Belarusian women on the way to IT: myths, fears, obstacles. Research results. Marina Mentusova

The study conducted by the Center for Gender Studies at EHU is the first part of a large study of the gender inequality in IT sector. This study allows to register the structural problems of gender imbalance. Like other types of gender discrimination, the underrepresentation of women in Belarusian IT has infrastructural and institutional roots, which are connected not only directly with the IT sphere itself, but also with gender socialization, economic inequality, the organization of the educational process, etc.

Among the factors influencing women’s possibility to succeed in the IT sphere – gender stereotypes and prejudice (45% of respondents said that self-doubt prevents them from going to study an IT specialty right now); lack of time (this factor affects decisions related to the passage of specialized courses, or the inability to continue training); ageism (almost 80% of respondents are women 25-40 years old, but even those who are a little over 30 are wondering if it’s too late to start a new career track); economic factors (lack of resources to pay for education). The study found that 95% of the respondents experienced stereotypes about women’s abilities.”

Center for Gender Studies at the European Humanities University in the frame of the project Women in Tech, 2022, with the financial support of the EU.