This project seeks to develop new perspectives on how to address the low numbers of women in the UK Information Technology (IT) sector, by examining how India attracts and maintains a high representation of women in its IT sector. There have been many attempts to improve women’s participation in the IT industry in the UK but they have had limited and variable success. However, gender equity in IT is an important target globally as there is increasing concern over falling entry and retention levels of women in IT, and in the STEM-subject professions more generally. India’s comparatively high rates of entry and retention are a globally-significant exception.

Through a multidisciplinary, comparative analysis across two countries, and of the experiences of migrants, two significant but separate fields of academic research will be brought together in GSM-IT:

• gender issues in IT
• gender and skilled migration

This project uses academic and industry interests and approaches to explore four questions

1. What are the patterns of gender differences in the labour market among migrant and non-migrant workers in the IT sector in India and the UK?
2. What processes have led to gendered patterns of workplace experiences among migrant and non-migrant workers in the IT sector in India and the UK?
3. What is the role of firms, industry and national regulations and cultures in creating barriers and opportunities for migrant and non-migrant men and women's career entry and progression and labour markets?
4. What are the best practices for integrating women into firms in each country and how does this differ by migration status?

This project is supported by the ESRC, and is being run by Professor Parvati Raghuram, Dr Clem Herman, Dr Esther Ruiz Ben, and Dr Gunjan Sondhi.

Industry Partners

India: NASSCOM

UK: TechUK, BCS Women, Tech Advocates London

Research Outputs

2020 

• Women IT Expatriates: Global Lessons from India 

2019

• Skilled Migration and IT Sector:  A gendered analysis (India Migration Report 2019)

2018

• Women and IT Scorecard – India 2018
• Women in Leadership – India
• Bridging the digital divide (Lessons from India for the UK)

2017

• Women and IT Scorecard – India 2017

Impact

• Gender Inclusion in Hiring in India (Shell Foundation Report, July 2019)
• The Bay Area-Silicon Valley and India: Convergence and Alignment in the Innovation Age (Bay Area Council Economic Institute, June 2019)
• Increasing the number of women in the IT sector (ESRC, March 2019)

• Gender equality at the workplace (Fortune India, November 2018)

• The Power of Parity – Advancing Women’s Equality in Asia Pacific (Mckinsey Global Institute Report, April 2018)

• 6 women in tech whose stories will inspire young girls everywhere (Vogue India, June 2018)

Data Access

Archived data is accessible through the UK Data Service website.