Predictors of Occupational and Organizational Commitment in Information Technology: Exploring Gender Differences and Similarities

Despite growing demand, the information technology (IT) field suffers from a labor shortage compounded by the underrepresentation of women in the IT field. This study examined predictors of occupational and organizational commitment outcomes among IT professionals and explored gender differences and similarities in the relative importance of predictors. 1,229 IT professionals provided web-based survey data, which were analyzed using hierarchical linear modeling and relative weight analysis. Satisfaction with growth opportunities, job security, job stress, and work-family culture generally were related to commitment outcomes as expected, accounting for the greatest variance in organizational commitment. Relative weights for men and women differed in the prediction of occupational commitment, where growth satisfaction and work-family culture were weighted more strongly by women and job stress was more strongly weighted by men. For organizational commitment, the relative weights among predictors were similar for men and women, except that men weighted job security more strongly than women. Findings suggest that garnering commitment to the IT field requires a gender-specific approach, highlighting growth and work-family support for women and addressing job stress for men. Increasing organizational commitment for both men and women calls for an emphasis on opportunities for growth and development. This is the first study to simultaneously examine predictors for organizational and occupational commitment among IT professionals and to assess the relative importance of predictors discussed in the extant literature. Results inform efforts to increase retention in the IT field and provide guidance for improving the representation of women in IT.