Gender Equality in Turkish ICT Sector: A Feminist Technoscience Perspective

Year 2023, Volume: 15 Issue: 3, 505 - 521, 19.10.2023

Zelal Özdemır

https://doi.org/10.53376/ap.2023.19

Abstract

This study, conducted within the framework of the EQUALS-EU project funded by the UFUK 2020 Program, aims to understand and explore the gender-based challenges faced by women working in the Information and Communication Technology (ICT) sector and how they experience gender inequality in the industry. Despite high salaries, prestige, access to the latest technology, and international career opportunities, gender bias, limited career development, and work-life balance continue to pose obstacles for women. Furthermore, gender imbalance in the sector is reinforced by a male-dominated corporate culture, leading to unfair treatment, poor decision-making practices, and negative workplace environments. Although there is a technical skills shortage in Turkey's ICT sector, many studies have shown potential for women to find opportunities in the sector. The shortage of skilled labor puts employers in a paradoxical “techno-patriarchal bargaining” position, even though employers' concerns about factors such as maternity leave costs, marriage compensation, or social norms may make them hesitant to employ women.

Keywords

Technology, ICT, Gender Equality, Techriarchal Bargain, Türkiye

Ethical Statement

Bu araştırma için Orta Doğu Teknik Üniversitesi, İnsan Araştırmaları Etik Kurulu’ndan 23 Haziran 2021 tarihinde ve 293-ODTU-2021 protokol numarası ile etik kurul izni alınmıştır.

Türkiye’de Bilgi İletişim Teknolojileri Sektöründe Toplumsal Cinsiyet Eşitliği: Bir Feminist Teknobilim Perspektifi

Abstract

UFUK 2020 Programı tarafından finanse edilen EQUALS-EU projesi çerçevesinde yürütülen bu çalışma, Bilgi ve İletişim Teknolojileri (BİT) sektöründe çalışan kadınların karşılaştıkları toplumsal cinsiyete dayalı zorlukları ve sektördeki toplumsal cinsiyet eşitsizliğini nasıl yaşadıklarını anlamayı ve araştırmayı amaçlamaktadır. Yüksek maaşlar, prestij, en son teknolojiye erişim ve uluslararası kariyer fırsatlarına rağmen, toplumsal cinsiyet önyargısı, sınırlı kariyer gelişimi ve iş-yaşam dengesi kadınlar için engel teşkil etmeye devam etmektedir. Ayrıca, sektördeki dengesizlik erkek egemen bir şirket kültürü tarafından pekiştirilmekte, bu da haksız muameleye, eşitsiz karar alma uygulamalarına ve olumsuz işyeri ortamlarına yol açmaktadır. Doğum izni maliyetleri, evlilik tazminatı veya sosyal normlar gibi faktörlere ilişkin kaygılar işverenlerin kadınları istihdam etmekte tereddüt etmelerine neden olsa da vasıflı işgücü eksikliği işverenleri paradoksal bir “teknoerkil pazarlık” konumuna sokmaktadır. Diğer bir deyişle, sektördeki vasıflı işgücü eksikliği toplumsal cinsiyet temelli kalıp yargıların varlığına rağmen kadınların BİT sektöründe istihdamını kolaylaştırmaktadır.

Keywords

Teknoloji, BİT Sektörü, Toplumsal Cinsiyet Eşitliği, Teknoerkil Pazarlık, Türkiye

