Profileringsarbete för jämställdhet inom IT-organisationer
During our formative years, technology has always had a natural part of everyday life, and for us technology has never been particularly gendered. If this depends on the climate and the attitude of our homes, ourselves, the combination of both or something completely different is a question we have asked ourselves at times. But our approach to technology does not seem as obvious to all women, and today the IT industry is heavily dominated by men. This has meant that we have asked the question whether there is any underlying reason why so few women opt for IT courses? Is there a link between how different IT organizations profiles and the prevailing gender ratio? The purpose of this study is to investigate whether there is any connections between how IT organizations are related to gender issues and how the structures, attitudes and gender actually looks like in the IT industry today, and how this can be seen in their branding efforts. We have determined this by doing a qualitative study where we examined how five different organizations located in Umeå profiles themselves to attract both men and women. The results we have found in our study focus a lot on driving forces and the importance of awareness of gender equality and that this in turn can be seen through the profiling work. Furthermore, the results show that people's view of technology is a critical factor in study and career choices, and that organizations are more or less responsible in how they might affect this. Finally, the study has also shown that active profiling actually makes a difference on the issue of attracting men and women.