenseniorleadersduetonothavingenoughtalenttorecruitfrom.


understandthelivedexperiencesofwomenseniorleadersintheITfieldtogainan

understandingoftheircareeradvancementintoseniorleadershippositions.Inthis

study,IfocusedsolelyfocusedonwomenwhocurrentlyworkintheITfieldandare

inseniorleadershippositions.

19

Intheliteraturereview,Idetailtherationaleforthesocialcognitivetheory

andself-efficacy,whichformedtheconceptualframeworkforthestudy.Athorough

reviewoftheliteraturediscusseswomen’sperceptionsoftheITfieldalongwiththe

prosandconsofworkinginthefield.BeingthattheITfieldismaledominated,a

briefoverviewofwomenworkinginSTEMandconstructionfieldsprovideda

comparisonforreview.NumerousbarrierstoadvancementforwomenintheIT

fieldandthiswasdiscussedindepthintheliteraturereview.Therationaleforthe

researchmethodologywasdiscussedandhowittiedinwiththeresearchquestion.

Literature Search Strategy

LimitedresearchregardingwomenseniorleadersinITexists.Mysearch

strategyfortheliteraturereviewfocusedonwomeningeneralworkinginIT.The

electronicdatabasesthatweresearchedwereBusinessSourceComplete/Premier,

Computers&AppliedSciencesComplete,ComputingDatabase,Emerald

ManagementJournals,Management&OrganizationalStudiesatSAGEFullText

collection,ProQuestDissertations&Thesis,ScienceDirect,andThoreau.Thesearch

termsusedincludedwereconstruction,dualearners,engineering,glassceiling,IT

andleadership,women,ITcareerandwomen,ITfieldandfemales,ITandgender

differences,leadership,male-dominated,male-dominatedindustries,mentoring

women,mentoringwomenandleadership,mentoringwomenandseniorleadership,

self-efficacy,self-efficacyandworkmotivation,self-efficacyandwomen,STEM,STEM

fields,andworkingwomen.

20

Searchparameterssuchaspeer-reviewedarticles,full-textarticles,and

publicationdatesbetween2014and2019wereusedfortheliteraturereview

searchinquiry.

Conceptual Framework

SocialCognitiveTheory

AsstatedinChapter1,theconceptualframeworkforthisstudywas

Bandura’s(1986)SCT.Thesocialcognitivetheoryispoweredbyinfluences,which

arederivedfrombehavior,cognition,andtheenvironment(Dooley&Schreckhise,

2016;Lyons&Bandura,2018).Bandurabelievedthatanindividual’sownmindwas

anactiveforcethatcreatedone’sreality,processedinformation,performed

behaviors,andactedonthesebehaviors(Dooley&Schreckhise,2016).Reciprocity

andfeedbackallowsanindividualtogaugeifhisorherownrealityisaproductof

theirenvironment(Dooley&Schreckhise,2016).

Varioustypesofenvironmentsandsocialsystemsinfluencethehuman

behavior(Kier,Blanchard,Osborne,&Albert,2014).Thesurroundingsofan

individualplayshasamajoreffectonthedevelopmentandbehaviorofaperson.

Thesocialcognitivetheoryexplainsthatfactorssuchaseconomicconditions,

socioeconomicstatus,andeducationalandfamilystructuresaffectindividuals

directly(Kier,Blanchard,Osborne,&Albert,2014).

Theconceptofself-efficacyisanimportantfacetwithinBandura’stheory.

Bandura(1997)describedself-efficacyas“thebeliefinone’scapabilitiestoorganize

andexecutethecoursesofactionrequiredtoproducegivenattainments”(p.3).

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Self-efficacyisthebeliefinone’sabilitytobesuccessfulinagivensituation;itcanbe

achievedthroughmasteryexperiences,modeling,socialpersuasion,andthe

physiologicalstateofaperson(Wood&Bandura,1989).Themosteffectivewayto

developastrongsenseofself-efficacycanbedevelopedthroughmasteryexperience

(Wood&Bandura,1989).Masteryexperienceisachievedwhenapersonknowsthat

theyhaveperformedatasksuccessfully(Lyons&Bandura,2018).Thesecondmost

effectivewaytodevelopastrongsenseofself-efficacyisthroughsocialmodeling,

whichinvolvesobservinghowotherpeoplesuccessfullycompletetasks(Lyons&

Bandura,2018).Modelinggivesapersonasenseofself-efficacybecausetheyhave

seenhowataskcanbeperformedsuccessfullyiftheyfollowwhattheyhave

witnessed.

Self-efficacyisanessentialconceptinthesocialcognitivetheoryandisa

strongpredictorofcompetency.Peoplewithahighsenseofself-efficacyaremore

willingtoputintheeffortneededtocompleteataskthattheyareinterestedaswell

asdemonstratepersistencewhenpresentedwithtoughchallenges.Beingableto

correctorimproviseone’sactionswhenfacedwithachallengeorsetbackispartof

thesocialcognitivetheory.Womenwithahighsenseofself-efficacyareviewedas

competentandemergingleaders.

Inthesocialcognitivetheory,Bandurasuggestedthatmakinggoalscan

influenceaperson’scognitiveandemotionalstatebasedontheoutcomesof

reachingtheirgoals.Bandurafoundthatself-evaluativeandself-efficacytoolsare

triggeredbycognitivejudgmentthroughthemotivatingpowerofcreatinggoals.A

22

goalisaguideandamotivatorthatcanleadtoaperson’sdesiredoutcome.Goals

havemotivationaleffectsthatcanincreaseone’sself-efficacyandpersonal

satisfaction(Lyons&Bandura).

IntheITfield,womenaretheminoritycomparedtomen.Womenworkingin

maledominatedfieldshavetocontinuouslyprovethattheyareworthytoworkwith

inthe“goodoleboys”environment.Somewomenmaylackconfidencein

themselvestobesuccessfulintheirjobsorcareersintheITfield.Inaddition,some

womenmaylackmotivationtosucceedintoseniorleadershippositionsbecause

theymayfeelthattheydonotfitintothehierarchyofbeinginamaledominated

industry.Allofthesefactorsmaycontributetoalackofself-efficacyinwomen

workingintheITfield.

MystudywasbasedonthebeliefthatwomenseniorleadersintheITfield

haveahighsenseofself-efficacyintheirleadershipcapabilitiestoadvanceintheir

careers.Itisimportanttounderstandhowwomeninseniorleadershippositions

viewtheirownself-efficacyaswellashowtheyviewtheadvancementofother

womeninIT.Anindividual’ssuccessfulperformanceatgettingsomething

completedstrengthenstheirself-beliefsofhisorherowncapabilities(Wood&

Bandura,1989).Thephysiologicalstateofapersongreatlyaffectsaperson’sself-

efficacy(Wood&Bandura,1989).Peopleneedsocialpersuasiontovalidatethat

theyaredoingthingsrightandorsuccessful(Wood&Bandura,1989).Successful

workplaceperformanceevaluationsandappraisalsstrengthenaperson’sself-

efficacy(Lyons&Bandura,2018).

23

Recentresearchsupportsfindingsfrom30yearsagothatvalidatepositive

associationsofbeliefsinself-efficacyandworkperformance(Dohn,Fago,

Overgaard,Madsen,&Malte,2016;Tansey,Iwanaga,Bezyak,&Ditchman,2017;

Cetin&Askun,2018;Costley&Lange,2018;Dagenais-Desmarais,Leclerc,Dondei-

Shortall,2018;Lisbona,Palaci,Salanova,Frese,2018).Resultsofastudyprovedthat

beinghelpfultoothers,sharing,andbeingcooperativewasnegativelycorrelated

withpoorbehaviorthatresultedinexcuses,placingblameonothers,ornot

completingtasks(Galvez,Lopez-Martin,Manso,&Valle,2018).Employeeswitha

highsenseofself-efficacyareabletoovercomeobstaclesandsetbacksthey

experienceintheworkplace.Theyareabletotakepartinworkplaceopportunities

duetothefactthattheyareengaged,mindful,andhaveastrongbeliefintheir

abilities(Galvezetal.,2018).

Self-efficacyaffectseveryaspectofhumanbehavior.Byidentifyingand

understandingthebeliefsapersonholdsregardinghisorherpowertoaffect

situations,itstronglyinfluencesboththepowerapersonactuallyhastoface

challengesandmakedecisions.Thesocialcognitivetheoryandparticularlyself-

efficacywereutilizedinthisstudytoseehowself-efficacywasdisplayedthroughout

thecareerpathsofthewomenseniorleaders.

Literature Review

Inrecentyears,ithasappearedthatdiscussingwomenrightsandequalityin

theworkplacehasbeenamajortopicofdiscussion,however;littlehaschangedor

beendonetoincreasetheamountofwomeninseniorlevelpositionsespeciallyinIT

24

(Dutta&Omolayole,2016).Anextensivereviewoftheliteraturefoundthatmen

dominatesenior-levelpositionsandthattheyarethe“idealworker”(Bierema,

2016).Whenthinkingaboutleaders,womenareviewedasoutofplaceinthis

context.Theliteraturereviewuncoveredbarrierstoadvancement,stereotypes,and

variousviewpointsregardingworkingwomeninthefieldofIT.

Women’sPerceptionsoftheITField

Areviewoftheresearchrevealsthatwomenaroundtheglobeotherthanthe

UnitedStatesspecificallypursuecareersinITbecauseoftheperceivedhighstatus

associatedwithworkinginthefieldandforjobstability(Pretoriusetal.,(2015).

Pretoriusetal.(2015)revealedthatwomencurrentlyworkinginITconcludedthat

womenaroundtheworldshareaperceptionthattheindustryisfunctional,logical,

andconsistsprimarilyofprogrammingandbuildinghardware,whichisviewedas

beingamanlyjob.IntheUnitedStates,workingintheITfieldisviewedasageeky

job.InIndia,ITworkersarenotviewedasgeeks,buthighlyintelligentand

sophisticatedindividuals(Varma&Kapur,2015).Inaddition,Pretoriusetal.(2015)

revealedthatwomenfoundtheITindustrytobemale-dominatedandarehesitant

toworkinthisfieldduetothefactthatitrequireslonghours.Pretoriusetal.

(2015),compiledalistofconnotationsthatareassociatedwiththeITindustrythat

maybeconsiderednegativefactorsoraturnoffforwomenwhichincludes:

• Continuouslearningandchange

• Chaos

• Challenging

25

• Tiring/burnout

• Difficultfamily-workbalance

• Skillsetrequiresmoretask-oriented,logical,andfunctionalratherthan

peopleskills

• Frequenttravel

• Male-dominatedindustryjargon

• Highstresslevels

EducatingwomenaboutthediverseareasofITandcreatingabetter

educationalcurriculummayenticewomentoenterintotheindustry.Pretoriusetal.

(2015)suggestedthathavingmorewomeninseniorleadershippositionsmaymake

theindustryappearmoreattractivetowomen.Changingsocietalviewsonwomen

ashomemakersandcaretakerswillchangeovertime,whichwillallowwomento

jointheITworkforcewithouthavingtoworryaboutthelonghoursawayfrom

home.

Ojokoh,Adeola,Isinkaye,Abraham’s(2014)researchoffindingoutwhy

womenselectedtoworkinITalsoprovidedreasonswhysomewomenarenot

interestedinthefield.Womenrespondentsrepliedthatsomeoftheirpeersthatdid

notworkinthefieldstatedthatITinvolvedtoomuchprogramming,isstressful,

requirestoomuchmathematics,andisexpensive(Ojokohetal.,2014).Womentend

toworkinjobswheretheycaninteractwithothersandfeelasenseof

accomplishment.ThejobfunctionsinITdonotsupportthisnotionbywomen.

26

Indianresearchers,whohavecomparedandcontrastedwomeninITinIndia

andtheUnitedstatessuggestthatperhapsAmericanwomenmaynotbeattractedto

theITfieldduetothefactthattherearefewfemaleteachersinscienceand

mathematicsinschools,whichinturncausesforthelackoffemalerolemodels

(Varma&Kapur,2015).ThelackofwomenfacultyincomputerscienceintheU.S.

emphasizestheattitudethattheITfieldisnotforwomenandcausesisolation

(Varma&Kapur,2015).

ArecentstudyofUScollegestudents(Cheryan,Play,Handron,&Hudson,

2013;Sanizetal.2016)revealedthattheyviewcomputerscientistsasbeing

masculinewithmasculine-relatedcharacteristics.Computerscientistswereviewed

asbeinghighlyintelligentandnerdy,technologicalsavvy,alwaysonacomputer,

lackingsocialskills,unattractiveinphysicalappearancethatalignswithhavinga

nerdylooksuchasbeingthin,pale,orwearingglasses(Sainzet.2016).These

stereotypesaboutcomputerscientistdonotalignwithfemalegenderrolesinthe

UnitedStates.Thisstereotypemaydetersomewomenfromconsideringcomputer

scienceinthefirstplace.

MaleDominatedIndustry

Womenhaveadvancedinthefieldsoflaw,medicine,business,andbiology,

buthaveyettoadvanceinIT(Dubowetal.,2013).Notonlyhasitbeenresearched

extensively,butthereisnoquestionthattherearemoremenworkingintheITfield

comparedtowomen(Beyer,2014;Dubow&James-Hawkins,2016;Ojokohetal.,

2014;Zweben&Bizot,2016;Arnold,Summer,&George,2014,Kishore,2016,Mone,

27

2017).Thepast10yearsofresearchconcludesthattheITindustryremainsamale-

dominatedindustrythatdoesnotattractwomenduetogenderrolestereotyping,

genderstereotyping,andmisconceptionsaboutthefield(Ballard,Scales,Edwards,

2006;Lemons&Parzinger,2007;Elnaggar,2008;Wenling&Thomas,2009;Craig&

Lang,2010;Drury,2011;Mahmod&Dahalin,2012;Majoretal.(2013);Huang,&

Aaltio,2014;Machina&Gokhale,2015;Long,Segalo,&Laidlaw,2016;Jungetal.,

2017).

Scholarshavearguedthatthisunevengenderedplayingfieldcouldbedueto

thefactthatwomenseekjobpositionsthatallowthemtoworkandexpress

themselveswithothers(Pretoriusetal.,2015).Dubowetal.(2013)statedthat

womenneedtobesupportedbyotherwomeninordertogaininterestinIT.

Previousresearchfoundthatwomencomparedtomen,reportthattheyenteredin

theITfieldbecauseofateacher,familymember,orfriendwhoencouragedthem

(Ashcraft,Eger,&Friend,2012).Thissupportisbackedbyresearchfindingsby

AlbertBandura(1997)thatshowedthatindividualsneedencouragementtohelp

themfaceadversity.Theencouragementandsupportarekeyfactorsforthe

retentionofgirlsandwomenwhentheystarttohavedoubtsaboutbelonginginIT

(Dubowetal.,2013).

TheNationalCenterforWomen&IT(NCWIT)waschartedin2004asanon-

profitcommunityofapproximately900universities,companies,andnon-profits,

andgovernmentorganizations.NCWIT’smissionistocapturetheinterestofyoung

girlsandprovidesupporttowomenalreadyworkinginthefield.Despitetheon-

28

goingeffortsoforganizationssuchasNCWITandprofessionaltradeassociations

likeWomeninIT,thereisstillashortageofwomenworkinginITacrosstheboard

(Dubowetal.,2013).

Theliteraturerevieweddiscussedwomeninothermale-dominated

industriessuchasbikemessengers(Ferguson,2017),highereducationsenior

leadership(Anyikwa,Chiarelli-Helminiak,Hodge,&Wells-Wilbon,2015;BlackChen,

2015;Davis&Maldonado,2015;Block&Tietjen-Smith,2016;Johnson,2016),

accounting(Anders,2015;Barry,2017;Cimirotić,Duller,Feldbauer-Durstmüller,

Gärtner,Hiebl,2017),engineering,andconstruction(Arenaetal.,2015;Francis,

2017;Ibáñez,2017;Navarro-Astro,Roman-Onsalo,Infante-Perea,2017).Science,

technology,engineering,andMathfields(STEM)withanemphasisonthe

engineeringfieldandtheconstructionfieldwerediscussedfurthertodetailthe

barriersthatwomeninthesefieldsfacedandtoshowtheprogressthattheyhave

madesofarintheirfields.

ConstructionIndustry

Womenintheconstructionindustryfacesimilarbarrierstoadvancement

suchaswomenworkingintheITandengineeringfields(Olofsdotter&Rasmusson,

2016;Ibáñez,2017).Ibáñez(2017),statedthatwomenintheconstructionindustry

likewomenworkinginothermale-dominatedoccupationsworkinacultureof

disrespectorhazingandareexpectedtoworkjustashardasmentonotappear

weakorincompetent.QualitativeresearchconductedbyWright(2014)consistedof

womenemployeesworkingintheconstructionindustryfoundthatemployers

29

continuetoviewconstructionworkasaman’sjob.Participantsofthestudy

reportedthattheiremployersdidnotallowwomenworkerswithyoungchildrento

workthesamehoursfromstarttofinishjustliketheirmalecounterparts,

employersstatedthattheypreferredtohirelesbianconstructionworkersbecause

theyworkjustashardasmenanddonotthinkaboutgettingpregnant(Wright,

2014).Thistypeofthinkingbyanemployerputswomenwhoarenotlesbiansata

disadvantagebecausetheyareviewedasnotbeingstrongworkcandidatesifthey

haveorareconsideringhavingchildren.

Womenintheconstructionindustryfacegenderstereotyping,hostilework

environments,employerprejudice,longworkhours,andlackoffacilitysupport

suchasseparatemaleandfemalebathroomsorprivateareasforwomentopump

milkifneeded(Wright,2014).AccordingtoCha(2013),thereisanegative

associationwithoccupationsthathavelowwomenproportionsandlongwork

hours.Longworkhoursassociatedwithmale-dominatedtypeworkcontinueto

excludewomenwithchildrenfromthesepositionsfurtheringgendersegregation

(Cha,2013).

