Women's Professional Identity Formation in the Free/Open Source Software Community

Anca Metiu and Otilia Obodaru ()
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Otilia Obodaru: INSEAD, Postal: Boulevard Constance, 77300 Fontainebleau, FRANCE, http://www.insead.edu

No DR 08009, ESSEC Working Papers from ESSEC Research Center, ESSEC Business School

Abstract: We examine the formation of women’s professional identity in a particular type of male-dominated domain, the free and open source software development communities, and more broadly in information technology. Through an ethnographic analysis of interviews and online forums discussions, we find that women experience two types of discrepancies or gaps that constitute obstacles in the process of identity formation: an image gap and an identity gap. We show the strategies employed by women as they attempt to bridge these gaps; we also find that some of these strategies, while tackling one gap, may also deepen the other.

Keywords: Gender; Identity Formation; Self-presentation (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Z13 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 40 pages
Date: 2008-04
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-ict, nep-ipr, nep-pr~ and nep-lab
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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