References

• Abbate, Janet (2012), Recoding Gender. Women’s Changing Participation in Computing (Cambridge: MIT Press).
• Adriany, Vina, Hani Yulindrasari ve Raden Safrina (2021), “Doing Feminist Participatory Action Research for Disrupting Traditional Gender Discourses with Indonesian Muslim Kindergarten Teachers”, Action Research, 0 (0): 1-17.
• Armstrong, Jennifer (2005), “Is IT Unfriendly to Women?”, http://techrepublic.com.com/5102-10878-5753934.html (25.06.2022).
• Åsberg, Cecilia ve Nina Lykke (2010), “Feminist Technoscience Studies”, European Journal of Women’s Studies, 17 (4): 299-305.
• Batliwala, Srilatha (2007), “Taking the Power Out of Empowerment: An Experiential Account”, Development in Practice, 17: 557-565.
• Berg, Vivian, Helen Gansmo, Kristin Hestflatt, Merete Lie, Hege Nordli ve Knut Sorensen (2002), “Gender and ICT in Norway: an overview of Norwegian research and some relevant statistical information”, Report for Strategies of Inclusion: Gender and the Information Society, www.rcss.ed.ac.uk/sigis/public/deliverables D, 2 (22.04.2023).
• Björkman, Christina (2002), Challenging Canon: The Gender Question in Computer Science (Licentiate Thesis) (Karlskrona: Blekinge Institute of Technology).
• Buchanan, Tom (2005), “The Paradox of the Contented Female Worker in A Traditionally Female Industry”, Sociological Spectrum, 25 (6): 677-713.
• Cameron, Lori ve Michael Martinez (t.y.), “The Epic Journey of Women in Computing: Advances, Setbacks, and an Uncertain Future”, https://www.computer.org/publications/tech-news/research/history-of-women-programmers-in-computing-gender (31.07.2023).
• Chant, Sylvia ve Caroline Sweetman (2012), “Fixing Women or Fixing the World? “Smart Economics,” Efficiency Approaches, and Gender Equality in Development”, Gender and Development, 20: 517-529.
• Cornwall, Andrea ve Deborah Eade (2011), Deconstructing Development Discourse: Buzzwords and Fuzzwords, Rugby (England: Practical Action).
• Correll, Shelley (2001), “Gender and the career choice process: The Role of Biased Self-assessments”, American Journal of Sociology, 106 (6): 1691-1730.
• Costello, Kaitlin Light ve Diana. Floegel (2021), “The Potential of Feminist Technoscience for Advancing Research in Information Practice”, Journal of Documentation, 77 (5): 1142-1153.
• Crosby, Faye (1982), Relative Deprivation and Working Women (New York: Oxford University Press).
• Çaha, Havva ve Jarkynay Turgunalı, (2016), “Women Engineering in Turkey”, Procedia Economics and Finance, 38: 60 – 69.
• Çelik, Ezgi Ece (2018), “Haraway’in Yoldaş Türleri ve Ağ Ören Anlatılar”, FLSF (Felsefe ve Sosyal Bilimler Dergisi), 26: 27-46.
• Deloitte Turkey, (2021), “Women in Technology Study 2021”, https://www2.deloitte.com/content/dam/Deloitte/tr/Documents/TechnologyMediaTelecommunication/TR_TMT_Women_in_Tech_Report_EN.PDF (30.05.2023).
• Dursun, Ayça Nur (2020), Toplumsal Cinsiyet Eşitsizliğine Bir Çözüm Olarak Siberfeminizm, (Yayınlanmamış Yüksek Lisans Tezi) (Kütahya: Kütahya Dumlupınar Üniversitesi Sosyal Bilimler Enstitüsü, Siyaset Bilimi ve Uluslararası İlişkiler Anabilim Dalı).
• Elnur, Ahmet (2022), “Siberfeminizmden Teknofeminizme: Feminist Teknoloji Çalışmalarında Yaşanan Gelişmeler”, Avrasya Uluslararası Araştırmalar Dergisi, 10 (32): 321-339.
• Ensmenger, Nathan (2010), The Computer Boys Take Over: Computers, Programmers, and the Politics of Technical Expertise (MIT Press).
• European Union (2022), Approaches to Inclusive Gender Equality in Research and Innovation (R&I) (Luxembourg: Publications Office of the European Union).
• Equals-EU (2020), https://equals-eu.org/the-project/ (02.02.2023).
• European Institute for Gender Equality (EIGE) (2021), “Women and ICT in the EU”, https://eige.europa.eu/publications/women-and-ict-eu (21.01.2023).