STEMFields

Researchregardingtheunder-representationofwomenintheengineering

fieldcannotbediscussedwithoutalsodiscussingscience,technology,engineering,

andmathdisciplinesandcareers.TheBureauofLaborStatistics(2014)reported

thatthefastestgrowingcareersnationallyareinSTEM.Withtheincreased

employmentopportunitiesinSTEMfields,thereisstillanunderrepresentationof

30

womenpursuingthesejobsduetotheminimalsupportandencouragementof

younggirls(NationalScienceBoard,2012).Moreresearchisneededforthesupport

ofwomeninterestedinSTEMcareersCadaret,M.C.,Hartung,P.J.,Subich,L.M.,&

Weigold,I.K.(2016).

TheunderrepresentationofwomeninSTEMcollegemajorsandcareersisa

continuousdiscussionamongscholars(Blosser,2017;Cadaretetal.,2016;Kodate,

N.,Kodate,T.,Kodate,T.,2014).Therearevaryingviewpointstowhywomenare

underrepresentedinscienceandmathfields.Oneviewpointsuggestedthatwomen

cannothandletheextensiveamountofscienceandmathclassesneededforto

obtainanengineeringdegree.Otherscholarshavearguedreasoning’stowhy

womenchosenottoenterintoSTEMfields.Blosser(2017)arguedthatwomenare

notequallyrepresentedacross

Despitethefactthat57%ofwomencomparedto43%ofmengraduatefrom

college,thereisroughlyaround18%ofwomenwhograduatewithengineeringand

computersciencedegrees(NationalScienceFoundation,NationalCenterforScience

andEngineeringStatistics,2013).InconjunctiontothelowSTEMgraduaterates,

Chen(2013)reportedthatwomenaremorelikelythanmentoswitchfromSTEM

majorstonon-STEMmajors.Cadaretetal.,(2016)reportedthatthisphenomenonof

womenswitchingfromSTEMtonon-STEMmajorisanewoccurrencethatneedsto

beresearchedmoreindepth.

31

WomeninIT

Thereisadifferentperspectivefromwomenaroundthegloberegardingthe

fieldofIT.VarmaandKapur(2015)statedthatthelackofwomenseekingIT

positionsshouldnotbeviewedasaglobalphenomenonbecausewomeninIndia

viewtheITfieldasanattractivefieldtoworkincomparedtowomenintheU.S.The

notionthattheITfieldisamale-dominatedindustryissociety-specificandnot

universal(Varma&Kapur,2015).Inthepast15years,Indiahasseenanincreasein

womenreceivingadvanceddegreesincomputersciencecomparedtotheUnited

States(Varma&Kapur,2015).Obtainingadegreeincomputerscienceandworking

intheITfieldisperceivedbytheIndiancultureaswomenfriendlyandare

consideredasacceptablejobsbytheirpeersandfamilies.WomeninIndiawith

computersciencebackgroundsareviewedasintelligentbeingthattheyareableto

handlethetechnicalaspectsofthejob,workoncomplexprojects,anduseadvanced

problemsolvingskills(Varma&Kapur,2015).WomenworkinginITpositionsare

wellpaidandhavevastemploymentopportunitiescomparedtootherfieldsinthe

country.

VarmaandKapur’s(2015)researchfoundthatwomeninIndialikedworking

inITbecausetheycanworkina“white-collarpositionatadeskinasecureindoor

office,possiblywithairconditioningandcoffee”(p.58).TheIndianfemalestudents

thatparticipatedintheirstudystatedthatissueswithrecruitmentandretentionof

womeninITisnotduetothefielditself,butfromtheirpatriarchalsocietythat

favorsmen(Varma&Kapur,2015).InIndia,workinginITisnotafieldformale

32

geeks,whichissometimestheperceptionintheUnitedStates,butisviewedbyboth

gendersasaprestigioushigh-payingjob(Varma&Kapur,2015).InIndia,women

whoworkinITbenefitfromhavinghighsocialstatusandindependenceofhavinga

highsalaryposition,whichovershadowsanypreconceptionsofteachersandgender

discrimination(Varma&Kapur,2015).VarmaandKapur’s(2015)researchfindings

differgreatlyfromthelowenrollmentandgraduationfiguresofwomeninthe

UnitedStates,whichviewsadegreeincomputerscienceasafieldsuitedforaman.

InNigeria,workinginITisaverypopularfieldtoworkindespitehavingissues

withrecruitingmorewomentothefield.Nigerianwomenareveryautonomousand

donothavetodealwithsocietalpressuresofworkinginstereotypicalcareerssuch

ashomemakers,teachers,oradministrativerolessuchassecretarialpositions

(Ojokohetal.,2014).WomenareattractedtothefieldofITinNigeriabecauseit

involvesinterestingworkthatallowsforthemtolearnnewthings,solvecomplex

problems,andallowsforcontinuouseducation,whichmakesthemappear

knowledgeableandup-to-dateonnewtechnologies(Ojokohetal.,2014).

GenderAndLeadership

Leadershipishavingtheabilitytoinfluenceandmotivateotherstodo

something.Intheworkplace,leaderstrytoinfluenceandmotivatetheirworkforce

toreachorganizationalgoalsandobjectives.Atthepresenttime,womenaccountfor

16.6%ofboardseats,14.3%ofexecutiveofficerpositions,and14.3%ofCEOroles

inFortune500companies(Catalyst,2017;Grant&Taylor,2014).Thesealarming

statisticsprovethatwomenarestillunderrepresentedinsenior-levelpositions.

33

Rincón,González,andBarrero(2017)statedthatitisafactthatwomenare

underrepresentedinseniorleadershippositionsinthewesternworld.Duetothe

factthattheITfieldconsistsofprimarilymales,thereareveryfewwomensenior

leadersintheindustryasitis.Exploringwhatmakeswomenattractedtothe

informationfieldandhowcantheyadvanceintoseniorlevelpositionsbecomesa

relevantquestion.

Womenarefacedwiththechallengesoftryingtoadvanceintheircareers

whilebeingpaidlessthanmenandhavingtoworktwiceashardtoprove

themselvesworthyinadditiontobalancingafamilylife(Bierema,2016).Thereare

manyvariablesthatconnectinaworkingwoman’slifesuchasidentity,

socialization,culture,familylife,socioeconomicstatus,education,race,ethnicity,

sexualorientation,andreligion(Bierema,2016;Hoyt&Murphy,2016).Oncea

womenentersintoaleadershipposition,shewilloftentimesexperiencethe

challengesoftryingtonotcomeoffastoomasculinewhilealsotryingto

demonstrateafirmcommitmenttotheorganization(Bierema,2016).

Previousargumentshavestatedthatmenarebettersuitedformanagement

(PonsPeregort,CalvetPuig,TuraSolvas,&Muñoz,2013;Hoyt&Murphy2016;

Rincónetal.,2017).Inaddition,ithasbeenarguedthatifthereweremorewomen

inthepipeline,morewomencanbepromotedintoleadershippositions(Pons

Peregortetal.,2013).AccordingtoReid(2015),theidealleaderisamalewhois

completelydedicatedtohiswork,putshisworkoverhisfamily,andpersonalneeds.

Bierema(2016)statedthatwomenareatadisadvantagebeforetheyeveninterview

34

forasenior-leadershippositionsduetothe“idealworker”image.Itishardfor

societytoviewwomenasidealworkerduetothefactthatwomenaretraditionally

expectedtobethecaregiversofthefamily.Thisexpectationputswomenata

disadvantageofmovingintoaseniorlevelpositionbecauseiftheyaretakingcareof

theirfamilies,theycannotpossiblyworklonghoursandshowcommitmenttothe

organizationthesamewaythatmenareableto(Eaglyetal.,2016).

GrantandTaylor(2014),arguedthatwomenhinderthemselvesfrom

advancingintoleadershippositionsbecausetheydonotknowhowtoeffectively

communicatetheiraccomplishments.Theirresearchdiscoveredsixcommunication

essentialsthatcanhelpwomenprojectconfidencewheninterviewingforleadership

positions(Grant&Taylor,2014).Thesecommunicationessentialsincludestarting

strong,stayingsuccinct,dimensionalizingcontent,owningvoice,controlling

movement,andprojectingwarmth(Grant&Taylor,2014).GrantandTaylor(2014)

suggestedthatexecutivecoachingcanhelpwomenlearnandpreparehowto

communicateandportraythemselvesaseffectiveleaderswheninterviewingfor

seniorleadershippositions.

Anotherargumentforwomenhavingdifficultiesadvancingintosenior

leadershippositionsisduetogenderstereotypes(Hoyt&Murphy,2016).When

womenarefacedwithbeingtoocommunalortooagentic,theywilloftentimes

experiencesocialidentitypossibilitieswhichcouldresultinjudgments,stereotypes,

opportunities,restrictions,andtreatmentsthataredirectlyrelatedtoone’ssocial

identity(Hoyt&Murphy,2016).AsdefinedbyHoytandMurphy(2016),stereotype

35

threatisathreatofbeingjudgedandtreatedunfairlyinsettingswherenegativeand

unfavorablestereotypesaboutone’sidentityappliesinareal-lifesetting.Women

tryingtoadvanceintoseniorleadershippositionsfaceavarietyofstereotype

threats.

Hoyt&Murphy(2016),analyzedthephenomenonofstereotypethreatfor

womeninleadership.Thisstudyanalyzedmodelsofstereotypethreat,which

focusedonindicationsofstereotypethreat,theconsequencesofstereotypethreat,

moderatorsofstereotypethreatappraisalsandresponses(Hoyt&Murphy,2016).

Themainstigmaofstereotypethreatsforwomeninseniorleadershippositionsare

decreasesinmotivationandengagement(Hoyt&Murphy,2016).Womenwhowork

inpredominatelymaledominatedindustriessuchasSTEMfieldsaremorelikelyto

experiencestereotype(Hoyt&Murphy,2016).

Womenarelabeledascommunalwithcharacteristicssuchasfriendliness,

unselfishness,sympathetic,andabletoexpressthemselveswhereasmenareviewed

asbeingagenticwithassertive,masterful,independentcharacteristics(Saniz,

Meneses,Lopez,Fabregues,2016).Womenleaderswilloftenfindthemselvesina

dilemmaiftheyaretoocommunal,whichcausesthemtobecriticizedforbeing

ineffectiveleadersornotbeingfemaleenoughiftheyaretooagentic(Eagly,Gartzia,

&Carli,2014;Hoyt&Murphy,2016).Comparedtomen,womenareviewedasbeing

morefriendlyandapproachable,caring,andgenuinelyconcernedforothers(Saniz

etal.,2016).Menareviewedasbeingassertive,competent,andindependent(Saniz

etal.,2016).Womenwhoexhibitassertionandcontrolmaynotbeacceptedinthe

36

samewayasmenare;theymaybeviewedasintimidatingandalienatinginstead

(Lakshmi&Peter,2015).Assertionandcontrolareleadershipqualitiesthatare

viewedbyindividualsasimportantcharacteristicstopossesstobeaneffective

leader(Lakshmi&Peter,2015).Women,whodisplayassertionandcontrol,risk

possiblyintimidatingandalienatingothers.Aperson’sphysicalappearance,

personalitytraits,behavior,andoccupationarefactorsthatareusedinoursociety

tomakeinferencesaboutmenandwomen(Sanizetal.,2016).Thisissuemakesit

challengingforwomentoovercomeintheworkplace.

Implicitleadership,basedontheimplicitleadershiptheoryisthe

preconceivednotionsofwhatpeoplethinkitmeanstobealeader.Preconceived

notionsregardingleadershipareoftentimesbasedonpersonalitytraits,behaviors,

andsocialidentities(Carnes,Houghton,&Ellison,2015;Hoyt&Murphy,2016;Foti,

Hansbrough,Epitropaki,&Coyle,2017).Theimplicitleadershiptheoryis

compatiblewiththepreviouslymentioned“idealworker”imagebyBierema(2016).

Leadersaretypicallyviewedasbeingwhiteandmale.Thesepreconceivednotions

automaticallyresultinbiasedperceptionsofpeoplewhodonotfittheimageofa

leadersuchasforminoritiesandwomen(Hoyt&Murphy,2016).

ScholarssuchasHeilman’s(1983&2001)lackoffitmodelandEaglyand

Karau’s(2002)rolecongruitytheoryofprejudicetowardfemaleleadershaveboth

expressedtheconceptthatwomendonotfittheimageoftheidealleader.The

femalegenderstereotypeismuchdifferentfromtheleadershiprole(Eagly&Karau,

2002&Heilman,2001).Genderstereotypesaregeneralizationsaboutthe

37

characteristicsofmenandwomenthatareviewedbysocietythancaninclude

descriptiveandprescriptivecomponents.Oneofthemostsignificantgender

stereotypesintermsofleadershipisthat“womentakecare”and“mentakecharge”

(Baker,2014;Eagly&Heilman,2016;Hoyt&Murphy,2016;Vongalis-Macrow,

2016).

Genderstereotypesunfortunatelycancausenegativeeffectsonawoman’s

career,whichcancontributetotheshortageofwomenseniorleadersinvarious

occupations(Hoyt&Murphy,2016).Womenwhoexperiencetheharmfuleffectsof

genderstereotypesearlyintheircareersmaynotaspiretoreachingleadership

positionsorpossiblyevenchangefieldstoanoccupationthatismoreacceptingor

tolerantofwomen(Edmundsetal.,2016;Hoyt&Murphy,2016).Thephenomenon

ofwomenswitchingcareersmidcareeriscurrentlybeingwitnessedintheITfield

(Way,2015).AlthoughWay’s(2015)phenomenologicalstudyof10womenwholeft

theirITcareersmidcareerdidnotspecificallyaddressgenderstereotypes,itdid,

however;findthatwomenwereleavingtheITfieldmidcareerduetoburnout,poor

work-lifebalance,andlackofmeaningintheirwork.Furtherstudyonthefactors

forwomenleavingITcareersinmidcareercouldprovidefurtherinsightthatshould

beconductedtofurtheranalyzethesefactors.

BarrierstoAdvancementForWomen

Therearemanybarrierstoadvancementthathinderwomenfromobtaining

seniorleadershippositionsintheirchosenfield(Elprana,Felfe,Stiehl,Gatzka,2015;

Rinconetal.,2017).Thelackofwomeninseniorpositionsmakesitevenmore

38

difficultforotherwomentoenterintoseniorlevelpositions(Howe-Walsh&

Turnball,2016).This,initself,isamajorbarriertoadvancementthatalthoughis

obvious,itcaneasilybeoverlookedasabarrier.Withthisbeingsaid,itishardfor

womenintheITfieldtoadvanceintoseniorleadershippositionswhenthereare

fewwomencurrentlyholdingthesepositionsnow.

Thework-familyroleconflictisamajorbarrierthatinhibitswomentryingto

obtainjobsandforwomentryingtoadvanceintoseniorleadershippositionsin

theirchosenfieldandparticularinmedicine,engineering,andtechnology(Uzoigwe,

Low,&Noor,2016).Uzoigweetal.,(2016)statedthatfactorssuchaslongwork

schedules,extensiveovertime,beingon-call,havingyoungchildren,beingpartofa

largefamily,takingcareofagingparents,andlivinginahouseholdwhereboth

spouseswork,genderroleideology,jobdemand,andworkoverloadallaffectthe

work-familyroleconflictexperiencedbywomen.Quantitativeresearchof42

medicaldoctors,54engineers,and77ITprofessionalsinNigeriabyUzoigweetal.,

(2016)concludedthatworkfactorsaffectthework-liferoleconflictmoresothan

familyfactors.Manypeoplewouldassumethathavingtocareforyoungchildren

wouldaffectawomen’scareeradvancement,however;inNigeria,familieslivein

extendedfamilysystems.Inthistypeoffamilyenvironment,marriedcoupleslivein

thesamehouseastheirparentsandpotentiallyauntsanduncles,andsiblings.This

typeoffamilysystemminimizeschildcaredilemmasforwomenastheyhave

relativesathomethatcancareforthechildren.

39

Althoughithasbeenresearchedextensivelyinbothacademiaandin

business,theglassceilingphenomenonisstillamajorbarrierforwomenespecially

inIT(UnitedStatesGlassCeilingCommission,1995;Berry,2014;Cook&Glass,

2013;Ezzedeen,Budworth,&Baker,2015;Fernadez&Campero,2017;Hennessey,

MacDonald,&Carroll,2014;Hurley&Choudhary,2016;Jafarey&Maiti,2015;

Javdani,2015,Ng&Sears,2017;Omran,Alizadeh,&Esmaeeli,2015;Sabharwal,

2013;Sahoo&Lenka,2016;Subramaniam,Khadri,Maniam,&Ali,2016).Thereare

numerousargumentsthatsuggestthattheglassceilingexistsbecauseofthe

differenceintheneedsofmenandwomen(Liu,2013;Alsono-Almedia,2014).The

reasonforthisargumentderivesfromthefactthatwomenmaynotbeinterestedin

ascendingthecorporateladderbecausetheymaybecontentwiththeirjob

functionsthatallowthemtointeractwithothers(Liu,2013).Theoverallhuman

connectionismorevaluablethanpossessingpowerthatcomeswithbeingina

seniorleadershipposition(Liu,2013).

Glassceilingbarrierscanbedividedintotwocategories:personalchallenges

andworkchallenges(Subramaniametal.,2016).Personalchallengeswouldconsist

offamilyobligationsanddemographicfactorswhereasworkchallengeswould

consistoflongworkhours,workculture,oradvancementopportunities.Inastudy

of300workingwomenbySubramaniametal.,(2016),womenreportedthatthey

feelsecureandacceptedwhentheirorganizationsareunderstandingofpersonal

andworkchallengesthataffectthem.Thiscreatesapositiveorganizationalculture

thatsignificantlyaffectscareeradvancement.Womenwhofeelvaluedand

40

appreciatedaremorepronetobecominginterestedinseniorleadershippositions,

desiretomoveupthecorporateladder,andobtainadditionaleducationtomake

themmorecompetitiveintheworkplace(Subramaniametal.,2016).

