Drivers of Disparity: The Subject of Gender Inequality in the ICT Industry: An Extended Literature Review.

Abstract

Although the information and communication technology (ICT) sector is key in stimulating innovation and economic growth, gender inequality is still a complex and systemic issue in the industry. This research endeavors to understand the structural, cultural, and institutional mechanisms underlining the gender inequality in the ICT industry that have led to the long-term marginalization of women as well. Based on narrative literature review, the articles are recent and influential work reviewed for the period 2015-2025 taken from the major databases Scopus, Web of Science, IEEE Xplore, ACM Digital Library, and Google Scholar. The results indicate that gender differences in the ICT sector are the result of several intersecting reasons such as the under-representation of women and girls in STEM education, unconscious male biases in recruiting and promoting female employees, work–life balance challenges and motherhood penalties, the majority-male organizational environment, intersectional discrimination, and restricted access to entrepreneurial funding. The paper illustrates that these have all compounded each other and the cycle of inequality in relation to ICT is self-perpetuating. The authors propose that ameliorating gender inequality will demand comprehensive and multi-staged strategies, including educational reform, systemic organizational policies that welcome all employees, bias-informed hiring practices, work-life balance policies, and structured support to support women entrepreneurs. It advocates long-term, context-specific, and intersectional interventions that could drive a more equitable, innovative, and inclusive ICT sector