Telework and gender: implications for the management of information technology professionals

Attracting and retaining highly skilled information technology (IT) professionals has been a difficult task for IT managers since the early 1980s. With over 400,000 unfilled IT positions in the USA today, many IT professionals are moving from job to job looking for higher salaries and more satisfying working arrangements. Since men and women often perceive their professional and domestic roles and responsibilities differently, more flexible working arrangements, which permit them to accomplish these roles and responsibilities in a more satisfactory manner, can be an important motivation for accepting and remaining in a given IT position. The purpose of this study was to investigate the similarities and differences between men and women in the IT industry in terms of their motivations to telecommute, and to discuss the implications for managing IT professionals.