Barrierstoadvancementforwomenexistonvariouslevelsofsocietysuchas

individual,organizational,andsocietal(Diehl,2014;Liu,2013).Liu(2013)and

EaglyandCarli(2007),arguedtheconcretewall,theglassceiling,andlabyrinthare

threechallengesthatthatpreventwomenfrommovingupwardsintheircareers.

Balancingworkandfamilyresponsibilitiesisabarrierthatpreventswomenfrom

advancingonanindividuallevel(Diehl,2014;Socratous,Galloway,&Kamenou-

Aigbekaen,2016).Organizationalbarriersincludetokenism-orbeingtheonlyone,

beingexcludingfrominformalnetworks,lackofmentorshipopportunities,lackof

sponsorshipsalaryinequalities,genderdiscrimination,andworkplaceharassment

(Diehl,2014;Ibanez,2017).Onasocietallevel,barrierstoadvancementincludea

woman’sculture,thestereotypethatleadershipisdeemedasmasculine,andgender

stereotyping(Diehl,2014).

Workplacepracticessuchasabiasedhumanresourcesdepartment,

selection,traininganddevelopment,appraisals,andselectioncanworkagainst

women(Liu,2013).Previouspeer-reviewedresearchprovesthatwomenaremore

likelytobeexcludedfrommanagementtrainingprograms,asleadershiprolesare

deemedasbeingmasculine(Araujo-Pinzon,Alvarez-Dardet,Ramon-Jeronimo,

Florez-Lopez,2016)

41

AresearchstudybyDiehl(2014)capturedtheadversitiesandbarriersthat

womeninseniorleadershippositionsinhighereducationfacedthroughouttheir

careers.JustliketheITindustry,thehighereducationfieldalsolacksagreatdealof

womenseniorleaders.Theresultsofthisstudyconcludedthatthereisan

opportunityforgrowthforthosewhoareabletoovercomeadversityandother

barrierstoadvancement.Havingperspectiveallowedthewomenparticipantsto

turnnegativesituationsintopositiveonessothattheycouldmoveforwardwith

theircareeraspirationsandgoals(Diehl,2014).Someseniorleadershippositions

requireanindividualtobeinthepublicspotlight.Diehl(2014),concludedthat

womenseniorleaderswhowereabletomaintaintheirprivacytoaselectfewin

theirpersonalandprofessionalnetworkswereabletomaintaintheirpowerand

influenceatwork.

Veryfewstudieshavebeenconductedtoexplorehowwomen,themselves,

feelabouttheglassceiling.Resignation,acceptance,resilience,anddenialare

factorsthatwereidentifiedbySmith,Crittenden,andCaputi(2012)thatrelateto

women’sattitudesregardingtheglassceilingphenomenon.Havingresignationwas

oneofthekeyreasonswhywomengiveintoorganizationalandsocietalbarriers

thathinderthemfromadvancingintheircareers(Smithetal.,2012).Somewomen

acknowledgethatorganizationalbarriersexists,however;theyacceptthefactthat

theydonotneedtobeinaseniorleadershippositionsandnevermoveupintheir

careersbecausetheygaveup(Smithetal.,2012).Somewomendonotacknowledge

thattheglassceilingexistsbecausetheypossessresiliencethatallowedthemto

42

persevereinascendingintohigherpositions(Smithetal.,2012).Allinall,glass

ceilingbarriersgoagainstthecommonnotionthateducation,dedication,andhard

workwillleadtoabetterlifeintheAmericansociety.

Mentoring

Angel,Killacky,andJohnson(2013)statedthattheshortageofmentoringas

oneofthemainfactorsforthedeficiencyofwomenadvancingintosenior

leadershippositions.Over70%ofFortune500companiesusementoringtorecruit,

advance,andmaintaintheirtalentpoolsofmenandwomen(Kovnatska,2014).

Mentoringiscommonlydefinedasaprofessionalrelationshipwithsomeonewho

hasexperience(mentor)thattrainsandassistsanewprofessional(mentee)by

providingknowledgeandinsightthatwillallowthementeetogrowprofessionally

andpersonally.Tareef(2013)statedthatmentoringrelationshipsformwhena

moreskilledprofessionalactsasinasupportingandconsultingroletoanother

personwhoislessexperiencedinthefield.Theconceptofmentoringcanbe

witnessedinGreekmythologyinHomer’sOdyssey(Kovnatska,2014).Mentorwas

anelderteachertoKingOdysseuswhowasentrustedhishouseholdtohimwhilehe

wasfightingintheTrojanWar.Duringthistime,Mentorbecameateacherand

advisortoKingOdysseus’sonTelemachus.Overtime,thewordmentorevolvedto

meanteacher,friend,andadvisor.

Mentoringisoftenintertwinedwithcorporatemanagementtraining

programs,however;managementtrainingprogramsaremorefocusedonlearning

skillsforthespecificjobthattheywillbedoingaswellaslearningaboutthe

43

companytheyareworkingfor.Asamutualrelationship,mentoringtakesplaceover

timewithscheduledinteractionssetbythementorandmentee(Haggard,2012&

Ambrosetti,2014).

Thethreemaintypesofmentoringthatcansupportaperson’spersonaland

professionalaspirationsarepeermentoring,familysupportmentoring,and

collaborativementoring.Researchdemonstratesthattherearenumerous

advantagestopeermentoring,whicheventuallyleadstoincreasedleadership

opportunities.Menteeshavestatedthattheypossessahighersenseofconfidencein

theirabilitiesduetobeingmentoredbyaprofessionalintheirindustry(Bynum,

2015).Also,menteeshavereportedthattheyhaveabetterunderstandingof

industryapplicationsandinsightaswellasamuchbetterunderstandingto

personalandprofessionalcareergrowthandaspirations(Bynum,2015).

Peermentoringisverycommonintheworkplaceasthementororeventhe

menteecanseekoutsomeonewhoisinasimilarjobpositionorisaroundthesame

age.Sharingprofessionalandpersonalsimilaritiescanmakeiteasierforthe

mentor-menteerelationshiptoconnectwitheachother.Havingapeermentorcan

providecomforttothementeewhomaybenewtoajobfunction,department,or

organizationasawhole.Thistypeofrelationshipcanprovidemoralsupportwhen

tryingtobalancepersonalandprofessionalresponsibilities(Bynum,2015,Russoet

al.,2017).

Outofthethreetypesofmentoringstructures,womenhaveidentifiedthat

familymentoringprovidesthemwiththemostencouragementandsupport

44

(Bynum,2015).Womenwhoaremarriedreportedthatthesupportoftheirspouse

helpedthemindealingwithseparationandisolationwhenstartingnewjob

positions(Bynum,2015).Familymembersmaynotunderstandthetasksofajob,

buttheyareabletoprovideencouragementandsupport(Russo,etal.,2017).

Mentoringhasevolvedtotakeplacein-personface-to-face,overthe

telephone,orevenvirtuallywiththeuseofweb-basedcommunicationsapplications

duetotimeconstraintsandworkinginamoreglobalizedsociety.Amoreglobalized

societyallowsforanewconcept,collaborativeorgroupmentoring.Collaborative

mentoringallowsformorethanoneprofessionaltomentorthelessexperienced

mentee.Thistypeofmentoringallowsforthediversityinworkingwithvarious

mentors.Thementeeisabletogetawidevarietyofviewpointsandsupportfrom

havingmorethanonementor.Collaborativementoringconsistsofcollaboration,

shareddecisionmaking,andsystemsthinking(Bynum,2015;Kochan&Trimble,

2000).Menteeswhohavetakenpartincollaborativementoringaresaidtopossess

dominanttraitsoftransformationalleadership(Kuchynkova,2013).Womenare

reportedtobemorepronetobetransformationalleaderscomparedtomen.

Althoughtherehasbeenalittletonoresearchregardingthementoringof

seniorwomenwhoworkintheITfield,othermaledominatedfieldssuchashigher

educationadministrationisadvocatingforthepositivebenefitsofmentoringfor

womenwhoaspiretoreachhighereducationleadershippositions.Inorderfor

highereducationalinstitutionstoberelevant,theymusttrynewformsof

45

leadership,whichmayrequirethemtoconsidernewleaderssuchaswomen(Block

&Tietjen-Smith,2016;Hannah,Muhly,Schockley-Zalaback,&White,2015).

BlockandTietjen-Smith(2016)arguedthatthereisashortageofwomen

seniorleadersandinparticular,inthehighereducationadministrationfield

becausethereisalackofsame-genderrolemodelstobementors.Thisargument

coincideswithapreviouslymentionedargumentbyHowe-Walsh&Turnball

(2016),whichstated“thelackofwomeninseniorpositionsmakesitevenmore

difficultforotherwomentoenterintoseniorlevelpositions”.Insimplerterms,one

candeducethatwomenarenotgoingtobeattractedtoaparticularjoborfieldif

therearenototherwomendoingthistypeofwork.Thesocialcognitivetheory

concludesthatpeoplewillmimicandfollowbehaviorsthattheyhavelearnedin

theirsocialenvironment.ItisdifficultforwomentogravitatetothefieldofITif

therearenototherwomeninhighernumbersdoingthistypeofwork.

ResearchMethodology

Whenconsideringthechoiceofresearchmethodologytogowith,whetherit

isqualitativeorquantitative,variousfactorssuchasthelogicbehindeachmethod

wascritical.Theresearchmethodologyismuchwiderthantheresearchapproach

thatwillbeusedforthestudy(Vagle,2014).Thisresearchstudyutilizeda

qualitativemethodologywithatranscendentalphenomenologicalapproach.

Qualitativeresearchseekstounderstandandexplorebyanalyzingandcomparing

differentaccountsinvarioussettings(Park&Park,2016).Thistypeofresearchis

46

focusedonappliedandtheoreticalfindingsbasedonthegivenresearchquestion

throughfieldstudyinnaturalenvironments(Park&Park,2016).

Quantitativeresearchisusedtopredictandcontrolsocialphenomena(Park

&Park,2014).Researchersmeasure,evaluate,andmakegeneralizationsofagiven

populationandencouragerepetitionofthestudyinquantitativeresearch(Gray&

Milne,2015).Forthesereasons,conductingaquantitativeresearchstudywasruled

outbasedonthestatedresearchquestionofthisstudy:Whatistheessenceofthe

livedprofessionalandpersonalexperiencesofwomenintheircareeradvancement,

whichledtothemtoachievetheirseniorlevelpositionsintheITfield?Theresearch

questionseekedtounderstandandexplorehumanbehavior,whichare

characteristicsofqualitativeresearchthatallowedtheresearchertoconduct

interviewsfortheunderstandingofattitudesandopinions.

Phenomenologyseekstounderstandthelifeofhumanexperiencesasitis

lived(Moerer-Urdhal&Creswell,2004).Thephenomenonthatwasstudiedwasthe

careeradvancementofwomenseniorleadersintheITfield.Transcendental

phenomenologyisoneoftwophilosophicalassumptionsaboutexperienceandways

toorganizeandanalyzephenomenologicaldata(Moerer-Urdahl&Creswell,2004).

Hermenuticalphenomenologystudiesthelivedexperiencesastheyarerevealedin

consciousness.Thistypeofphenomenologyismoredescriptivethaninterpretive

liketranscendentalphenomenology(Vagle,2014).Comparedtohermeneutic

phenomenology,transcendentalphenomenologyfocusesonmeaningsthatanalyze

thehumanexperience(Moerer-Urdahl,1994).Transcendentalphenomenology

47

reductiontakeseachexperienceandconsidersitinitssingularity,inandforitself

(Moustakas,1994).Moustakas(1994)states“thephenomenonisperceivedand

describedinitstotality,inafreshandopenway”(p.33).Transcendental

phenomenologyreductionallowstheresearchertoderiveatextualdescriptionof

themeaningsandessencesofthephenomenon,theparticipantsthatexperiencethe

phenomenon,andthevantagepointofanopenself(Moustakas,1994).

DataAnalysis

Moustakas(1994)recommendedthemodifiedStevick-Colaizzi-Keenmethod

andthemodifiedVanKaammethodfordataanalysisofphenomenologicalstudies.

ThefollowingstepsareincludedinthemodifiedStevick-Colaizzi-Keenmethodas

recommendedbyMoustakas(1994):

1. Considertheimportanceofthedescriptionoftheexperiencefrom

eachstatement

2. Recordallimportantstatements

3. Listeachinvariantmeaningsoftheexperience

4. Relateandclustertheinvariantunitsintothemes

5. Synthesizetheinvariantmeaningsandthemesintodescriptions

6. Reflectonyourowntexturaldescriptions

7. Createatextural-structuraldescriptionofthemeanings

ThefollowingstepsareincludedinthemodifiedVanKaammethodas

recommendedbyMoustakas(1994):

48

1. Listandgroupallcompletedtranscriptsthatareobtainedduringdata

collection

2. Clusterthedataintoinvariantconstituentsandrelevantthemes

3. Identifyinvariantconstituentsandrelevantthemesinorderto

organizethegroupingstranscribedfromtheinterviews

4. Formtextural-structuraldescriptionsofthemeaningsandessences

oftheexperiencemergingboththeinvariantconstituentsandthemes

5. Usethethemestodeterminethemeaningofthelivedexperiences

thatinvolvedthekeyfindingsandrecommendationsforthestudy.

ThemodifiedVanKaammethodallowsforthedatatobereviewedasawhole

comparedtothemodifiedStevick-Colaizzi-Keenmethodthatanalyzeseach

statementindividuallytoproducethemesandpatterns.ThemodifiedVanKaam

methodwillbeusedtoanalyzethedataforthisstudy.

Summary and Conclusions

ThischapterprovidedadetailedreviewoftheliteratureonITfield,male

dominatedindustries,STEMcareers,andwomeninleadership.Thereviewincluded

adiscussionofthesocialcognitivetheoryandself-efficacy,whichwasthe

conceptualframeworkusedforthestudy.Theliteraturesupportedtherationale

andreasoningforthisresearchstudy.Anextensivereviewoftheliterature

supportedthatwomenandespeciallywomenintheITfieldareunderrepresentedin

seniorleadershippositions.

49

Womenandmenhavedifferentleadershipstylesandtraits.Ithasbeen

arguedthatwomenareunderrepresentedinseniorlevelpositionsduetotheir

leadershipstyles(Hoyt&Murphy,2016;Rincónetal.,2017).Menareproneto

prioritizetheirleadershipapproachesprimarilybyfocusingonthetaskathand,

whereaswomentendtofocusmoreonpeopleandrelationships.Maletask-focused

leadershipwasviewedasmoreprominentandvisiblebyotherswhereasfemale

people-focusedleadershipwasviewedasasupportingrole(Rincónetal.,2017).On

theotherhand,researchershavesuggestedthateffectiveleadershipinvolvesa

combinationoftraitsfrombothmenandwomensuchasinspiringandmotivating

people,abilitytopersuadeothers,empathy,integrity,risk-taking,andintelligence

(Hoyt&Murphy,2016;Rinónetal.,2017).

Thisstudyfilledavoidinmanagementandleadershipbydemonstratinga

betterunderstandingofhowwomenareabletoadvancetoseniorleadership

positionsintheITfield.Atthepresenttime,thereislittletonoresearchonthe

advancementofwomenintoseniorleadershippositionsintheITfield(Smith,

2013).Theimplicationsforthisstudymayalsofillagapinotheradvancementfields

forwomenbesidestheITfieldthatmightbeappliedtothosesituations.Theresults

ofthisstudymayassistotherwomeninterestedinleadershippositionsintheIT

fieldbydescribingthewomenleaders’careerpathswhoarecurrentlyinleadership

positionsinthefield.

Chapter2providedanexhaustivereviewoftheliterature,whichuncovered

barrierstoadvancement,stereotypes,andvariousviewpointsregardingworking

50

womeninthefieldofIT.TheconstructionandSTEMfieldswereanalyzedinthe

literaturereviewtodemonstratesimilaritieswomenfaceinothermaledominated

fields.Chapter3providesamoredetailedexplanationofwhyaqualitativestudy

wasselectedoveraquantitativestudy,aclearunderstandingofhowthe

participantswereselected,howthedatawascollectedandanalyzed.

51

Chapter 3: Research Method



understandingoftheircareeradvancementintoseniorleadershippositions.I

focusedonwomenwhocurrentlyworkintheITfieldandareinseniorleadership

positions.Ibeginthischapterwithprovidingtherationaleforselectingtheresearch

designfollowedbyadetaileddiscussionofthetranscendentalphenomenological

approach.Next,theroleoftheresearcherandtheresearchmethodologyare

addressed.Theresearchmethodologyincludesparticipationselectionlogic,

samplingstrategy,instrumentation,interviewscript,demographicquestionnaire,

andproceduresforrecruitment,participation,anddatacollection.Thechapter

concludeswithanaddressofissuesoftrustworthinessandethicalprocedures.

Research Design and Rationale



understandingoftheircareeradvancementintoseniorleadershippositions.The

primaryobjectiveofclassictranscendentalphenomenologicalresearchisto

understandthelivedexperiencesofanindividual.Livedexperiencescanincludean

individual’slivedspace,livedbody,livedtime,andlivedhumanrelations(Willis,

Sullivan-Bolyai,Knafl,&Cohen,2016).Inthisstudy,thelivedexperiencewasin

regardtothephenomenonofcareeradvancementofwomenseniorleadersintheIT

industry.Duetotheprimaryfocusofthelivedexperiencesoftheindividual,

52

transcendentalphenomenologicalresearchseekstoanswertheresearchquestion,

whichwas:

RQ1:Whatistheessenceofthelivedprofessionalandpersonalexperiences

ofwomenintheircareeradvancement,whichledtothemtoachievetheseniorlevel

positionsintheITfield?

Selectingatranscendentalphenomenologicalapproachwasthebestoption

forthisstudybecauseitenabledtheexplorationofthelivedexperiencesofthe

statedphenomenon,whichinthiscasewasthecareeradvancementofwomen

seniorleadersintheITfield.Lebenswelt(lifeworld)isaconcept,whichmeansthe

worldofeverydaylivedexperiencesistheprimaryfoundationofphenomenological

studies(Anosike,Ehrich,&Ahmed,2012).Thephenomenologicaldesignwasused

toanalyzeanindividual’slifeworldastheparticipantsharestheirexperienceswith

thephenomenonunderstudy(Gill,2014).

