FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. - Developing an understanding of the under-representation of women and minorities in the information technology (IT) workforce is a complicated proposition. Four researchers in the Sam M. Walton College of Business, University of Arkansas, recently received a National Science Foundation (NSF) three-year grant for $603,942 to study the issue. Their ultimate goal is to help increase the number of women and minorities working in IT.

The researchers include: the principal investigator - Anne M. O’Leary-Kelly, professor of management; Bill C. Hardgrave, executive director, Information Technology Research Center, and Edwin and Karlee Bradberry Chair; Vicki R. McKinney, assistant professor of information systems; and Darryl D. Wilson, assistant professor of information systems.

"This is the largest National Science Foundation (NSF) grant that the Walton College has ever received, and it is also significant because the NSF rarely makes grants to business schools," said Walton College Dean Doyle Z. Williams. "The success of this award is in part due to the willingness of companies who support our Information Technology Research Center to participate in this study. The results of this study will be a win for them in helping them develop a diverse workforce. It will be a win for the College to have the opportunity to lead such important research and make an impact on the IT profession."

O’Leary-Kelly said, "This grant is another positive result from the $50 million the College received in 1998 from the Walton Family Charitable Support Foundation. With these funds, the College was able to establish the Information Technology Research Center (ITRC) in 1999, and through the Center, we were able to make connections with high-level IT professionals in major organizations. Without the access provided by these companies, our proposal to the NSF would not have been so competitive.

"The companies that belong to the ITRC were incredibly helpful in assisting us with this project. They have indicated a strong commitment to building the diversity of the IT workforce, and their willingness to work with us on this grant is evidence of that." The study will survey 11,000 IT workers in seven companies, many of which are multi-national.

One of the principal objectives of the study is to determine how to keep women and minorities from leaving the IT profession. Hardgrave said, "There is research on how to get these groups interested in the IT field while in K-12 and in higher education, but there is very little research about how to address the problem of women and minorities leaving the IT workforce once they go to work there. Women represent about 27 percent of the IT workforce and minorities represent approximately seven percent. This study will address how to keep them from leaving the IT workforce once they join it as well as how to increase those percentages."

The study proposed to NSF is titled, "The Influence of Professional Identification on the Retention of Women and Racial Minorities in the IT Workforce." Professional identification is a management term that reflects the degree to which an individual’s valued self-image derives from attachment to a profession. The purpose of the research is to explore whether differences in individual characteristics and situational experiences lead women and minorities to develop different level of professional identification as compared to majority individuals. Another goal will be to examine the influence of professional identification on the career persistence of IT workers.

McKinney said, "IT workforce demand is the lowest it has been in four years, according to Computerworld, one of the leading IT trade publications. This research allows us to study what can be done to keep IT workers from leaving the profession, especially in times with low job demand. Since women and minorities comprise such a small percentage of the IT workforce, this research is especially relevant and will allow employers to gain insight on attracting and keeping these workers."

Wilson said, "One of our advantages in competing for this grant was the diversity of our research team in terms of both gender and race. This type of diversity is not a common attribute of colleges of business at 'research one’ universities, and our being able to put together such a team is a testimony to the leadership of the Walton College."

The study will be a longitudinal study, which means the team will survey workers once a year for a series of three years. In addition to the research team, the study will employ a PhD student and two master students, thus increasing the U of A’s graduate enrollment.

Hardgrave added, "Speaking from the perspective of the ITRC, this interdisciplinary research exactly fulfills one of the missions of the Center: to advance the practice of information technology and to enhance the performance of individuals and organizations."