IEEE TECHNOLOGY AND SOCIETY MAGAZINE | WINTER 2006 0278-0079/06/$20.00©2006IEEE | 43
P. VIGNESWARA ILAVARASAN
Are Opportunities
Equal for Women in
the IT Workplace?
Observations from the Indian software industry
©ROBIN JAREAUX/PHOTODISC GREEN/GETTY IMAGES
D
espite the growing literature on women in the infor-
mation technology (IT) industry, knowledge about
gender discrimination within employing organiza-
tions is inadequate. This article fills the gap by test-
ing four hypotheses that explore whether work
opportunities are equal for women in India. The study did not
find any support for the delineated hypotheses and concluded
the following: women software workers do not perform low-
skilled activities; they experience the same as men on core job
characteristics, they do not feel marginalized in work teams; and