Hermeneuticphenomenologyandtranscendentalphenomenologyaretwo

philosophicalassumptionsaboutexperiencesandwaystoorganizeandanalyze

phenomenologicaldata(Moerer-Urdahal).Theprimaryfocusofhermeneutic

phenomenologyistheinterpretationofthemeaningsofthelivedexperiencesofthe

participants(Gill,2014).Gill(2014)statedthataparticipant’scultureandtraditions

developthebasisforunderstandinglivedexperiences.Aninterpretiveapproachto

studyinghumanexistencerefutesthelikelihoodoffullyisolatedreflectionand

therebydisputesHusserl’s(2012)ideaofbracketingpresuppositionstoarticulate

anessence.

53

Comparedtohermeneuticphenomenology,transcendentalphenomenology

focusesonmeaningsthatanalyzethehumanexperience(Moerer-Urdahl,1994).

Transcendentalphenomenologyreductiontakeseachexperienceandconsidersitin

itssingularity,inandforitself(Moustakas,1994).Moustakas(1994)stated“the

phenomenonisperceivedanddescribedinitstotality,inafreshandopenway”

(p.33).Transcendentalphenomenologyreductionallowstheresearchertoderivea

textualdescriptionofthemeaningsandessencesofthephenomenon,the

participantsthatexperiencethephenomenon,andthevantagepointofanopenself

(Moustakas,1994).Transcendentalphenomenologyhasthecharacteristicsof

descriptive,findingessences,usingareductionmethod,andintentionality(Giorgi,

2010).

Thenarrativeapproachwasnotasuitablefitforthisstudybecauseitfocused

onstoriestoldbytheparticipantabouttheirexperiencestheyfacedthroughouthis

orherlifetime.Thistypeofstudyissuitableforstudiesthatinvolvebiographical

researchwiththeassumptionthatpeopleorganizetheirlivedexperiencesinto

stories(Hamilton,Cruz,&Jack,2017).Duetotheextensivestorytellingneededto

collectdata,thenarrativeapproachistypicallylimitedtooneortwoparticipants.

Afterreviewingthecomponentsofthenarrativeapproach,thetranscendental

phenomenologicalapproachwasamoresuitableoptionbecausemoreparticipants

canbeselectedtoprovideinsightintotheirlivedexperiencescomparedtoasample

sizeofoneortwoparticipants.

54

Ethnographyfocusesongroupswithasharedcultureorpatterns(Sohn,

2017).Thisapproachiscommonlyusedinthefieldsofanthropologyandsociology.

Datacollectionistypicallyconductedinthenaturalsettingsoftheparticipants.The

ethnographyapproachdidnotworkforthisstudybecauseitrequiredagreatdealof

timeinthefieldandfailedtoanswertheresearchquestionconcerningthelived

experiencesofwomenseniorintheITfield.

Beingthattherewasnotareal-worldcaseavailabletoanalyze,acasestudy

couldnothaveworkedtounderstandthelivedexperienceofwomenseniorleaders

intheITfield.Casestudiesarecommoninthefieldofpsychology.Participantsmay

includeacompany,group,program,oranissue(Tsang,2013).Datacollectionis

obtainedbyconductingnumerousinterviews,fieldobservation,andanalyzing

internaldocuments,artifacts,andreports(Tsang,2013).

Last,thegroundedtheoryapproachwasnotsuitedforthisstudyasthegoal

ofthistypeofstudyistodevelopanewtheorygroundedintheresearch.A

researcherusingthegroundedtheorymustadoptanaturalisticandinterpretive

stancetotheworld(Staller,2012).Thegroundedtheoryapproachrequiresalarge

populationsizeandendswithagroundedhypothesisthatundergoesadditional

testing,whichcanbequalitativeorquantitative(Cunliffe,2011).

Thetranscendentalphenomenologicalapproachwasselectedforthisstudy

becauseitisbestsuitedtoassistinansweringresearchquestion:Whatisthe

essenceofthelivedprofessionalandpersonalexperiencesofwomenintheircareer

advancement,whichledtothemtoachievetheirseniorlevelpositionsintheIT

55

field?Aquantitativestudycannotanswerthisresearchquestionduetothefactthat

thedataoutputisnumericalinnatureandcanbeusedstatisticallytoderiveto

conclusionsaboutthedata.Whereasdatacollectionforaquantitativestudy

typicallyiscollectedwiththeuseofasurveyinstrument,aqualitativestudyutilizes

aninterviewasitsprimaryformofdatacollection.Thetranscendental

phenomenologicalapproachenabledtheresearchertobeabletoconduct

semistructuredinterviewstolearnabouttheparticipant’slivedexperiences.

Role of the Researcher

Myroleasaresearcherduringthisstudywastobeaninterviewerand

observerwhilebeingfairandobjectiveduringtheentireprocess.Irecruitedthe

participantsforthisstudythroughmypersonalLinkedInnetwork.Ichoose

potentialresearchparticipantswhoIhavenotpersonallyworkedwith,managed,or

havebeeninchargeofadepartmentthatmayhaveincludedtheparticipant.

Epocheistheprocessofsettingasideone’spriorjudgmentandknowledgein

ordertobeopentounderstandingthephenomenoninafresh,unbiasedmanner

(Moustakas,1994).ItwasimportantthatIsetmyownpersonalfeelingsandbias

asidesothatitdidnotaffectthedatacollectionordataanalysis.Inordertosetmy

personalfeelingsandbiasasideduringthestudy,Iusedjournalingtodocumentmy

personalreflectionswitheachparticipant.Journalingisusedbyresearchersto

eliminatebiasduringandafterinterviews(Spowart&Kairn,2014).

56

Methodology

Participant Selection Logic

Inthisstudy,theparticipantswerepurposefullyselectedbasedonthefact

thattheywouldbeabletoanswertheresearchquestion.Inpurposivesampling,

subjectsareselectedbasedoncertaincharacteristics(Patton,1990,pg.169-186).

Participantsforthisstudyhadtomeetallofthefollowingrequirementsinorderto

participateinthisstudy:



positionssuchaschiefexecutiveofficer(CEO),chiefoperationsofficer

(COO),chiefinformationofficer(CIO),chieftechnologyofficer(CTO),

vicepresidentofIT(VPofIT)anddirectorandmanageriallevel

positions)

2. Workincurrentrolefor2ormoreyears

3. LiveandworkinthecontinentalUnitedStates

Polkinghorne(1989)recommendedthat5to25participantsbeinterviewed

whohaveallexperiencedthephenomenonhowever,thereisnotanyoneset

numberofparticipantsotherthansuggestedsizes.Atargetsamplesizeof15was

determinedformystudytoreachdatasaturation,whichisthepointatwhich

participantsstartrepeatingthesameorsimilarresponsestointerviewquestions.

Datasaturationisthepointtodiscontinuecollectingdata(Saundersetal.,2018).

FuschandNess(2015)positedthatthequalityoftheresearchisaffectedifdata

57

saturationisnotreached.Iwillknowthatdatasaturationhasbeenreachedwhen

participant’sexperiencesthemesduringthedatacollectionprocessstarttorepeat

themselves.Participantswererecruitedviaprivatechatmessagingthroughmy

personalLinkedInnetwork.

Othersamplingstrategiesthatwereconsideredforthistranscendental

phenomenologicalstudywerequotasamplingandsnowballsampling.Forquota

sampling,participantquotasaresetinadvancedsothattheresearchercantargeta

setpopulationfordatacollection.Snowballingsamplingreliesoncurrent

participantstorecommendpotentialparticipantstotheresearcher.Thissampling

strategywasnotsuitableforthisstudybecausetherewasagreatdealof

uncertaintyinknowingiftherewillbeenoughparticipantstointerview.

Selectingapurposefulsamplewasthebestfitforthisstudytoanswerthe

researchquestion:Whatistheessenceofthelivedprofessionalandpersonal

experiencesofwomenintheircareeradvancement,whichledtothemtoachieve

theirseniorlevelpositionsintheITfield?Apurposefulsampleenabledmetoselect

participantsthatweremostaffectedbyaspecificissue(Valerioetal.,2016).

UponIRBapprovalfromWaldenUniversity,IsentLinkedInmessenger

invitestoprospectiveparticipantstothestudy(seeAppendixA).Prospective

participantswereidentifiedandsolicitedwithinmyprofessionalsocialmedia

networksinLinkedIn.OnLinkedIn,Ireviewedthejobfieldsofthewomenthatwere

alreadyincludedinmypersonalnetwork.Icontactedthefirst30womenviathe

LinkedInmessagesystemwithaninvitationtoparticipateinthestudy(see

58

AppendixA).ThirtyisarandomnumberthatIpickedknowingthatsome

individualsmayormaynotreplytotheinvitation.Oncesevendayshadpassed,I

sentoutnewinvitestoanewgroupofprospectiveparticipantsifnoreplieswere

madefromthepreviousmessagesthatweresentout.Amessagereplybackfroma

participantstating“Iconsent’informedmethattheywantedtobeincludedinthe

study.Onceconsentwasreceived,Idocumentedtheparticipant’semailaddressin

myresearchrecordsandthenscheduledaninterviewwiththemwithin24hours.

Datasaturationwasinitiallyestimatedtobereachedat15participants,butit

wasactuallyreachedaftertheninthparticipant.Iacceptedatotalof15women

seniorleaderparticipantsinordertofollowtheprojectedestimateofparticipants

forthestudy.Afterthe15thparticipanthadbeenrecruitedandinterviewed,I

informedallwomenwhoexpressedinterestinthestudythattherecruitment

processhadconcluded.

Instrumentation

Phenomenologyresearchstudiesusethepersonalinterviewtocollectdata

fromparticipants.Thistypeofinterviewgivestheresearchertheabilitytocollect

datausingaduplicative,open-endedapproachthatencouragestheparticipantto

describetheirexperiencesinasemistructuredmanner(Moustakas,1994).

Comparedtoasurveyquestionnaireinterviewthatallowsforconsistentreplies

throughouttheresponses,theinterviewprotocolforatranscendental

phenomenologicalinterviewisthesetupofaconversationbetweenresearcherand

researchparticipantwiththeoverarchingquestionaskedandiftheanswersarenot

59

addressedfromtheopen-endedquestionsspontaneousprobingquestionsbythe

interviewer.

Theresearchersoughttoobtainadetaileddescriptionoftheexperienceand

understandthesignificanceofthephenomenonthroughtheeyesoftheparticipant

(Leedy&Ormrod,2005).Bydoingso,theresearcheravoidedaskingquestionsthat

wouldautomaticallyclassifythephenomenonintopre-definedcategoriesorthemes

whileremainingexposedtofirsthandandunforeseeninfluencesthatcameup

duringtheinterview(Polkinghorne,1989).

Fortranscendentalphenomenologicalstudies,conductingaface-to-face

interview,whichhasahighresponserateofupto80%,isanacceptablewayto

gatherdatatoansweropen-endedquestionstoexplorethephenomenonbeing

studiedandobtainothernewinformation(Singleton&Straits,2005).Duetothe

lackoffundingtobeabletointervieweachparticipantface-to-facein-personand

timeconstraints,IsignedupforafreevideoconferencingaccountwithSkypewith

thesolepurposeofinterviewingparticipantswhochooseavideointerviewovera

phoneinterview.Conductinginterviewsoverthetelephoneisalowcostoption

comparedin-personface-to-faceinterviews,whichcouldincludetravel,

administrativeexpenses,andparticipantcompensationexpenses.Adisadvantageof

theuseofatelephoneinterviewisthatparticipantsmaybehesitanttodiscuss

personalinformationiftheyarenotinanenvironmentwheretheycanseeandbuild

arapportwiththeresearcher(Singleton&Straits,2005).

60

Interview Protocol

Inordertoguidetheinterviewconversation,afewpromptswerecreatedin

accordancewiththeproceduredefinedbyMoustakas(1994)andPolkinghorne

(1989).Aninterviewprotocolwascreatedandusedbytheresearcher(see

AppendixB)fortheinterviewprocess.Theinterviewprotocolconsistedofan

introductiontothestudy,sixdemographicquestions,researchquestion,and

conclusion.Theresearchquestionproducedadetaileddescriptionofthe

participant’sexperienceofthephenomenon.Theprotocolwasusedinthesame

sequenceandmannerforeachparticipant.Thepurposeoftheinterviewprotocol

wastoensureasystematicapproachtoeachinterviewconductedbetweenthe

researcherandtheparticipant.Byusinganinterviewprotocol,Iensuredthe

organizationofthedatacollectionandthateachparticipantwasreceivingthesame

informationeachtimeaninterviewwasconducted.

Procedures for Recruitment, Participation, and Data Collection

ThepopulationforthisstudyincludedwomenleadersworkingintheITfield.

Fifteenwomenparticipantswereinterviewedforthisstudy.Therewasalistof

requirementsthatparticipantsmusthavemetinordertoqualifytoparticipatein

thestudy.Thefirstrequirementwasthattheparticipanthadtobeafemalesenior

leadercurrentlyworkingintheITfieldwithajobtitleofpresident,vicepresident,

C-levelpositionssuchaschiefexecutiveofficer(CEO),chiefoperationsofficer

(COO),chieftechnologyofficer(CTO),directorandmanageriallevelpositions.The

secondrequirementwasthattheparticipantmusthaveworkedinhercurrentrole

61

fortwoyearsormore.Lastly,theparticipantmusthavelivedandworkedinthe

continentalUnitedStates.

UponIRBapprovalfromWaldenUniversity,IsentoutLinkedInemailinvites

toprospectiveparticipantstothestudy(seeAppendixA).Prospectiveparticipants

wereidentifiedandsolicitedwithinmyprofessionalnetworkonLinkedIn.Thegoal

forthisstudywastohaveatleast15womenseniorleaderparticipants.Istartedthe

participantrecruitmentprocessbycontactingatleast30womenwiththerationale

thatsomepeoplewoulddecline,notreplytotheemailinvite,orreplybutdidnot

qualify.

DataAnalysisPlan

Datacollectionforalloftheparticipantinterviewswasconductedviaaone-

hourtelephone.NooneoptedtocompletetheirinterviewviaSkype.Allparticipants

gavetheirconsenttohavetheaudiorecordedwiththeuseofataperecorder.A

secondarytaperecordingdevicewasavailableintheeventthatthefirstrecording

devicemalfunctioned.Datacollectionfortranscendentalphenomenologicalstudies

isderivedfromfirst-personaccountsduringinformalone-to-oneinterviews,which

aretranscribedandanalyzedforthemes,patterns,andcontextualmeanings

(Roberts,2013).Inordertomakesurethatthedatacollectionprocesswas

effectivelyfacilitated,Iensuredthateveryparticipantwasscheduledforaparticular

dateandtimeslottocompletetheirinterview.Eachparticipantwasemailedor

messagedacopyof“ParticipantInvitationandConsentForm”toreview(see

AppendixB).

62

Theresearcheriskeyinanalyzingandattachingmeaningtothelived

experiencesandthisstudywasthroughthetranscendentalviewoftheworld.

Transcendentalphenomenologyreductiontakeseachexperienceandconsidersitin

itssingularity,inandforitself(Moustakas,1994).Moustakas(1994)stated“the

phenomenonisperceivedanddescribedinitstotality,inafreshandopenway”

(p.33).Transcendentalphenomenologyreductionallowstheresearchertoderivea

textualdescriptionofthemeaningsandessencesofthephenomenon,the

participantsthatexperiencethephenomenon,andthevantagepointofanopenself

(Moustakas,1994).

Oncethetelephoneinterviewswerecompleted,Itranscribedtheaudio

recordingswiththeuseofNVivo12Transcriptionsoftware.Icompletedthe

membercheckingprocessbyemailingeachparticipantacopyoftheirwritten

transcriptoftheirtelephoneinterviewforthemtoreviewandverify.Oncethe

interviewtranscriptswereapprovedbyeachparticipant,IuploadedthemtoNivio

12fordatacodingandanalysis.Ireadthrougheachinterviewtranscriptmultiple

timestobecomefamiliarwiththedatathatwascollected(Stuckey,2015).

ThedataanalysiswascompletedusingthemodifiedVanKaammethodas

recommendedbyMoustakas(1994).Thismethodenabledmetolookforpatterns

andthemestodrawconclusionsregardingtheparticipant’sexperiencestoaddress

thestudy’sresearchquestion.Iwasabletoprovidetexturalandstructural

guidelinesbeforeusingtheNVivo12qualitativesoftwareprogram.Thefollowing

stepsweretakeninordertoanalyzethedatausingthemodifiedVanKaammethod:

63

1. Listedandgroupedallcompletedtranscriptsthatwereobtained

duringdatacollection

2. Clusteredthedataintoinvariantconstituentsandrelevantthemes

3. Identifiedinvariantconstituentsandrelevantthemesinorderto


4. Formedtextural-structuraldescriptionsofthemeaningsandessences


5. Usedthethemestodeterminethemeaningofthelivedexperiences

thatinvolvedthekeyfindingsandrecommendationsforthestudy

(Moustakas,1994,p.121)

Issues of Trustworthiness

Intranscendentalphenomenologicalresearch,validityismeasuredbythe

abilityoftheresearchertoconvincereadersthattheresearchfindingsareaccurate

(Polkinghorne,1989).Theresearcherhastoprovethatthereisasynthesisofraw

datathatwascollectedinthefieldtomeaningfulthemes.Thissynthesisofdata

mustbedisplayedinageneralstructuraldescription.

Validitywasachievedwhentheresearcherconvincesreadersthatcommon

themesandexamplescollectedsupportthestructuraldescription(Polkinghorne,

1989).Interviewerinfluenceonparticipantdescription,transcriptionaccuracy,bias

intranscriptionanalysis,traceabilitybetweengeneralfundamentaldescriptionsan

specificaccountsoftheexperience,andgeneralizabilityofthestructuraldescription

64

toothersituationsareallissuesthatneedtobeaddressedtoensurevalidity

(Polkinghorne,1989).

