Is the information systems profession gendered?

Abstract

In spite of a more "feminine" nature of the IS discipline due to its greater perceived social component, stereotypes and educational prejudices that are prevalent in the computer science discipline are assumed to exist in the information systems field. The objective of this study was to test the validity of this assumption by uncovering the perceptions of potential IS professionals, i.e., college students, toward IS professionals and the IS profession. Our study reveals that stereotypes found to be associated with computer science also seem to permeate the IS field. These stereotypic images do not fade away even after the students are more informed about IS careers. However, it does not fully support the assumption that women believe the field of information systems is identical to computer science. When describing an IS professional and the IS profession, women were cognizant about the unique nature of the IS field, i.e., the IS profession is a blend of technical, systems, social, and managerial components.