• Eurostat, (2021), “Women and Men in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) - Statistical Portrait - 2021 Edition", https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/statistics-explained/index.php?title=Women_and_men_in_science,_technology,_engineering_and_mathematics_(STEM)_statistics_-_statistical_portrait (11.02.2023).
• Evans, Judith (1994), Feminist Theory Today: An İntroduction to Second-Wave Feminism (Sage Publications).
• Faulkner, Wendy (2002), “Women, gender in/and ICT: evidence and reflections from the UK”, Report for Strategies of Inclusion, Gender and the Information Society, www.rcss.ed.ac.uk/sigis/public/deliverables/D02/1 (31 Mayıs 2023).
• Fritz, Barkley (1996), “The Women of ENIAC”, IEEE Annals of the History of Computing, 18 (3).
• Gaucher, Danielle, Justin Friesen ve Aaron Kay (2011), “Evidence that Gendered Wording in Job Advertisements Exists and Sustains Gender İnequality”, Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 101 (1): 109-128.
• Grint, Keith ve Rosalind Gill (1995), The Gender-Technology Relation: Contemporary Theory and Research (London: Taylor & Francis).
• Grey, Susan ve Geraldine Healy (2004), “Women and IT Contracting work – a testing process”, New Technology, Work and Employment, 19 (1): 30-42.
• Henwood, Flis (1993), “Establishing Gender Perspectives on Information Technology: Problems, Issues and Opportunities”, Green, Eileen, Owen, Jenny and Pain, Den (Der.), Gendered by Design (London, Washington D.C.: Taylor and Francis): 31-49.
• Hill, Catherine, Christianne Corbett ve Andresse St Rose (2010), “Why so few? Women in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics”, American Association of University Women.
• Horvath, Lisa Kristina ve Sabine Sczesny (2016). "Reducing women's lack of fit with leadership positions? Effects of the wording of job advertisements". European Journal of Work and Organizational Psychology, 25 (2): 316-328.
• Kabeer, Naila (1994), Reversed Realities: Gender Hierarchies in Development Thought (London: Verso Books).
• Kandiyoti, Deniz (1988), “Bargaining with Patriarchy”, Gender & Society, 2 (3): 274-290.
• Kelan, Elisabeth (2008), Gendered Practices in the IT Industry: The Role of Hegemonic Masculinity”, Gender, Work & Organization, 15 (1): 1-14.
• Kram, Kathy ve McCollom Hampton (2003), ‘When women lead: The visibility-vulnerability spiral’, Ely, Robin, Erica Foldy, Maureen Scully (Der.), Reader in Gender, Work and Organization (Malden, MA, USA: Blackwell Publishing Ltd): 211–223.
• ILO (2019), “World Employment Social Outlook, 2018 Trends”, https://www.ilo.org/wcmsp5/groups/public/---dgreports/---dcomm/publ/documents/publication/wcms_615594.pdf (14.04.2023).
• Lykke, Nina (2010), Feminist Studies: A Guide to İntersectional Theory, Methodology and Writing (New York: Routledge).
• Malhotra, A., J. Schulte, P. Patel ve P. Petesch (2009), Innovation for Women’s Empowerment and Gender Equality, http://www.icrw.org/innovation/index.html (14.04.2023).
• Merete, Lie (2003), He, She and IT revisited – New Perspectives on Gender in the Information Society (Trondheim: Gyldendal Akademisk).
• Montgomery, Tom (2016), “Are Social Innovation Paradigms Incommensurable?”, VOLUNTAS: International Journal of Voluntary and Non-profit Organizations, 27 (4): 1979-2000.
• O’Mara, Margaret (2022), “Why can’t tech fix its gender problem?”, MIT Technology Review, https://www.technologyreview.com/2022/08/11/1056917/tech-fix-gender-problem/ (18.04.2023).
• Özkan, Mehmet Ruchan (2016), “Bilişim Sektöründe Nitelikli İşgücü Problemi ve İşkur’un Rolü”, Çalışma ve Sosyal Güvenlik Bakanlığı (Ankara).
• Özsoy, Ceyda ve Sevilay Atlama (2009), “An Analysis of Trends in Female Labor Force Participation in Turkey”, Proceedings of the Challenge for Analysis of the Economy, the Businesses, and Social Progress.