Iwentthroughaprocessofself-reflectionorbracketingbeforeeach

interviewinordertochannelassumptionsthatcouldinfluencemyabilitytothink

objectivelywhileconductingtheinterviewswiththeparticipants.Thisprocessof

self-reflectionallowedmetoaddressanypreconceivednotionsandbiasImayhave

hadbeforeeachparticipantinterview.Usingthesemistructuredinterviewquestions

duringtheinterviewprocessallowedforanopendiscussionwiththeparticipant,

whichallowedthemtodetailtheirpersonalandcareerexperiencesusingtheirown

voice(Polkinghorne,1989).Whileinterviewingparticipants,Iensuredthatmy

responsesweremanagedsothattheywerenotinterpretedasswayingthe

participanttoprovideresponsesregardingtheirexperiencesthatwerenottrue.

Iensuredtheaccuracyofthetranscriptionoftheaudiocontenttowritten

formbydoingthefollowing:

• IdevelopedaversionofthetranscriptionusingNVivo12

• Ireviewedeverywrittentranscriptforaccuracyandcompleteness

againsttheaudioversionwhenapplicable.Iftherewereanywords

thatwereunclear,theyweremarkedforfollow-upthattookplace

withtheparticipant.

• Acompletedinterviewtranscriptwaspreparedandsharedwiththe

participant.Theparticipantwasabletomakechanges,edits,deletions

ofsections,andoroptoutofthestudyifdesired.

65

• Onlyapproveddatabytheparticipantwasincludedinthestudy

Credibility

Thecredibilityofastudyisoneofthemostimportantaspectsof

trustworthiness.Credibilityensuresthattheresearcherisconnectingtheresearch

findingswiththerealworldinordertoprovetheresearchstudy’sfindings.There

aremanytechniquesthatcanbeappliedtoestablishcredibility.Triangulationand

membercheckingarethetwoimportanttechniquesusedbymeinthisstudy.

Triangulationisatechniquethatallowstheresearcherinaqualitativestudy

tousevarioussourcesinordertoobtainamoredetailedunderstandingofa

phenomenon.Thesesourcescanincludetheories,observation,anddataanalysis.

Theuseoftriangulationcanhelparesearcherunderstandmisleadingaspectsofa

phenomenon.Therearefourtypesoftriangulation,whichincludedata

triangulation,theoreticaltriangulation,researchertriangulation,and

methodologicaltriangulation.Iuseddatatriangulationforthisstudy.

Memberchecking,whichisalsoknownasparticipantorrespondent

verificationistheprocessofinterviewing,reviewing,andverifyingdatacollected

fromaparticipant.Thisprocessensuresthatresearcher’svoiceandbiasarenot

includedinthedatacollection.Membercheckingcantakeplaceatthevery

beginningofaninterviewandendofaninterview.Byusingthistechnique,I

ensuredthattheyweretrulycapturingthephenomenonasexplainedbythe

participant.

66

Transferability

Transferabilityinqualitativeresearchreferstohowtheresultsofaresearch

studycanbetransferredoutsidethestudy.Inotherwords,transferabilitysuggests

thattheresultsofaparticularstudycanbeapplicabletosimilarsituationsand

phenomenon.Qualitativestudiesaretypicallynotgeneralizableasthereisno

statisticaldataavailable.Comparedtoaquantitativestudy,qualitativeresearch

studiestypicallyhavesmallersamplesizepopulationsthatmakeitdifficulttoimply

generalizationsabouttheresearchresults.

Dependability

Thedependabilityofastudyreferstotheconsistencyofastudy.The

researcherdocumentedanddetailedeachstepoftheresearchprocessofthestudy

sothatanotherresearchercouldduplicatethestudyandproducethesameresults.

Properdocumentationoftheresearchprocessanddatacollectionensured

dependability.

Confirmability

Itwasimportantduringtheresearchprocessandespeciallyduringthedata

collectionanddataanalysisphasesthattheresearcherkeptherownpersonalbias

outofthestudy.Theconfirmabilityofthestudyverifiedthattheresultsofthestudy

wereinfluencedsolelybytheparticipant’svoiceandnotbytheresearcher’sown

personalbias.Inordertoproduceconfirmability,theresearcherprovedand

successfullylinkedthedatacollection,dataanalysisandresearchconclusions

together.

67

Confidentiality and Ethical Procedures

ThisresearchstudycommenceduponapprovalofWaldenUniversityIRB.

Thecertificationnumberis(05-06-19-0485770).Prospectiveparticipantswhomet

theresearchrequirementswereemailedacopyofthe“ParticipantInvitationand

ConsentForm”.Oncetheyrepliedback“Iconsent”tobeingincludedinthestudy,I

repliedbacktothemwithin24hourstoscheduletheirtelephoneorvideo

conferencinginterview.Beforetheinterviewstarted,eachparticipantwasaskedif

theyconsentedtobeingaudiorecordedforresearchpurposes.Participantswere

informedatthebeginningoftheinterviewthattheywereabletowithdrawfromthe

studyverballyorinwritingatanytimewithoutpenalty.Allparticipants’personal

informationandidentitieswerekeptconfidentialandnotsharedwithanyoneelse.

Alldatacollectionitemssuchaswritteninterviewnotesbytheresearcherand

audiorecordingswerekeptinalockedbox.After5years,theseitemswillbe

destroyedandshredded.Last,theparticipant’sidentitieswerereplacedwith

genericidentifierssuchasParticipant01,Participant02,etc.whenreportingthe

resultsofthestudy.

Summary

Chapter3includedadescriptionoftheresearchdesignandmethodforthe

study.Thetranscendentalphenomenologicalapproachwasselectedasthebest

optionfortheresearchdesignbasedonthenatureofthestudyandresearch

questions.Participantsforthestudywereselectedusingapurposefulsampling

strategy,whichreliedonthepersonaljudgmentoftheresearcher.Participantswere

68

recruitedusingLinkedIn.ThedatawasanalyzedusingthemodifiedVanKaam

method.Chapter4presentsthefindingsofthestudyfollowedbyChapter5that

includestheconclusionsandrecommendationsforfuturestudy.

69

Chapter 4: Results



understandingoftheircareeradvancementintoseniorleadershippositions.This

studysolelyfocusedonwomenwhoworkintheITfieldandareinseniorleadership

positions.Thephenomenonthatallwomenparticipantshadincommonwascareer

advancementinthefieldofIT.Transcendentalphenomenologicalresearchfocuses

ontheessenceofthelivedexperiencesofpeoplewithparticipantsdescribingtheir

ownreality(Moustakas,1994).Duetotheprimaryfocusofthelivedexperiencesof

theindividualintranscendentalphenomenologicalresearch,theresearchquestion

forthisstudywas:

RQ1–Whatistheessenceofthelivedprofessionalandpersonalexperiences

ofwomenintheircareeradvancement,whichledthemtoachievetheirseniorlevel

positionsintheITfield?

Theremainderofthischapterdetailstheresearchsetting,participant

demographics,datacollection,dataanalysis,evidenceoftrustworthiness,study

results,andsummary.

Research Setting

Duetothegeographicallocationoftheresearcherandparticipantsrecruited,

theresearchinterviewstookplaceviatelephone.Participantsweregiventheoption

tocompletetheirinterviewusingSkype,butnoonechosethisasanoption.The

telephoneinterviewsaveragedapproximately28minutesinlength.

70

Demographics

Thecompositionofthe15participantsisdetailedinTable1.Two

participantsheldvicepresidentpositions,threeparticipantsheldC-levelpositions,

fourparticipanthelddirectorlevelpositions,andsixparticipantsheldpositionsin

middlemanagement.Eachparticipantwasassignedaparticipantnumberranging

fromP01toP15.Theparticipantnumberswerecreatedtoprotecttheidentityof

eachparticipant.

71

Table1

ParticipantDemographics

Participant

Manageriallevel Yearsofexperience

State Ethnicity

P01 Middlemanager 4 PA Twoormoreraces

P02 Middlemanager 13 NC Black

P03 Chiefoperatingofficer 20+ GA Caucasian


P05 Vicepresident 20+ NC Twoormore

races

P06 Middlemanager 7 CA Caucasian

P07 Vicepresident 18 TN Caucasian

P08 Director 20+ TN Caucasian

P09 Cybersecurityinformationofficer

15 PA Caucasian

P10 Chiefinformationofficer

20+ GA Caucasian


P12 Director 20+ NC Black

P13 Middlemanager 20+ PA Black

P14 Director 18 TX Caucasian

P15 Director 13 CA Asian

72

Data Collection

DataCollectionRecruitment

OnceapprovalwasgrantedbyWaldenUniversityInternalReviewBoard

(IRB:05-06-19-0485770),Istartedtheparticipantrecruitmentprocess.LinkedIn

wastheprimarysourceforrecruitingparticipants.Eachparticipantwhowas

deemedtohavemettheresearchrequirementswassentaninvitation(see

AppendixC)viathemessagingfeatureonLinkedIn.Atotalof143recruitment

messagesweresentdirectlyfrommypersonalLinkedInaccounttoprospective

participants.Ofthe15totalparticipantsforthestudy,7womenwererecruitedfrom

LinkedInandtheremaining8participantsstatedthattheyhadheardaboutthe

studythroughword-of-mouth.

Aspreviouslymentionedinchapter3,itwasdeterminedthatatotalof15

participantswouldbeneededinordertoreachdatasaturation.Datasaturationwas

reachedafterthe9thparticipant.Therewereatotalof16participantsthatwere

recruitedandinterviewedforthisstudy,however;thedataanalysisincludeddata

from15participants.Oneparticipantwasdisqualifiedfromthestudyasitwas

revealedduringtheinterviewthattheparticipanthadtransitionedfromamantoa

woman.Theresearcherdeterminedthatthetransgenderedparticipantshouldbe

disqualifiedfromthestudybasedonthecorrespondencewiththeparticipant.The

disqualifiedparticipantascendedintoseniorleadershipprimarilyasaman.His

transitiontoawomanoccurredafterholdingtheleadershipposition.The

73

disqualifiedparticipantcouldhavesharedheruniqueexperiencebothasamanand

asawoman,butthatwouldbeoutsideofthescopeofthisstudy.

DataCollectionTechnique

Datacollectionforthisstudytook42daystocomplete,whichwaslonger

thanthe30daytimeframethatIoriginallyestimated.Beforeeachtelephone

interview,Ipracticedepochebyclearingmyheadofanybiases,prejudices,and

settingasidemyownpersonalexperiencesinordertonotdirectlyaffectthestudy.

Theinterviewprotocol(seeAppendixB)wasusedforeachinterview,which

includedanintroduction,demographicquestionnaire,interviewquestion,and

conclusion.Theinterviewsrangedfrom15minutesto68minuteswithanaverage

of28minutes.

Participantsweregiventheoptiontocompletetheirresearchinterviewsvia

telephoneorSkype.All15participantschosetocompletetheirinterviewsvia

telephone.Eachparticipantgavemetheirverbalpermissiontorecordtheaudiofor

theinterview.Researchnoteswerehandwritteninanotebookduringeach

participantinterviewandlockedawayalongwiththeaudiorecorderaftereach

interview.Thetranscriptionwascompletedoncealldatafromthe15participants

hadbeencompleted.IutilizedtheservicesofNVivo12Transcriptionsoftwareto

transcribeallofthedata.Oncethetranscriptionswerecompleted,Iemailedeach

individualparticipantacopyofthetranscriptfortheirreviewandapprovalaspart

ofthemembercheckingprocess.Onlyoneparticipantcamebackwithchangesto

hertranscript.Participant02requestedtohavethenameofhercompanyremoved

74

fromthetranscripttofurtherprotectheridentityandthecompanythatsheworked

for.

Data Analysis

OncethedatawastranscribedandIwasabletorevieweachparticipant’s

transcript,Istartednotatingcommondatagroupingsthatappearedfromthe

participant’sresponses.Thetexturaldescriptionswerecreatedfromthe

preliminarygroupingsbasedonthemodifiedVanKaammethodofdataanalysisas

recommendedbyMoustakas(1994)inordertoprovideatexturalandstructural

guidelinesbeforeusingtheNVivo12qualitativesoftwareprogram.Thefollowing

stepsweretakeninordertoanalyzethedata:

1. Listedandgroupedallcompletedtranscriptsthatwereobtained

duringdatacollection

2. Clusteredthedataintoinvariantconstituentsandrelevantthemes

3. Identifiedinvariantconstituentsandrelevantthemesinorderto


4. Formedtextural-structuraldescriptionsofthemeaningsandessences


5. Usedthethemestodeterminethemeaningofthelivedexperiences

thatinvolvedthekeyfindingsandrecommendationsforthestudy

(Moustakas,1994,p.121)

75

DataCoding

EachtranscribedinterviewwasuploadedintoNVivo12.Thesoftware

programallowedmetohaveorderandstructureofmydata.Thesoftwareaidedme

inmyunderstandingofthedatathroughthedevelopmentofnodes,clustercoding

similarity,andwordfrequency.TheNVivo12softwaremanagedthecodingofthe

databyisolatingitintocomponentsthatwerecountedbasedontheiroccurrenceof

themes.Thesoftwareprogramgroupedthedataintocategories,themes,and

eliminatedredundantcomponentsofdata.

ThecodinginNVivo12wasaccomplishedbyassigningsectionheadingsfor

participantresponsestothequestionsasanormalstandardtext.Criticaltermsthat

stoodoutfromthetranscribedinterviewswereusedtodevelopemergingthemesto

thelivedexperiencesoftheparticipants.TheNVivo12reportrevealedrelevant

themesfromthedataoncethecodingwascompleted.Sixmajorthemeswere

identifiedfromthecompleteddataanalysis.Emergentthemeswithover30%

frequencybyparticipantswerelabeledasmajorthemes.Therewereno

discrepanciesduringthedataanalysisprocess.

Evidence of Trustworthiness

Credibility

Iwasabletoaccomplishcredibilityasaresearcherandforthisstudy

throughreachingdatasaturation,subjectivity,triangulation,andsupervisionofmy

dissertationcommittee.WhenIwasfacedwiththepossibilityofdisqualifyinga

participantforthestudythathadsharedthatshehadascendedintosenior

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leadershipasaman,IconsultedwithWaldenUniversityIRBandmydissertation

committeeforadviceonhowtoproceedwiththestudy.Iusedbracketingtochannel

andeliminateallpersonalbiases.Datasaturationwasreachedafterthe9th

participant,butatotalof15participantswereinterviewedaspreviouslyproposed.

Triangulationwassuccessfullyachievedthroughtheassortmentoftelephone

interviewsfromvariousparticipantsfromdifferentbackgroundsasstatedinTable

1.Participantsrangedfromdifferentlevelsofmanagement,livedandworkedin

variousstates,andnumerousethnicitieswererepresented.

Themembercheckingprocesswascompletedwithin24-48hoursofeach

participant’scompletedinterviewforaccuracy.Onlyoneparticipant(Participant

P02)camebackwithrevisionsanddeletionsoftheirwritteninterview.

Transferability

Priortoeachinterview,participantsweregivenaParticipantInvitationand

ConsentForm(seeAppendixA),whichdetailedthebackgroundinformationofthe

study,procedures,voluntarynatureofthestudy,risksandbenefits,compensation,

andconfidentiality.Thisdocumentgavetheparticipantsdetailedinformationabout

thestudyandanunderstandingoftheirroleasaparticipant.Theresponsesfrom

theparticipantsprovideddetailedcommonalitiesofthephenomenonbeingstudied.

Dependability

Iensureddependabilityofthestudybykeepingdetailedrecordsofeach

participantwiththeuseofapasswordprotectedExcelspreadsheet.Information

suchastheparticipant’sname,emailaddress,jobtitle,industry,jobtenure,yearsof

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seniorleadershipexperience,race,age,andinterviewdateandtimewereall

includedinthespreadsheet.Aftereachinterview,allaudiorecordingswere

uploadedtoapasswordprotectedfolderonmypersonalcomputer.Theprocessof

membercheckingalsoconfirmedthedependabilityoftheparticipant’sexperiences

forthisstudy.

Confirmability

Asystematicprocesswasfollowedfordatacollection,dataanalysis,andfinal

conclusionstoallowareadertoconfirmtheacceptabilityoftheresearchfindings.

Alltypesofpersonalbiaswereexcludedbybracketingtoguaranteevalidityofthe

study.Open-endedquestionswereusedtoachieveconfirmability.

StudyResults

Thefollowingsectionswillprovideanin-depthreviewofthetranscribed

participantresponsesinnarrativeform.Sixmajorthemeswereidentifiedas

pertinenttothepurposeofthestudyandthestatedresearchquestion.Table2

displaysthecode,theme,andparticipantpercentages.Eachthemewasdevelopedas

aresultofthecollecteddatafromtheresearchparticipants.Therewereno

discrepanciesornonconformingdatathatoccurredwhilereportingtheresultsfor

thisstudy.Therewasonlyoneresearchquestionforthisstudy,whichwas:RQ1–

Whatistheessenceofthelivedprofessionalandpersonalexperiencesofwomenin

theircareeradvancement,whichledtothemtoachievetheirseniorlevelpositions

intheITfield?

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Table2

Themes(N=15)

Codes Themes Participant%

001 ITisagreatfield 93 002 MidcareerchangetoIT 40 003 Mentors/supportiveprofessional

network 40

004 Researchyourfuture 33 005 Self-efficacy 53 006 Difficultwork-lifebalance 40

Theme1:ITisaGreatField

Table 3 Theme 1: IT Is a Great Field

Themenumber

Theme/texturaldescription Participants

1 ITisagreatfield

2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10,11,12,13,14,15

Texturaldescription.ItissodynamicandIlovetheever-existingchallengeand

changeofworkinginIT

Texturaldescription.AsImentioned,Isatdownwithacounselor.Theylookedat

mygradesandtheylookedatmyskillsandeverythinglikethatinmymessagesand

everythingpreviouseffortstoequalinIndia.Letmeputitthatway.Andbasically

saidthatitwouldbebetterifIactuallychoseITandtheyactuallysaidit'sgoingto

bethatthenextbigthing.Thiswasalongtimeback.SoIbelievedwhatthat

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counselorwassayinganddoingandjusttookthatITovercriticalmedical

electronicsatthetime.IamsohappyIlistenedtothem!

