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    Women and I.T. Careers: Why Women Are Leaving the Ranks of I.T. Careers and Why It's So Important They Stay
    Women and I.T. Careers: Why Women Are Leaving the Ranks of I.T. Careers and Why It's So Important They Stay
    Women and I.T. Careers: Why Women Are Leaving the Ranks of I.T. Careers and Why It's So Important They Stay
    Ebook68 pages47 minutes

    Women and I.T. Careers: Why Women Are Leaving the Ranks of I.T. Careers and Why It's So Important They Stay

    By Cedric Alford

    ()

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    About this ebook

    The under-representation of women in IT leadership roles is an alarming statistic that has the potential for global implications.
    Written in a clear and concise manner, this book is the culmination of Dr. Cedric Alford’s dissertation research on this greatly unexplored phenomenon, and identifies the barriers women face by telling the stories of 10 women who hold IT leadership positions, highlighting their triumphs and struggles. It also contains personal thoughts and beliefs based on the experiences he encountered throughout his 22 years in the IT industry, most while holding executive level positions.
    Possible solutions for IT leaders, organizations, students and educators are offered to end this pressing problem and to retain women as a global priority in the present-day IT world.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherCedric Alford
    Release dateDec 23, 2015
    ISBN9781310289224
    Women and I.T. Careers: Why Women Are Leaving the Ranks of I.T. Careers and Why It's So Important They Stay
    Author

    Cedric Alford

    Dr. Cedric Alford is an accomplished leader with over 20 years of experience in marketing, technology and business strategy. He has profound experience in designing and executing data-driven marketing strategies for industry leaders across various sectors, including financial services, healthcare, education, professional services and retail.An innovative and visionary thinker with a track record of leadership and mentorship, Dr. Alford has held the professional titles of Visiting Professor of Marketing and Management, National Director and Vice President. His current role is a Marketing Solutions Executive for the Microsoft Corporation.He is a recognized expert in Software as a Service (SaaS) with exceptional communication skills necessary for securing internal support for initiatives, building and energizing high-performing teams and forging collaborative partnerships that lead to superior results.

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      Book preview

      Women and I.T. Careers - Cedric Alford

      Women and I.T. Careers

      Why Women Are Leaving the Ranks of I.T. Careers

      and

      Why It's So Important They Stay

      Dr. Cedric Alford

      Copyright 2015 Cedric Alford Smashwords Edition

      All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording or by any information storage and retrieval system without written permission from the author.

      ISBN: 13: 978-1-13102892-2-4

      Smashwords Edition, License Notes

      This eBook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This eBook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

      To contact this author, please email him at: drcedricalford@gmail.com.

      TABLE OF CONTENTS

      Introduction

      Chapter One: The Paradox

      The Barriers Women Face

      Chapter Two: Organizational Structures

      Taking an Organization into Consideration

      Organizational Culture

      The Glass Ceiling

      The Glass Cliff

      The Concrete Ceiling

      Derailment

      Authority, Power and Influence

      Organizational Fit and Gender

      Chapter Three: Women in IT Leadership

      Higher Education and IT

      Chapter Four: The Study

      The 10 Major Themes That Emerged From This Study

      22 Elements That Define Important Factors Supporting Advancement of Women in IT Roles

      Conclusion

      Final Thoughts

      About the Author

      INTRODUCTION

      BACK TO TOP

      As a 20+ year veteran working in the technology industry and witnessing its explosion of growth along with more and more women entering the work force, I wondered why more women weren't entering the IT field.

      After all, technology was advancing at a rapid rate and offered exceptionally good paying jobs with a secure future. The tech industry in Silicon Valley was a hotbed for innovation, with other cities such as New York, Seattle, Chicago, Miami and Austin emerging as tech hubs. In fact, the Lone Star State of Texas, whose burgeoning tech scene is drawing IT professionals from other cities around the world to relocate there, is poised to roll out tens of thousands of tech jobs by the year 2017.

      Women are in a prime position to take advantage of these new jobs. However, statistics show that women are not growing in the number of IT professionals, and women are also not appearing in IT leadership roles. The importance of why fewer women than men chose the IT field was so prevalent to me to understand why that I based my doctoral dissertation on the subject. I want to share my findings of researching 10 women, all IT professionals, in the Dallas/Fort Worth area who resided in leadership roles - project manager or above - for a minimum of at least three years in those higher positions. By using a smaller number of participants, this allowed for a more effective approach, bringing out the individuals' personal experiences and perspectives.

      In all of my years of experience, I have probably consulted with around 400 of the Fortune 500 and 1000 companies. During this process, I have rarely seen women in the C Level conversations I have had, but saw many on the way to the office of the Chief Executive Officer, Chief Marketing Officer or Chief Operating Officer. Not only did I take on the opportunity to understand this from a research standpoint, but over the course of my 22 years in IT, I have started companies from the ground up or grew existing technology teams by adding women to previously male-only teams.

      It is my greatest hope that the findings of my studies encourages others to develop their own thoughts and create additional knowledge to advance understanding in this area, and bring back women to tech jobs as a global solution to serve the world's needs more productively and with more equality

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