Women upskilling or reskilling to an ICT career: A systematic review of drivers and barriers

2025-10-25

AI Summary

This study addresses the critical gap in ICT gender-diversity literature—overemphasis on K–12 participation and under-examination of adult women’s occupational transitions into ICT. Using a systematic literature review integrating qualitative and quantitative evidence, it identifies three key drivers of women’s ICT career entry: occupational dissatisfaction, positive computing experiences, and instrumental social support; and three core barriers: identity conflict, rigid academic beliefs, and self-doubt. It is the first to systematically articulate the psychosocial mechanisms underlying women’s ICT career transitions, proposing an intervention framework centered on “interest activation—support reinforcement—identity reconstruction.” The findings advance theoretical understanding of adult STEM career pathways and offer empirically grounded policy recommendations to increase women’s representation in the technology workforce.

Technology Category

• Application Domains: Humanities & Computational Social Science
• Cognitive Modeling & Cognitive Systems: Social Cognition And Interaction
• Humans and AI: Other Foundations of Human Computation & AI

Application Category

• Social Networks and Social Media: Socio-technical web-based systems
• Responsible Web: Social and technical mechanisms of refusal for web technologies and applications
• Economics, Online Markets and Human Computation: Incentives in network design for Web infrastructures and ecosystems

Abstract

Demand for technology focused STEM professionals will increase globally over the coming decade, with many countries finding it difficult to meet growing demand. Compounding this are difficulties in attracting and retaining female technology-focused professionals. Research seeking to address this gender imbalance and workforce shortage focuses on increasing participation among school leavers. However, there is a paucity of research around the potential for females to upskill or reskill into an ICT career. As a starting point, this review asks the question: "What potential drivers and barriers have been identified that impact on female intentions or choices to reskill or upskill to a technology focused STEM career". Results indicate dissatisfaction in a first career, combined with positive computing experiences in the workplace can rouse interest in computing professions. Learning of job opportunities, especially from salient referents, is also a key driver. Results indicate women must overcome negative identity and academic beliefs, as well as self-doubt to make the switch. In summary, it is possible to increase and diversify the tech workforce by leveraging women's latent interest in computing. This review provides a roadmap for research to support educational institutions, employers, and women to benefit from upskilling or reskilling opportunities

Problem

• Identifying drivers and barriers for women transitioning into ICT careers
• Addressing gender imbalance in technology-focused STEM workforce
• Exploring factors influencing female upskilling and reskilling intentions

Innovation

• Systematic review of female ICT career transition drivers
• Analyzing workplace computing experiences as career motivators
• Identifying barriers to female upskilling in technology fields