Texturaldescription.Iwaslikehmm;Icanmakealotofmoney!AndIthinkIhad

theaptitudeforit.Itwasnotdifficultforme.AndIknewallalongthatproject

managementwouldbemorewhatIwantedtodoinsteadofjustpureengineering.

SoIwaswillingtodosomethingonabiggerscale.Andthatwastoogeneric.I

wantedtoseethebiggerpictureandthenputtogetherthewholething.Iam

analyticalinadditiontobeingorganized.Itjustkindoffitformypersonality.Icould

seeattheone-hundredfeetlevelwherealotofpeoplecanonlyseewhatweare

tryingtoaccomplishwhereIcanlookforthetopandnotnecessarilyfrombottoms

up.

All,butoneparticipant(93%)directlystatedoracknowledgedthatworking

intheITfieldisgreatwithmanyrewards.Participantsdescribedbeingabletohave

jobstability,makeagreatdealofmoney,andfeltchallengedduetotheever-

changingnatureofthefield.

Theme2:Mid-CareerChangetoIT

Table 4 Theme 2: Mid-Career Change To IT Themenumber


2 Mid-careerchangetoIT

3,7,8,11,13,14

80

Texturaldescription.Iworkedinfinanceforthefirst4yearsafterIgraduated.I

workedasacorporateauditorasmyfirstjoboutofcollege.Iactuallyutilizedmy

degree.In1995,Ienteredthefederalsector.From1995to2000Iwasina

procurementmanagementjob.In2000,ImovedintotheITarena.

Texturaldescription.Iwasanaccountantforsevenyears.Duringthoseseven

years,Irecallmylastprojectthatlasted18monthstotwoyears.Itwasamixof

accountingandITwork.Wewereverysmallcompany.SotheroleIwasininthose

last18monthstotwoyears,IwouldcallitabusinesssystemsanalystslashQAslash

querydeveloper,butitwas.Iwasaprojectmanagerthatwaskindoffillingallthose

rolesinaverysmallenvironment.Indoingthat,Ireallylearnedallaboutthe

productlifecycleofdoingapackagesystemimplementationofalargeenterprise

package.ItwasJDEdwardsatthetimeandduringthatimplementation.Ilearned

howtowriteaquery.Thatisreallywhatitwas-costaccounting.AndonceIlearned

thepowerofwritingaqueryandwhatitcoulddoforyoutodocostallocations

throughactualcomputergeneratedprocessthatwouldthenfolloweverybody's

laborrateandgetacostaccounting.Writingthatquerykindofdiditformeand

seeingthepowerofcode.

Texturaldescription.Well,ithasbeenmyaccidentalcareer.AndyouknowIreally

didjuststumbleintoitbecauseasIsaidIwasworkinginanofficeenvironment.You

knowbasicallysecretarialworkstuffingpapers.Iwasthego-topersonintheoffice

reallybecauseIwastheyoungestpersonintheroomandhadusedcomputersin

college.Theywerelike“Oh,helphelphelp”meoutaprinterorhelpmehelpme

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checkmye-mail.IcannotfigureoutyouknowwheredidIsavedmyfile.AndsoI

justgraduallymovedintothatroleintheoffice.IrealizedthatIreallyenjoyedthat

work.AndsoIdecidedtopursueitfulltime.OnceIgotoutofmyPh.D.program,I

gotajobassupport.

FortypercentoftheparticipantsstatedthattheyswitchedovertotheITfield

halfwayduringtheirprofessionalworkingcareers.Outofthe40%ofwomenwho

hadmadeamid-careerswitchtotheITfield,67%ofthemwereintroducedtoIT

functionswhileassistingwithnewsoftwareimplementationsattheirprevious

organizations.Thirty-threepercentofthosewomenmadeamid-careerswitchafter

experiencingbeingthego-topersonintheworkplacetohelptroubleshootIT

relatedissuesbecausetheywereoneoftheyoungeremployeesintheorganization.

Beingthego-topersonsparkedaninterestintheITfieldforthesewomen.

StrategiesforSuccess

Themes3through5(Theme3:Mentors/SupportiveProfessionalNetwork,

Theme4:Researchyourfuture,Theme5:Self-efficacy)arestrategiesforsuccess

thatweresuggestedbytheparticipantswhenasked“Whatadvicewouldyougive

womenworkingintheITfieldthatareinterestedinascendingintosenior

leadership?

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Theme3:Mentors/SupportiveProfessionalNetwork

Table 5 Theme 3: Mentors/Supportive Professional Network

Themenumber


3 Mentors/supportiveprofessionalnetwork

1,5,7,10,11,13

Texturaldescription.Doagoodjobnetworkingfromthebeginning.Knowthat

everytimeyoumeetsomeoneinyourcompany,youarebeinginterviewedwhether

youortheyknowitornot.Soyouknowwhenyouaremeetingwithpeoplewithin

yourcompanythatyoudonotknowunderstandthateveryinteractioniskindofan

interview.AndthereasonIsaythatisbecauseyoushouldalwaysthinkaboutwhat

kindofimpressionyouleave,right.Armyourselfwithyourboardofdirectors.

Thesearethepeoplethatyousurroundyourselfwiththatknowyouandcanvouch

foryou.Youknowthefirstpartofyourcareerisallaboutyourperformance.Butthe

secondpartofyourcareerisallabouttherelationshipsthatyoumadeasaresultof

youhavingdoneagoodjob.

Texturaldescription.Myadvicetothosewomenandeventothemenwouldbeget

asupportgroup.Therearesomanyneatappsoutthereandwaystobeableto

networkeffectively.

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Texturaldescription.AndthenIreallydobelievementorscanhelp.Itaughtalot

ofpeopleandIstayopentothat.Youknowpeoplewanttocallandneedtothink

throughthesethings.

Texturaldescription.ButthatisonethingthatIencourage.Idoalotofpeer

mentoringandthatisonethingIencouragethemtodoistogetamentorearlyon.It

isgoodtoknowwhothemoversandshakersareintheorganization.

Fortypercentofwomenstatedthattheyfeelthatthekeytosuccessfor

womenascendingintoseniorleadershippositionsintheITfieldistohaveamentor

throughouttheircareerandtohaveasupportivenetworkofpeoplethatcanvouch

foryou.Oneparticipantstatedthatobtainingalifecoachwasnecessarytohelp

womenunderstandthemselvesandhowtheyprocessthingssothattheycanbea

betterleaderandunderstandthepeoplethattheyworkwith.Fifty-threepercentof

theparticipantsstatedthattheydidnothavementorsduringtheirprofessional

careers.

Theme4:Researchyoufuture

Table6Theme4:ResearchYourFuture

Themenumber


4 Researchyourfuture

4,9,10,11,15

Texturaldescription.Youdon'tworkyoureighthoursyougetyouknowaverage

youknowyouareacandidateforyouknowfirstgenfirstoutoryouknowgarbage

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ingarbageoutbutforpeoplewhoreallyworkandputforthareallystrongeffort.

Theopportunitiesareendless.Thereisjustnodamagetowhatyoucannotdo.You

havetobeself-motivatedandself-inspiredtosucceed.It'snotgoingtohappen.

Becausesomeone'sgottowalkbysayheythere'sahardworkingpersonandyou

shouldpromoteherpromotehim

Texturaldescription.YouknowtheadviceIwasgiventomebysomebodythatI

foundtobeveryhelpfulistofindatopicorasubjectandreallybecomeanexperton

it.Youknowgettoknowyourdomainexpertiseandbuildyourcredibility.Anddo

thework.

Texturaldescription.Alignyourselfaccordinglywiththecompanyyouworkat.

YouknowI'vebeentherefor34years.AgainIsaythatbecausethat'safeatinitself

becausewe'vehadmassivelayoffsovertheyears.ButthethingthatIthinkhasbeen

awilltoallowmetostaythereishopefullyofcoursewhatIcall"readingthetea

leaves".AndmakingsurethatIunderstandwhat'sgoingonintheindustry.

Knowingwhat'sgoingoninthecompanyinaligningmyselfaccordingly.Weget

quarterlynewslettersatmyjob.Ireadtheannouncementsofwhojustgot

promoted.IreadthosebecauseIthinkalsoallowsmetoplanmynextmoveof“How

doIgetinthatarea?”or“HowdoIgetonthosedeals?”Keepyourhandonthepulse

oftheindustrybecauseit'sactuallyeverchangingandit'schangingveryfast.You

don'twanttobecomeadinosaur.Yougottakeepupwiththetrendsandalotofit

maybedoinghomeworkonyourown.Butyougottatokeepupwiththetrendsand

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yougottamakesurethatwhenyouwalkinaroomthatyouknowwhatyouare

talkingaboutespeciallyasafemale.

Thirty-threepercentoftheparticipantsstatedthatresearchingyourfuture

willprovidearoadmaptoaspiringwomenseniorleaderstoreachtheirsuccess.

Someoftheparticipantsstatedthattheystaycurrentonwhoisbeingpromoted

withintheirorganizationbyreadingcompanynewslettersandresearchingthe

professionalbiographiesofotherwomenleaders.

Theme5:Self-Efficacy

Table 7 Theme 5: Self-Efficacy

Themenumber


5 Self-efficacy

3,4,6,8,10,13,14,15

Texturaldescription.Isaystaydedicatedandsometimesyouhavetobealittle

tough.Soyouhavetostandupforyourself

Texturaldescription.Persevere!Stickwithitnomatterwhat!Donotgiveupand

therewillbealotofreasonstogiveup.Therearereasonseverysingledaynottodo

this.ButIwouldsaythattherewardsaregreat.Youhaveanabilitytoinfluence

others.Sotherearealotofreasonswhynottoleadortocomeintosteppast

emergingtechnologiescomingalongastheyare.Thereissomuchbiasand

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discriminationintechnologythatweneedpeopleofcolorinSTEMspecifically

womenofcolorinSTEM.

Texturaldescription.Ittakesinitiative.Imean,IfoundthatIgotpluckedout

becauseIwasalwaystheonethatsaid“Yes,howcanIhelp”.Imademyselfthego-to

fortheseniorlevelmanagementabovemesoitgotmerecognitionIneededtobe

likethecurrentleadership.Soitisjustbeingthatperson.Youcannotbeshyand

introverted.Youhavetosay“yes,Iwanttohelpyou”goaboveandbeyondwhat

yourroleis.Thatwillgetnoticedrightaway.ThatishowIchoosemyteam

members,thepeoplethatwillsucceedme.

Texturaldescription.Donotbeafraidtochallengestuffatwork.Donotbeshyor

donotrefrainfromtalkingbecauseyouaretheonlywomanatthetable.Itisokayto

bedifferentanditisokaytohaveyourownopinionandamindofyourown.

Thelaststrategyforsuccessstatedbytheparticipantswasself-efficacy.

Whenofferingstrategiesforsuccess,53%oftheparticipantsstatedthathavinga

highsenseofself-efficacyisveryimportantasawomanseniorleaderinamale-

dominatedindustry.Womenstatedphrasessuchas“betough”,“persevere”,“take

initiative”,“donotbeafraid”.Havingahighsenseofself-efficacyandmindsetis

equatedwithhavingahighsenseofconfidenceinyourselfthatyouarejustasgood

andqualifiedasyourmalecounterparts.

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Theme6:DifficultWork-LifeBalance

Table 8 Theme 6: Difficult Work-Life Balance

Themenumber


6 Difficultwork-lifebalance

2,3,7,10,11,15

Texturaldescription.Wellnoteasyright.That'skindofbeenthehardestthing.I

madeadecisionveryearlyIdidn'tgothroughallthiseducationandallthisdriveto

stayhome.Soyeahitishard.It'sreallyyouknowaboutprioritiesandsometimes

worktakespriorityandsometimesfamilydoes.Youhavetokindofhaveto

constantlybalanceandchooseandmanage.

Texturaldescription.IthinkIdon'tknowthatitwouldmakeadifference.What

industryyouareinoneareaisfromanITperspectivethatprobablyaddalittlebit

morechallengeinitself.IntheITworld,youknowsomuchofwhatwedoisoff

hours.Sothatwearenotimpactingourcustomersandourusers.Sowhen

somethinggoesdownorpayrollgoesdowninthemiddleofthenight.Youknowitis

notasthesameasanaccountantoranursewhoworksacertainshiftrightandthen

hascoveragewhentheyarenotthere.Thathasbeenabitofachallenge.Alsoyoudo

notschedulethoseoutages.Whensomethingbreaksorwhenyougetacyber

securityattack,thatmayimpactyourlifeandyourchildrenwhenitdoescomeinto

play.IknowforafamilysituationIhavebeenfortunateenoughtohaveaspouseto

helpwithsituationslikethese.Butwe'rebothintechnology.Sotherearetimes

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thingsaregoingonorthingslikethat.Anditdoesbecomeayesithasbecomea

challenge.Sohavingasupportnetworkhasbeenhelpfulwiththewaytechnologyis

going.Beingabletoworkremotely,beingabletobeeffectiveremotely,having

thingsinplaceaheadoftime,havingbackupsforpeopletocoveryourareatoshare

thatkindofresponsibilitywhenyoudoneedtobeoutofpocketforkidsIthinkhas

beenthekeytosuccess.IthinkIamactuallybeingmoredisciplinedonattending

eventsandnotfeelingguiltyaboutbeingawayfromwork.

Texturaldescription.ItsbeeninterestingbecausebeinginITprettymuchtomeis

blackandwhiteandithastobelogical.SoraisingherandItraveledquiteabitso

raisingherwasdifficultbecauseIwasgonealot.Imissedalotlikeherfirststeps

becauseshewasatdaycare.

Fortypercentofwomenagreedthatraisingyoungchildrenwhileworkingin

theITfieldisverytough.Oneparticipantstatedthatsheputhersuccessfulcareer

overherfamilyandshemissedagreatdealofherchildren’supbringingandisnow

divorced.Sheexpressedagreatdealofregretandsadnessduringherinterview.

Twoparticipantsstatedthattheirplaceofemploymentwasverysupportiveof

havingawork-lifebalanceandthattheywereverypresentandinvolvedintheir

children’slives.Oneparticipantwasveryaggressiveinherresponseof“Itismy

prerogativehowIraisemychildrenandsowhatifIhavebeenlatetomeetingsor

havebeenlatepickingmychildrenupfromschoolduetoameetingrunninglate”to

thequestionof“HowwasitraisingchildrenwhileworkingintheITfield?”Three

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womenstatedthattheyhadverysupportivehusbandsthathelpedtakecareofthe

childrenandhouseholdwhenthewifehadtobeawayfromhomeduetowork.

Summary

Thischapterprovidedadetailedreviewofthedatacollectionanddata

analysisthatwascompletedforthe15participantinterviewsthatwerecompleted

forthisresearchstudy.Withpriorapprovalfromtheparticipant,telephone

interviewswererecordedandcompletedforeachparticipant.Theparticipants

wererecruitedusingapurposivesamplingwiththeuseofLinkedIn.NVivo12

qualitativeresearchsoftwarewasusedtocompletethetranscriptionanddata

analysisforthedatacollected.

ThemodifiedVanKaammethodwasusedtoanalyzethedatacollectedfrom

theparticipants.Atotalofsixmajorthemesemergedasresultofthedatacoding,

whichincludedITisagreatfield,mid-careerchange,mentors/supportive

professionalnetwork,researchyourfuture,self-efficacy,anddifficultwork-life

balance.Thethemesofmentors/supportiveprofessionalnetwork,researchyour

future,andself-efficacyweregroupedtogetheras“strategiesforsuccess”,which

wasadvicesharedbytheparticipant’sforwomenwhomaybeinterestedin

enteringtheITfieldandforwomenwhoalreadyworkinITandaspiretoascend

intoseniorleadership.Eachofthesesixmajorthemessupportstheresearch

question-Whatistheessenceofthelivedprofessionalandpersonalexperiencesof

womenintheircareeradvancement,whichledthemtoachievetheirseniorlevel

positionsintheITfield?Texturaldescriptionswereprovidedtosupporteachtheme

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andtheresearchfindings.Chapter5includesthestudyresults,limitations,

recommendations,implicationsforpositivesocialchange,conclusionsand

recommendationsfromtheresultsofthestudy.

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Chapter 5: Discussion, Conclusions, and Recommendations

ThecareeradvancementofwomenseniorleadersintheITfieldhasnotbeen

addressedintheexistingliterature;therefore;ithasbeendifficultfororganizations

tofullyunderstandandsupportwomentryingtoascendthroughtheranksofsenior

leadershipintheITfield.Futureresearchonthecareeradvancementofwomen

seniorleadersintheITfieldcouldinspireotherwomentopursueseniorleadership

rolesintheirorganizations(Dubowetal.,2013).Byprovidinginformationonthe

careeradvancementofwomenseniorleadersintheITfield,thefindingsmayassist

organizationswithcreatingtoolsthattheyneedtomentorandsupportwomenwho

maybeinterestedinascendingintoseniorleadershippositions.

Thepurposeofthistranscendentalphenomenologicalstudywasto


understandingoftheircareeradvancementintoseniorleadershippositions.

Selectingatranscendentalphenomenologicalapproachwasthebestoptionforthis

studybecauseitenabledtheexplorationofthelivedexperiencesofthestated

phenomenon,whichinthiscasewasthecareeradvancementofwomensenior

leadersintheITfield.Phenomenologyseekstounderstandthelifeofhuman

experiencesasitislived(Moerer-Urdhal&Creswell,2014).

Dataforthisstudywascollectedwiththeuseofasemistructuredinterview

from15womenseniorleadersintheITfieldlocatedinthecontinentalUnited

States.NiVivo12qualitativesoftwarewasusedtoorganizeandprocessthedatafor

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thisstudy.Thefollowingsixmajorthemesemergedasaresultofthedatacoding

andanalysis:

1. ITisagreatfield

2. Mid-careerchangetoIT

3. Mentors/supportiveprofessionalnetwork

4. Researchyourfuture

5. Self-efficacy

6. Difficultwork-lifebalance

Thischapterprovidesadetailedanalysisoftheinterpretationoftheresearch

findings,limitationsofthestudy,recommendations,implicationsforthestudy,as

wellasfinalconclusions.

