Information Technology Workforce - ITWF: Entry, Earnings Growth, and Retention in IT Careers: An Economic Study

University Of California-Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara CA

Investigators

Abstract

ABSTRACT Information Technology Workforce (ITWF) Proposal Id: EIA-0120111 Investigator: Catherine J. Weinberger and Peter Kuhn Institution: UC, Santa Barbara Title: Entry, Earnings Growth, and Retention in IT Careers: An Economic Study This proposal provides support for the University of California Santa Barbara to conduct three studies which together address questions pertaining to the college major choices of young women, and to the persistence and labor market success of college-educated women in Information Technology Workforce (IT) careers. The first study will examine the career paths of women who already have IT degrees and will explore whether there are labor market barriers that make IT careers less appealing to women. The second is a longitudinal study that will utilize decision theory to scrutinize common assumptions of economic models of career choice. The third study will survey young women's beliefs (or stereotypes) about the characteristics of IT jobs and the women who fill them. The information from this last survey will be linked to the longitudinal second study so that correlations between these beliefs and later career outcomes can be determined.