Esther Ruiz Ben

Offshoring in der deutschen IT Branche

Führte der Fachkräftemangel während der Wachstumsphase der deutschen IT-Branche Ende der Neunziger Jahre bis 2002, die durch die rasante Entwicklung des Internet und der Konvergenz von IT- und Telekommunikationsindustrie ermöglicht wurde, noch zur Aufnahme ausländischer IT-Fachkräfte [11], so ergibt sich heute die umgekehrte Situation.

Looking beyond the software boom: Gendered costs and benefits?

The expansion of the IT sector in recent years, coupled with the positive economic cycle and the openness of the field, characterized by the dynamic creation of new tasks, seemed to justify hopes for an increasing involvement of women. Moreover, flexible knowledge and skill requirements for vaguely defined tasks in this dynamic period seemed to open up opportunities to enter the IT and software development sectors on the basis of non-restrictive academic technical requirements. Looking at the general situation of the software sector in Germany, it is very important to note that small and medium-sized enterprises with a youthful workforce predominate in the market (BMBF 2000). The IT sector in Germany is furthermore characterized by the high number of “side-step” workers enrolled in many parts of the sector (Dostal 2001), since in times of labour shortage, which affected the software sector in recent years, professional experience and non-formalized skills became as important as academic certificates. In Germany, the previously good economic situation and the shortage of highly qualified computer specialists made it possible to enter the software sector without a specific university degree in computer science, and also opened up the field for women, especially for young women without family responsibilities.2 Moreover, recent positive economic trends, particularly in the German IT sector, and the acute labour shortage of in this field, have contributed to an increasing focus on women as a potential source of labour.

Timing Expertise in Software Development Environments

In the information and communication technology (ICT) industry, and particularly in the software sector, knowledge change, the development of expertise and the construction of professionalism are crucial factors for understanding institutional patterns related to professionalization. This paper draws upon research on professionalization in the ICT industry conducted in Germany to explore how time regimes regarding innovation, qualification requirements, and working time regulations are linked to the structuration of expertise in different organizational settings and correspond to particular and contextual professionalism. Project deadlines play a crucial role in the structuration of expertise as common pattern for IT and telecommunication firms, whereas ongoing education and quality standards integrated into management systems serve to stabilize professionalism in large IT enterprises.

Softwareentwicklung als Profession

Im Rahmen unserer DFG-Studie „Professionalisierung der Informatik in Deutschland. Chance oder Hindernis für die Beteiligung von Frauen“1 DFG Projekt Num. SPP 1042 SCHI 316-6sind wir der Frage nachgegangen, wie sich die Informatik als Profession entwickelt (Zuständigkeitsabgrenzungen, Monopolisierung von Wissen) und welche Auswirkungen dies für die Inklusion/Exklusion von Frauen hat.