Factors of influence for occupational attainment of African-American women in information technology.

摘要

The purpose of this study was to determine the factors that influence the occupational attainment of African-American women in Information Technology (IT) and contribute to the existing literature on career attainment. Participants consisted of 15 African-American women who chose to pursue IT as an occupation and gained entry into the profession upon graduation. The Career Factor Checklist (O'Neil et al., 1978) and John Holland's Personality Theory were primarily used as the framework for this mixed methods study. The findings revealed the following factors were salient to the occupational attainment of African-American women in IT: Family Factors, Individual Factors, Socioeconomic and Societal Factors. These factors were linked to significant experiences of the participant's occupational journey. The findings also support that early engagement with practical IT experiences, occupational outlook discussions, guidance and support, networking and the exposure to public sector jobs is vital for African-American women to achieve occupational attainment in IT. Furthermore, the findings revealed that current career theories and models should be amended to include relevant factors of African-American women in IT or the potential development of a theory that can be best utilized when studying African-American women in IT.;Keywords: information technology, STEM, occupational attainment, occupational choice, vocational choice, career development theories..