Interpretation of Findings

Theresearchquestionprovidedtheboundariesforthisstudyaswellasthe

explorationofthelivedexperiencesofwomenseniorleadersintheITfield.Six

majorthemesgeneratedfromthefindingsofthestudywererelatedtotheresearch

question.Theresearchquestionforthisstudywas:

Whatistheessenceofthelivedprofessionalandpersonalexperiencesofwomenin

theircareeradvancement,whichledthemtoachievetheirseniorlevelpositionsin

theITfield?

Thesixthemesthatemergedfromthedatawereasfollows:

1. ITisagreatfield

2. Mid-careerchangetoITformorecomplexwork

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3. Mentors/supportiveprofessionalnetwork

4. Researchyourfuture

5. Self-efficacy

6. Difficultwork-lifebalance

Eachofthesixthemessupportsthemajorityoftheliteraturereviewthatwas

conductedforthisstudy.

Theme1:ITisaGoodField

ThefirstthemethatemergedfromthefindingsofthisstudywasITisagood

field.Basedonthefindingsofthisstudy,IfoundthatwomenseniorleadersinIT

agreedthattheITfieldisagreatfieldtoworkin.Thefirstthemepartiallysupports

Pretoriusetal.(2015)thatwomenaroundtheglobeotherthantheUnitedStates

specificallypursuecareersinITbecauseoftheperceivedhighstatusassociated

withworkinginthefieldandforjobstability.Fiftypercentofwomenfromresearch

byPretoriusetal.(2015)wereseniorleadersandtheremaining50%werewomen

seniorleadersinlowerlevelITpositions.Allparticipantsforthisstudylivedand

workedinthecontinentalUnitedStates.ParticipantsstatedthatworkingintheIT

fieldwasinteresting,challenging,providedjobstability,andgreatpay.Noneofthe

participantsmentionedstatusintheirdescriptionsofworkingintheITfield.

ThisthemeisalsosupportedbyareportfromtheUnitedStatesDepartment

ofLabor(2017)indicatinganincreaseofwomenintheITfield.Thisincreaseof1%

provesthatthereareinfactwomenseniorleadersinthefieldwhoareascending

intoseniorleadershippositionswithintheITfield.

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Eachparticipantstatedthattheywereluckyandhappytoworkinsucha

greatfield.Mostparticipantsstatedthattheywerealreadyworkingintheirdream

jobsandcouldnotimaginedoingotherwork.Thesestatementsprovidedbythe

participantsdemonstratethattheyhaveahighsenseofself-efficacyintheirabilities

andbeliefsthattheycanandaresucceedingaswomenseniorleadersinthe

information.

Theme2:Mid-CareerChangetoIT

Thesecondthemethatemergedfromthefindingsofthisstudywasthat

womenseniorleaderscurrentlyworkingintheITfieldmadeamid-careerchange

fromadifferentfieldtoITbecausetheyfoundittobeexcitingworkandagreatfield

toworkin.Thisemergingthemewasrefreshingtohearfromaresearcher’spoint-

of-viewbecauseitprovesthatwomenareinfactinterestedinIT.Sixoutofthe15

participantsinterviewedforthisstudystatedthattheyswitchedtoacareerintheIT

fieldafterbeingintroducedtoITfunctionsafterworkingonsmallITrelated

projectsintheirpreviousfields.Phrasessuchas“challenging”,“everchanging”,“fast

paced”,“makemoremoney”,“complex”,and“ITmakesworkeasier”wereusedby

participantswhodidamidcareerchangeintotheITfield.Participantsreported

leavingtheirfirstcareerstoworkintheITfieldafterworkingfiveto10years.

Americanwomenmakingmid-careerchangesintotheITfieldformore

complexworkalignwithVarmaandKapur(2015)whohaveextensivelyresearched

IndianwomenworkinginIT.WomeninIndiawithcomputersciencebackgrounds

areviewedasintelligentbeingthattheyareabletohandlethetechnicalaspectsof

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thejob,workoncomplexprojects,anduseadvancedproblemsolvingskills(Varma

&Kapur,2015).WomenworkinginITpositionsarewellpaidandhavevast

employmentopportunitiescomparedtootherfieldsinthecountry.InIndia,

workinginITisnotafieldformalegeeks,whichissometimestheperceptioninthe

UnitedStates,butisviewedbybothgendersasaprestigioushigh-payingjob

(Varma&Kapur,2015).InIndia,womenwhoworkinITbenefitfromhavinghigh

socialstatusandindependenceofhavingahighsalaryposition,whichovershadows

anypreconceptionsofteachersandgenderdiscrimination(Varma&Kapur,

2015).ThefindingsofthisstudyprovethatAmericanwomensharethesameviews

ofworkingintheITfieldasdoIndianITworkers.

ThisthemealsosupportstheresearchbyOjokohetal.(2014)focusingon

NigerianwomenintheITfield.InNigeria,workinginITisaverypopularfieldto

workindespitehavingissueswithrecruitingmorewomentothefield.Nigerian

womenareveryautonomousanddonothavetodealwithsocietalpressuresof

workinginstereotypicalcareerssuchashomemakers,teachers,oradministrative

rolessuchassecretarialpositions(Ojokohetal.,2014).Nigeriansplacehigh

importanceonbecomingcollegeeducatedandobtainingprofessionaljobs(Ojokoh

etal.,2014).WomenareattractedtothefieldofITinNigeriabecauseitinvolves

interestingworkthatallowsforthemtolearnnewthings,solvecomplexproblems,

andallowsforcontinuouseducation,whichmakesthemappearknowledgeableand

up-to-dateonnewtechnologies(Ojokohetal.,2014).

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ThisstudydoesnotsupporttheresearchfindingsbyWay(2015)ofwomen

leavingtheITfieldmidcareer.Theparticipantsofthisstudypurposelysoughtoutto

workintheITfieldfromthebeginningoftheircareersorswitchedtotheITfield

halfwaythroughtheirworkingcareers.Eachparticipantstatedthattheywerelucky

andhappytoworkinsuchagreatfield.Mostparticipantsstatedthattheywere

alreadyworkingintheirdreamjobsandcouldnotimaginedoingotherwork.

Thethemeofwomenmakingamid-careerchangetoITprovesthat

Bandura’s(1986)socialcognitivetheoryshapedthemindsetsofthewomenwho

wereaffectedbythistheme.BeingintroducedtoITfunctionsintheirprevious

careerscreatedasenseofexcitementandfulfillment.Realizingthattheyweregood

atwhattheyweredoingintheirnewfoundinterest,thesewomenhadahighsense

ofself-efficacytofollowtheirdreamsandbecomesuccessfulleadersinthefieldof

IT.

Theme3:Mentors/SupportiveProfessionalNetwork

Thethirdthemethatemergedfromthefindingsofthisstudywasforwomen

tohaveamentorandfurtherestablishasupportiveprofessionalnetwork.The

participantsofthisstudysuggestedobtainingamentoratthebeginningofa

women’scareerinIT.Therearemanydifferentjobpathwaysthatcanbepursuedin

ITsuchasnetworking,hardware,software,coding,andprojectmanagementjustto

nameafew.Withsomanypathwaystopursue,itwasstatedbytheresearch

participantstoobtainamentorthatcanguideandintroducewomenthroughthe

diversefieldofITwouldbehelpfultotheirsuccess.

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Thefewinthisstudywhostatedthattheydidhaveamentorthroughout

theircareersallhadmalementors.Theparticipantsstatedthattheywishtheyhad

womenmentorsintheirfield.Instead,theyhadtoworkharderthantheirmale

counterpartstoberecognizedfortheirhardworkanddedication.Thistheme

supportsBlockandTietjen-Smith(2016)whoarguedthatthereisashortageof

womenseniorleadersandinparticular,inthehighereducationadministrationfield

becausethereisalackofsame-genderrolemodelmentors.

ThisthemealsoalignswithHowe-Walsh&Turnball(2016)whostated“the

lackofwomeninseniorpositionsmakesitevenmoredifficultforotherwomento

enterintoseniorlevelpositions”.Insimplerterms,onecandeducethatwomenare

notgoingtobeattractedtoaparticularjoborfieldiftherearenototherwomen

doingthistypeofwork.Thesocialcognitivetheoryconcludesthatpeoplewillmimic

andfollowbehaviorsthattheyhavelearnedintheirsocialenvironment.Itis

difficultforwomentogravitatetothefieldofITiftherearenototherwomenin

highernumbersdoingthistypeofwork.HavingotherfemalementorsintheITfield

mayinterestotherwomenaspiringtoascendintoseniorleadershipiftheyhave

someonetheycanemulatethathasalready“madeit”.

Thethemeofhavingamentorandsupportiveprofessionalnetworkaligns

withBandura’s(1986)socialcognitivetheory,whichistheconceptualframework

forthisstudy.Thesocialcognitivetheoryispoweredbyinfluences,behaviors,anda

person’senvironment.Bandurabelievedthataperson’ssocialenvironment

influencestheirbehaviorandactionsonhowtheyrespondtogivensituations

98

(1986).Thewomenparticipantsofthisstudysuggestedthatotherwomenstarting

outinITsurroundthemselveswithotherwomenmentorsandhaveasupportive

professionalnetworksothattheycanbeinfluencedandlearnfromothersuccessful

women.Bydoingthis,womenseniorleadersarenurturing,teaching,andinspiring

otherwomen,whichmayhelptoincreasetheirself-efficacy,whichwillthenhelp

projectthemintoseniorleadershiproles.

Theme4:ResearchYourFuture

Thefourththemethatemergedfromthefindingsofthisstudywasresearch

yourfuture.DuetothefactthattheITencompassessomanysegments,itis

imperativethatwomenresearchdifferentITsegmentssuchasnetworking,

hardware,software,coding,orprojectmanagementforexampletoseewhatarea

theymaybeinterestedinworkingin.Itwassuggestedbythewomenseniorleader

participantsforthisstudythatwomenjuststartingoutinITtoresearchthe

educationalbackgrounds,certifications,andbiographiesifavailableofothersenior

leaderswhetheritbemenorwomentoseewhatstepstheytooktogettowhere

theyarenowasaseniorleaderintheITfield.

Inresearchingotherseniorleaderscareerbackgrounds,womenwillbeable

tocreateapossibleroadmapthatwillleadthemtoseniorleadershipintheITfield.

Thismaybetheopportunityforwomentogainamentorastheyresearchother

seniorleadersinthefield.Thethemeofresearchingyourfuturegoeshand-in-hand

withthethemeofmentoringandsupportiveprofessionalnetwork.Researching,

99

uplifting,andsupportingoneanotherishowwomencanadvanceintosenior

leadershipintheITfield.

ThethemeofresearchingyourfuturealignswithBandura’s(1986)social

cognitivetheory.Aspreviouslymentionedwiththethemeofmentors/supportive

professionalnetwork,thesocialcognitivetheoryispoweredbyinfluences,

behaviors,andaperson’senvironment.Oneparticipantstatedthatshelooksather

organization’squarterlynewsletterandpaysspecialattentiontoannouncementsto

otherswhohavebeenpromotedintheorganization.Shestatedthatshemakesita

pointtoreadthatperson’sworkbioifavailableandseewhatcourseofactionthey

tooktogettowheretheyarenow.Thisisaprimeexampleofusingapplyingthe

socialcognitivetheoryinthethemeofresearchingyourfuture.

Theme5:Self-Efficacy

Thefifththemethatemergedfromthefindingsofthisstudywasself-efficacy.

Overhalfoftheparticipantsforthisstudystatedthatbelievinginyourselfwillbring

successinyourcareerandasaseniorleaderinamaledominatedfieldsuchasIT.

Whentheparticipantswereaskedabouttheirviewsandexperiencesofbeinga

seniorleaderintheITfieldinamaledominatedindustry,Ireceivedrepliessuchas

“sowhatifitisamaledominatedindustry”,“Icometothetableasakeyplayer.Ido

notexpecttobetreateddifferentlybecauseIamafemale”,“Iamsmartandpossess

highlytechnicalskillsthatsetmeapartfromothersinmyfield”.Theresponsesfrom

theseparticipantspromotedhavingahighsenseofself-efficacytoworkand

competeinamaledominatedfieldsuchastheITfield.

100

Additionally,theparticipantswereaskedwhatadvicetheywouldgiveother

womenwhoareinterestedinenteringintotheITfieldandwhatadvicewouldthey

givetowomenwhoarealreadyinthefieldandaspiretoascendintosenior

leadership.Responsesrangedfrom“betoughandstandupforyourself”,“take

initiative”,and“beyourbiggestcheerleader”.Theseresponsesalsodemonstrated

thathavingahighsenseofself-efficacyisthekeytosuccessasawomensenior

leaderintheITfield

Thisthemesupportsanindividual’ssuccessfulperformanceatgetting

somethingcompletedstrengthenshisorherself-beliefsofhisorherown

capabilities(Wood&Bandura,1989).Self-efficacyaffectseveryaspectofhuman

behavior.Byidentifyingandunderstandingthebeliefsapersonholdsregardinghis

orherpowertoaffectsituations,itstronglyinfluencesboththepoweraperson

actuallyhastofacechallengesandmakedecisions.Inaddition,thisthemesupports

Galvezetal.(2018),employeeswithahighsenseofself-efficacyareableto

overcomeobstaclesandsetbackstheyexperienceintheworkplace.Theyareableto

takepartinworkplaceopportunitiesduetothefactthattheyareengaged,mindful,

andhaveastrongbeliefintheirabilities.

IntheITfield,womenaretheminoritycomparedtomen.Womenworkingin

maledominatedfieldshavetocontinuouslyprovethattheyareworthytoworkwith

inthe“goodoleboys”environment.Somewomenmaylackconfidencein

themselvestobesuccessfulintheirjobsorcareersintheITfield.Inaddition,some

womenmaylackmotivationtosucceedintoseniorleadershippositionsbecause

101

theymayfeelthattheydonotfitintothehierarchyofbeinginamaledominated

industry.Overhalfofthewomenparticipantsofthisstudydirectlystatedthatthey

wereconfidentintheirabilitiestoworkinamaledominatedfieldsuchasIT.

Theemergingthemeofself-efficacyalsosupportsGrantandTaylor(2014)of

providingwomenwithessentialcommunicationskillsthatareneededtoproject

confidencewheninterviewingforseniorleadershippositions.These

communicationessentialsincludestartingstrong,stayingsuccinct,dimensionalizing

content,owningvoice,controllingmovement,andprojectingwarmth(Grant&

Taylor,2014).Theseareskillsthateveryleadershouldpossesstoeffectively

communicatewithothers.Havingastrongsenseofself-efficacywhenspeakingwill

exudeconfidencethatpeopleliketoseeintheirleaders.

Theme6:DifficultWork-LifeBalance

Thesixththemethatemergedfromthefindingsofthisstudywasdifficult

work-lifebalance.Thirteenoutofthe15womenseniorleaderparticipants

interviewedforthisstudystatedthattheyhadchildren.Thetwoparticipantsthat

didnothavechildrensharedthattheycouldnotimagineworkingintheITfielddue

tothedemandsandnontraditionalworkhoursofthejob.Halfoftheparticipants

whohavechildrenstatedthattheyhadagreatsupportsystemsuchastheir

husbandsortheirparentsthatwereavailabletotakecareoftheirchildrenwhen

theywerenotavailabletodoso.Theotherhalfoftheparticipantsstatedthatthey

missedagreatdealoftheirchildren’supbringingandexpresseddeepregretand

102

remorse.Oneparticipantcriedduringherinterviewandstatedthatsheputher

successfulcareeroverherfamilyandnowsheisallalone.

ThisthemesupportsBierema(2016)thatwomenareatadisadvantage

beforetheyeveninterviewforasenior-leadershippositionduetothe“idealworker”

image.Itishardforsocietytoviewwomenasanidealworkerduetothefactthat

womenaretraditionallyexpectedtobethecaregiversofthefamily.This

expectationputswomenatadisadvantageofmovingintoaseniorlevelposition

becauseiftheyaretakingcareoftheirfamilies,theycannotpossiblyworklong

hours.

Akeycomponentofthesocialcognitivetheory,whichisself-efficacy,is

demonstratedinthelastthemeofdifficultwork-lifebalance.Themajorityofthe

womenparticipantswhostatedthattheyhadchildrenstatedthatitwasdifficult

pursuingtheircareersinademanding,fast-pacedfieldwithnontraditionalwork

hourswhilealsotryingtoraiseyoungchildren.Whatassistedthesewomenthrough

difficulttimestosucceedintheircareerswhileraisingyoungchildrenwastheirself-

efficacy.Self-efficacyhelpedtheseparentsovercomechallengesandmake

contingencyplansforwhensystemoutagesoccurredinthemiddleofthenightor

whenworkmeetingsranlongerthanexpectedandchildpickupneededtobe

rearranged.

Limitations of the Study

Thesamplesize,researchfindingsandissuesoftrustworthinesscontributed

tothelimitationsofthestudy.Thehonestyoftheparticipantswasthefirst

103

limitationofthestudy.Astheresearcher,Ihadtotrustthattheparticipantswere

beingtruthfulinsharingtheirlivedpersonalexperiencesaswomenseniorleaders

intheITfieldwithme.ToensurethatIaccuratelycapturedthelivedexperiencesin

theirownwords,Icompletedtheprocessofmembercheckingbyhavingeach

participantreviewandverifytheirinterviewtranscriptsforaccuracy.

Thesecondlimitationforthisstudywasthepurposivesamplesizeof15

participantslocatedwithinthecontinentalUnitedStates.Asamplesizeof15was

determinedtobethepointatwhichdatasaturationwouldbeachieved.Data

saturationisthepointtodiscontinuecollectingdata(Saundersetal.,2018).Data

saturationwasachievedafterthe9thparticipant,however;Icontinuedonto15

participantsasoriginallyproposedforthestudy.Thefirstnineparticipantswere

easytosecure,however;thelast6participantsweredifficulttosecure.

