Women in Management of Information Technology: an analysis of expressions of empowerment

Abstract

The growing number of women in the labor market is defining new contours of gender relations and power in businesses. These point to movements and processes for empowerment of women together with a range of welfare and recognition of social relations, presenting a challenge to patriarchal relations and maintenance of male privileges. This is an increased awareness by women, who have the skill and competence, to produce, create, manage and transform their own life and surroundings while acting out their own history. This work analyzed expressions of empowerment of women who manage information technology in companies in Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais, Brazil with an exploratory-descriptive field research with semi-structured interviews of 12 female managers. Results showed that some managers express more visible signs of empowerment than others. This was expressed through an awareness and building of a social identity, with motivation and mobilization of their potential to occupy a managerial position.