Understanding the 'Mommy Tracks': A Framework for Analyzing Work-Family Issues in the IT Workforce

摘要

Despite the recent growth in the number of women in the U.S. labor force, women are still underrepresented in IT work. This paper presents a framework for analyzing work-family conflicts as a way of better understanding the contribution of this factorto the underrepresentation of women in IT. Data from a field study of women employed in the American IT workforce is examined through the lens of the individual differences theory to show the range of ways in which work-family considerations influence women's IT career decisions. This framework depicts four categories of decisions made by women: the "non mom," the "working mother," the "back-on-track mother" and the "off-the-track mother."