• Pande, Rekha, Wen Liu ve Hsunhui Tseng (2020), “Feminist Theory and Methodologies: Crossing Disciplinary Boundaries”, Fenny Cheung ve Diane Halpern (Der.), The Cambridge Handbook of the International Psychology of Women (Cambridge University Press), 14-26.
• Pollack, Shoshana (2003), “Focus-Group Methodology in Research with Incarcerated Women: Race, Power, and Collective Experience”, Affilia-Journal of Women and Social Work, 18 (4): 461-472.
• Rowlands, Jo (1997), Questioning Empowerment: Working with Women in Honduras (Oxford: Oxfam).
• Science Museum (2020), https://www.sciencemuseum.org.uk/objects-and-stories/women-computing (01.08.2023).
• Snyder, Kieran. (2014), “The Abrasiveness Trap: High-Achieving Men and Women are Described Differently in Reviews”, Fortune.
• Suchman, Lucy (1994), “Do Categories Have Politics? The Language/Action Perspective Reconsidered”, L. Lamont ve M. Fournier (Der.), Cultivating Differences: Symbolic Boundaries and the Making of Inequality (Chicago: University of Chicago Press): 189-213.
• Şahin, Fadime (2020), The Gender Wage Gap in Turkey's ICT Sector (Yayınlanmamış Doktora Tezi) (London: SOAS University).
• Toprak, Feyza (2022), Feminizmin Doğa Bilimleri ile Buluşması: Kuantum Felsefesinden Yeni Materyalizm ve İnsan-Sonrası’na (Post-Human) Eleştirel Bir Okuma (Yayınlanmamış Doktora Tezi) (Ankara: Ankara Üniversitesi Kadın Çalışmaları Anabilim Dalı).
• Toprakci Alp, Gözde ve Beyhan Aksoy (2021), “Bilim, Teknoloji ve Kadın: Çalışmanın Geleceğine Dair Bir Değerlendirme”, Pamukkale Üniversitesi İşletme Araştırmaları Dergisi, 8 (1): 248-264.
• Turkish Statistical Institute (2020), "Employment Statistics 2020. https://biruni.tuik.gov.tr/medas/?kn=95&locale=en (24.02.2023).
• TÜBİSAD (2016), “Türkiye Bilişim Sektörü Raporu”, https://www.tubisad.org.tr/tr/bilgi-bankasi/sunumlar-liste/TUBISAD-Raporlar/40/0/0 (31.05.2023.)
• Valet, Peter (2018), “Social Structure and the Paradox of the Contented Female Worker: How Occupational Gender Segregation Biases Justice Perceptions of Wages”, Work and Occupations, 45 (2): 168–193.
• Varol, Sibel Fügan (2014), “Kadınların Dijital Teknolojiyle İlişkisine Ütopik Bir Yaklaşım: Siberfeminizm”, International Journal of Social Science, 27: 219-234.
• Vogel, William (2017), "The Spitting Image of a Woman Programmer: Changing Portrayals of Women in the American Computing Industry, 1958-1985", IEEE Annals of the History of Computing, 39 (2): 49-64.
• Vogel, William (2014), "Shifting Attitudes. Women in Computing, 1965-1985", SIGCIS 2014 Workshop, Dearborn MI, https://www.sigcis.org/files/Vogel.pdf (29.07.2023).
• Wajcman, Judy (2007), “From Women and Technology to Gendered Technoscience”, Information, Communication & Society, 10 (3): 287-298.
• Wajcman, Judy (2004), “Techno‐feminism and the Role of Women in/inventing the Future”, Social Studies of Science, 34 (3): 377-400.
• Wajcman, Judy (1991), Feminism Confronts Technology (Cambridge: Polity Press).
• Wilkinson, Sue (1999), “Focus Groups: A Feminist Method”, Psychology of Women Quarterly, 23 (2): 221–244.
• Woodfield, Ruth (2002), “Women and Information Systems Development: not Just a Pretty (Inter)face?”, Information Technology & People, 15 (2): 119-38.
• World Bank (2008), “Gender Equality as Smart Economics: The Bank’s Gender Action Plan: A year later”, https://documents.worldbank.org/en/publication/documents-reports/documentdetail/295371468315572899/gender-equality-as-smart-economics-a-world-bank-group-gender-action-plan-fiscal-years-2007-10 (27.02.2023).
• Yeganehfar, Masomeh, Atefeh Zarei, Alireza Isfandyari-Mogghadam ve Aliakbar Famil-Rouhani (2018), “Justice in Technology Policy: A Systematic Review of Gender Divide Literature and the Marginal Contribution of Women on ICT”, Journal of Information, Communication and Ethics in Society, 16 (2): 123-137.