​Sociology Seminar | Gender, Migration and the IT sector: A Comparison between India and the UK 

Abstract

While Information Technology (IT) is seen as central to the knowledge economy women constitute less than 16% of IT specialists in the IT industry in the UK (BCS 2014). Moreover, the number of women in IT is declining. This is a pattern that is repeated across much of Europe as well as in the US. Migration is often seen as the answer to meeting IT skills shortages with IT consistently appearing as the highest single sector receiving highly skilled migrant permits. However, the figures for female participation in the IT sector are much more promising in India. For instance, female enrolments in science and engineering education (around 65%) and IT labour force participation (around 25%) are considerably higher in India. Moreover, significant numbers of women in IT are in technical roles and these numbers are rising. This presentation draws on a project which explored what the UK could learn from India about how to expand the number of women in IT. It focuses on some of the problems and prospects of comparison across labour markets and how comparison can be conceptualised in a connected world.