ICT Definition Implication on ICT Career Choice and Exclusion among Women

ICT is driving all areas of the economy and is\udlikely to dictate the future for all genders. The narrow\uddefinition of ICT has greatly impacted on the female\udgender choosing ICT as a career of choice. There are few\udwomen in the ICT careers. The study sought to determine\udthe nature of ICT career gender exclusion, status and\udtrend of ICT job opportunities, source of ICT gender\udcareer exclusion and the contribution of the narrow\uddefinition to the exclusion. A mixed method of survey\udand desktop method was employed in this study. A\udstructured questionnaire was used in this study in order to\udidentify the factors that influence ICT career choice\udamongst Kenyan lady students. A purposive sample of\udInformation Technology and Computer Science\udundergraduate university students (77 females, 56 males;\udage range 17 to 35 years) and 10 postgraduate students in\udInformation Technology from two public universities\udparticipated in the study. The paper discusses the\udemerging unfilled ICT jobs. The study established that\udthe narrow definition negatively influences ICT as a\udcareer of Choice among girls. Broadening ICT definition\udto include ICT related careers that have more social\udrather than technical aspect accordingly is likely to\udinfluence more women to join the field