Thelastlimitationofthestudywastimeconstraintsoftheparticipants.Data

collectionwascompletedin42days.Coordinatingaroundtheparticipant’s

schedulesandtakingintoconsiderationdifferenttimezonesmadeitchallengingat

timestocompletethedatacollectionprocess.Therewereatotalof5prospective

participantsthatexpressedinterestinthestudy,however;theirworktravelscaused

themnottobeabletocommit.

Recommendations




104

phenomenonthatallparticipantshadincommonwastheircareeradvancement

intoseniorleadershipinfieldofIT.Theresultsofthisstudyrevealedarangeof

factorsforwomentoconsiderbothasanemployeeinamaledominatedfieldandas

aseniorleaderinthefieldofIT.Thetwohighestrankedthemesbytheparticipants

thatemergedfromthedatawasthatITisagreatfieldtoworkinandthatwomen

shouldhaveahighsenseofself-efficacy.Additionalqualitativeresearchisneededto

understandwhywomenseniorleadersfeelthatthefieldofITisagreatfieldto

workin.Thefindingsofthisstudymayhelporganizations,gradeschools,and

universitiesbetterpromotejobsintheITfieldtowomen.Aquantitativestudymay

provideinsightintowhatfactorscontributetowomenseniorleader’sself-efficacyin

theITfield.Thefindingsofthisstudyconfirmedthathavingahighsenseofself-

efficacyisthekeytosuccessforwomen’sascensionintoseniorleadershipintheIT

field.

Irecommendthatresearcherscompleteamoreindepthstudyfocusingon

factorsthatcontributetoself-efficacyofwomenseniorleadersintheITfield.Other

studiesthatcouldstemfromthissuggestedresearchcouldbetoexploretheself-

efficacyofwomenseniorleadersininvariousITsectorssuchasnetworking,

engineering,hardware,software,andprojectmanagementforexample.This

researchcouldprovideanunderstandingofwhichsegment(s)maycatertoor

attractsmorewomenseniorleaders.Thisstudymayalsobeusefulinpromoting

morewomentothefieldofIT.

105

ThenextrecommendationthatIwouldmakeistostudywomensenior

leaderswhoworkintheITfieldthatalsoidentifyasamemberoftheLGBT

community.Oneparticipantforthisstudysharedthatshewasalesbianandone

participantwhowasrecruitedandlaterdisqualifieduponlearningthather

ascensionintoseniorleadershipwasreachedasamanandnotasawoman.Itwould

beinterestingtohearabouttheiruniqueexperiencesandviewsofhowtheirsexual

orientationmayormaynothaveplayedafactorintotheirprofessionalcareersas

womenseniorleadersintheITfield.

Implications For Positive Social Change

Asaresearcher,Ihavelearnedthattheparticipantsofthisstudyhave

workedveryhardtobecomewomenseniorleadersintheITfield.Thesewomen

seniorleadersintheITfieldsharedanexperienceofadvancingintosenior

leadershipinamaledominatedindustrywhilemostofthemalsostartedtheir

familiesandraisedyoungchildren.Thesewomenattainedtheirpositionsof

leadershipbyworkinghard,believingandstandingupforthemselves,andtaking

initiative.EachparticipantstatedthattheyactivelymentorotherwomeninITand

statedthatitwasimportantthatthattheydidsotoenrichthenextgenerationof

womenleaders.

Thisstudysupportspositivesocialchangebypromotingawarenessofthe

livedexperiencesofwomenseniorleadersintheITfieldattheindividual,family,

organizational,andsocietallevels.Attheindividuallevel,womencurrentlyworking

intheITfieldthataspiretoascendintoseniorleadershipmaybenefitfromthis

106

studybyacquiringamentortohelpthemnavigatetheircareerpaths.The

participantsofthisstudyrecommendedthatwomeninITshouldobtainamentorat

thebeginningoftheircareers.Atthefamilylevel,theresultsofthisstudymay

provideanunderstandingforfamilymemberstoimplementcontingencyplansfor

childcareandotherimportantfamilyneedsintheeventtheworkingmotherneeds

toleavehomeforpossiblelatenightwork,longerthanexpectedworkmeetings,etc.

Theworkingmothermayfeelalleviatedandsupportedenoughtoascendintosenior

leadershipiffamilymembersunderstandthedemands,theoftennontraditional

workhoursoftheITfield,andtheneedtoassistwithcontingencyplansforchild

care.

Thisstudyhasnumerousimplicationsforpositivesocialchangeatthe

organizationallevel.Withthisinformation,organizationsmaythinkaboutproviding

aroundtheclockchildcareservicesfortheiremployeeswhomaynothaveaspouse,

familymember,orchildcarereadilyavailablewhenanurgentITmatteroccursin

themiddleofthenight.Bydoingthis,organizationswouldeasetheburdenofthe

difficultwork-lifebalancethatwasexpressedbyparticipantsofthisstudy.There

werethreedifferentthemesofthisstudythatwerelabeledasstrategiesforsuccess

thatwerestatedbythewomenseniorleaderparticipantsintheITfield,which

were:Mentors/supportivenetworksprofessionalnetwork,researchyourfuture,

andself-efficacy.Organizationscanprovidesupporttowomenbyincorporating

thesestrategiesforsuccessintotheirworkplacepractices.Theestablishmentof

formalmentorprogramswithwomenmentoringwomencouldpromotepositivity,

107

inclusion,andasupportivenetworkofwomenintheworkplace.Organizations

couldalsoinvestintheirfemaleemployeesbysendingthemtovarioustradeand

leadershipseminarsandtrainingstogivethemtheskillsthattheyneedtobe

successfulwomenseniorleadersinthefieldofIT.

Atthesocietallevel,theresultsofthisstudypublishedinjournalsand

dissertationabstractsmayincreasethebodyofliteraturebyaddressingthegapon

thelivedexperiencesofwomenseniorleadersintheITfield.Thisresearchmaybe

thefirstofitskindtodiscussandsupportwomenseniorleadersintheITfield.The

findingsofthisstudymayserveasaninspirationandattractmorewomentothe

fieldofIT.

ImplicationsforDifferentMethods

Womenandorganizationsasawholecouldbenefitiftheresultsofthisstudy

wereusedtocreateadditionalresearchstudies.Aquantitativestudycouldbe

createdtosurveywomenseniorleadersintheITfieldtodetermineifself-efficacy

affectscareeradvancement.Myresearchfocusedonphenomenologicalresearch,

however;acasestudycoulddetailthestepstakentoreachseniorleadership.Last,

theDelphimethodcouldbeusedtounderstandwhatwomenneedintheir

workplacementorprograms.Theseproposedstudieswouldhelptoextendthe

literatureregardingwomenseniorleadersintheITfield.

ImplicationsforPractice

Therecommendationsforthepracticeofthistranscendental

phenomenologicalstudycouldprovideinsightandawarenesstopromotingwomen

108

intoseniorleadershippositionsintheITfieldaswellasattractmorewomentothe

field.Thedisseminationoftheresultsofthisstudycouldbepresentedat

conferences,ITrelatedpublications,trainingswithinorganizations,andtohuman

resourcesdepartmentstobringawarenesstowomenandmentoringinthe

workplace.Thisresearchcouldserveasa“wakeupcall”fororganizationsthatdo

nothavewomenseniorleaders.Promotingwomenintoseniorleadershippositions

mayattractmorewomentowanttoworkIT,whichcouldevenouttheplayingfield

ofmenandwomeninthefield.

Conclusions




phenomenonforthisstudywasthecareeradvancementofwomenseniorleadersin

theITfield.Theresultsofthisstudyrevealedarangeoffactorsforwomento

considerbothasanemployeeinamaledominatedfieldsuchasITandasasenior

leaderinthefield.Thetwohighestrankedthemesbytheparticipantsthatemerged

fromthedatawasthatITisagreatfieldtoworkinandthatwomenshouldhavea

highsenseofself-efficacy.Thisstudyconfirmedthathavingahighsenseofself-

efficacyisthekeytosuccessforwomen’sascensionintoseniorleadershipintheIT

field.

Thefindingsofthistranscendentalphenomenologicalstudyextendedthe

knowledgeinthedisciplineofmanagementtoenableorganizationsandwomen

109

aspiringtoascendintoseniorleadershipinthefieldbyunderstandingthelived

experiencesofwomenwhoarealreadyseniorleadersinthefield.Sixthemes

emergedfromthedataanalysisforthisstudy,whichwere:ITisagreatfield,

midcareerchangetoIT,mentors/supportiveprofessionalnetwork,researchyour

future,self-efficacy,difficultwork-lifebalance.Myrecommendationsaretofurther

thisresearchbyexpandingthescopetovariousITfunctionssuchasnetworking,

engineering,hardware,software,andprojectmanagementforexamplewitha

differentmethodology.Thisstudymaycontributetopositivesocialchangeby

promotingtheunderstandingoftheexperiencesandperspectivestrategiesfor

increasingthecareeradvancementofaspiringwomenleadersinamaledominated

industrysuchasIT.Anincreasedunderstandingofwomenseniorleaders’

experiencesinITcouldattractmorewomen,levelingtheplayingfieldofmenand

women.

110

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AppendixA:ParticipantInvitationandConsentForm

Date:XXMonth,2019YouareinvitedtoparticipateinaresearchstudyofwomenwhoarecurrentlyworkinginseniorleadershippositionsintheITfield.Inordertoparticipateinthisstudy,youmustmeetthefollowingrequirements:

1. FemaleseniorleadercurrentlyworkingintheITfield(Seniorlevelpositionsforthisstudyincludepresident,vicepresident,C-levelpositionssuchaschiefexecutiveofficer(CEO),chiefoperationsofficer(COO),chiefinformationofficer(CIO),chieftechnologyofficer(CTO),vicepresidentofIT(VPofIT)anddirectorandmanageriallevelpositions)

2. Workincurrentrolefor2ormoreyears3. LiveandworkinthecontinentalUnitedStates

IamMichelleNewsome,adoctoralcandidateatWaldenUniversityandwillbeconductingthisstudy.Iam35yearsoldandhavebeenworkedintheITfieldfor10years.BackgroundInformation:ThepurposeofthisstudyistounderstandthelivedexperiencesofwomenseniorleadersintheITfieldtogainanunderstandingoftheircareeradvancementintoseniorleadershippositions.Procedures:Ifyouagreetobeinthisstudy,youwillbeaskedtobeavailableforapproximately60minutesforeitheratelephonecallorafreevideoconferencecallinterviewaboutyourcareeradvancementintoaseniorleadershipposition.Withyourpermission,telephoneorvideoconferenceinterviewswillberecorded.Onlytheaudioportionoftheinterviewwillberecorded.Therewillnotbeanyvideorecordingoftheinterviewwhatsoever.Again,youhavetheoptiontodeclinebeingrecordedifyouchoose.Oncetheinterviewiscompleted,Iwilltranscribetheinterviewintowrittentext.Iwillemailyouacopyofthewrittentranscriptoftheinterviewwithin24-48hoursforyoutoreviewandverifythatIhavedocumentedyourwordsandexperiencesaccurately.Ifanychangesneedtobemadetoyourinterviewstatement,pleaseemailmethecorrections.Ifyouagreetothetranscriptprovided,pleasesimplyemailmebackstatingthatyou“agree”.Theverificationstepwilltakeapproximately15-20minuteslong.

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VoluntaryNatureoftheStudy:Yourparticipationinthisstudyisstrictlyvoluntary.Youarefreetoacceptorturndownthisinvitation.Ifyoudecidetobeinthisstudynow,youmaywithdrawfromthestudylater.Oncetheinterviewbegins,youmayrequesttostoporterminateyourparticipationatanytime.RisksandBenefits:Thereareminimalrisksassociatedwithparticipatinginthisstudy.Intheeventthatyoufeelstressedoruncomfortable,youmayterminateyourparticipationatanytime.Youmayrefusetoansweranyquestionsyouconsiderinvasive,toopersonal,orstressful.ThebenefitofthisstudymayassistinattractingwomentothefieldofIT.Inaddition,thisstudymayprovidearoadmaptowomenalreadyworkinginITwhoaspiretosenorleadershippositionsinthefield.Compensation:Therewillbenocompensationprovidedforyourparticipationinthisstudy.Youwillreceiveanexecutivesummaryoftheresearchstudy’sfindings.Confidentiality:Withyourconsent,theinterviewwillberecordedforresearchpurposes.Youmaydeclinetoberecordedatanypointintimeduringtheinterview.Thewrittenandaudiorecordsforthisstudywillbekeptinalockedboxandmaintainedinasecurelocation.Theresearcherwillnotincludeanyinformationthatwillmakeitpossibletoidentifyyou.YouwillsimplybelabeledasParticipant1,Participant2,Participant3,etc.After5yearsofthestudy’scompletion,Iwilldestroyallpaperandelectronicdatacollectedduringthestudy.Participation:Aspreviouslymentioned,thereareminimalriskswithbeingaparticipantinthisstudy.Yourconsentmeansthatyoudonothaveanypersonalorprofessionalconflictsofinterestwithbeingincludedinthisstudy.Ifyoumeettherequirementsandarewillingtobeaparticipantinthisstudy,pleasereplybacktothisemailorchatmessagewiththewords“IConsent”.WhenIreceiveyourconsent,Iwillreplybackwithinin24hourstoscheduleyourinterview.

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ContactsandQuestions:TheresearcherconductingthisstudyisMichelleNewsome.Youmayaskanyquestionsyouhavenow.Ifyouhavequestionslater,youmaycontacttheresearchervia(850)420-6518;michelle.newsome2@waldenu.edu.Ifyouwanttotalkprivatelyaboutyourrightsasaparticipant,youcancalltheResearchParticipantAdvocateatmyuniversityat612-312-1210.WaldenUniversity’sapprovalnumberforthisstudyis05-06-19-0485770anditexpiresonMay5th,2020.Pleasekeepacopyofthisconsentformforyourrecords.

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AppendixB:InterviewProtocol

Introduction

Goodmorning(afternoon).Iwouldliketofirststartbysayingthankyoufor

participatinginthisresearchstudycalled“WomenLeadersinIT:A

PhenomenologicalStudyofTheirCareerPath”.MynameisMichelleNewsome.The

purposeofthisstudyistounderstandthelivedexperiencesofwomensenior

leadersintheITfieldtogainanunderstandingoftheircareeradvancementinto

seniorleadershippositions.Theresearchwillfocusontheexperiencesofwomen

seniorleadersintheITfieldinordertounderstandthecontributingfactorsoftheir

success.

Asareminder,whenyoureturnedyouremailstatingIconsent,youhave

alreadyagreedtoparticipateinthestudy.Allresearchnotesandaudiorecordings

willbestoredinalockboxinasecurelocation.Youridentitywillnotbedisclosedat

anypointduringthestudy.Allmaterialsthroughouttheprocessofthestudywill

haveParticipant1,2,etc.OnlyIwillknowtheparticipantnamesandtheircodes.

Thecodelistwillbestoredinalockboxforfiveyearsandthendestroyedwiththe

restofthedata.Allresearchnotesandaudiorecordingswillbestoredinalockbox

inasecurelocation.Whenpresentingtheresearchfindingsofthestudy,direct

quoteswillsimplystate“Participant#1stated…).

Injustafewminutes,wewillstarttheinterview,whichwillconsistoffive

demographicquestions.Ifatanytimeduringthisinterviewyouhaveanyquestions,

pleaseletmeknowsothatIcanaddressthem.Also,ifyoudonotwishtoanswera

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question,youmaydecline.Ifyoudonotwishtocontinuetheinterviewforany

reason,wecanstopatanytime.Youmayasktoberemovedfromthestudyatany

time.Ifyouneedabreakforanyreason,pleaseletmeknow.

Wewillnowstarttheinterviewandbeginrecording

DemographicQuestionnaire

Thefollowingquestionswillbeusedtocollectdemographicinformation.

1. Whatisyourethnicity?AfricanAmerican__Asian__Caucasian__Hispanic__Twoormoreraces__Other,pleasespecify__

2. Whatisyouragebracket?20-29__30-39__40-49__50-59__60+__

3. Foreacheducationaldegreeobtained,pleasespecifyyourmajorandconcentrationsaswellasanyminorsobtained?_________________________

4. Whatisyourcurrentjobtitle?____________

5. Howlonghaveyoubeeninyourcurrentposition?___________

6. Whatistheprimaryindustrythatyouworkin?______________

InterviewQuestion

Whatistheessenceofthelivedprofessionalandpersonalexperiencesin

yourcareeradvancement,whichledyoutoachieveyourseniorlevelpositionsin

theITfield?

Conclusion

Thisconcludesourinterview.Isthereanythingyouwouldliketoaddordo

youhaveanyadditionalquestions?Thankyoufortakingthetimeoutofyourbusy

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scheduletoparticipantinthisstudy.Youwillreceiveafreecopyoftheexecutive

summaryofthestudyonceitiscompleted.

IwouldliketoverifyyouremailaddressatthistimesothatIcanemailyoua

transcriptofthisinterviewforyoutoreviewandconfirmthatIcapturedyour

wordsandexperiencesaccurately.

Thankyou

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AppendixC:SocialMediaAnnouncement

CallingWomenLeadersintheITField!

IwanttohearaboutyourcareerpathexperiencesintheITfield!Yourparticipation

inthisstudycouldbenefitwomenalreadyworkinginthefieldandthosewhoare

interestedinenteringthefield.

Pleasecontactmeatmichelle.newsome@waldenu.eduifyoumeetthefollowing

requirements:



positionssuchaschiefexecutiveofficer(CEO),chiefoperations

officer(COO),chieftechnologyofficer(CTO),directorand

manageriallevelpositions)

2. Workincurrentroleforatleast2yearsormore

3. LiveandworkinthecontinentalUnitedStates.

Pleasefeelfreetosharethisannouncementwithotherwomenthatmaybequalified

forthisstudy.Yourparticipationisgreatlyappreciated!

Documents

Women Leaders in Information Technology: A ... · women, leveling the playing field of men and women. ... Career Paths by Michelle Santos Newsome MBA, University of Phoenix, 2008