Gender Diversity in Engineering Software Development Virtual Teams
Gender diversity in virtual teams within high technology industries is important in the technological age due to the inequalities that exist based on gender in the workplace. There may be a need for policy reform, training, or specific interventions to take place within virtual groups. This research involved a case study of the role that gender diversity plays in engineering software development teams in the major Fortune 500 "high technology" companies. There were 89 management leaders and 50 team members (22 women, 67 males) that were located across geographical locations of a Fortune 500 company that were interviewed. Participants were interviewed by phone according to a survey. They were asked to describe their current jobs and responsibilities and challenges faced in their work context. The goal commitment, team identification, individual performance, and media of communication used by members within the virtual team were determined between genders. The results showed that there were significant differences in goal commitment and team identification, while there were no significant differences in individual performance.
School:
Southern University and A&M College at Baton Rouge
Department:
Psychology
Research Advisor:
Aparna Joshi
Department of Research Advisor:
School of Labor & Employee Relations
Year of Publication:
2008