The advancement of technology has opened many job opportunities for people
worldwide, including for women. Many studies have researched how women break
the glass ceiling and provide different suggestions on how women obtain their
managerial roles. This study set out to examine the career development of women
managers working in the IT industry. Internal and external factors from past studies
and past research respondents’ responses regarding the factors that have helped
women become managers and/or helped them advance in their careers were first
gathered. Then a Q-method study was conducted on 22 women managers working in IT-related industries, regardless of their department. They shared their experiences and perspective through card sorting and open-ended questions. The result deciphers different groups of sociological viewpoints, and through their dissimilarities of card placement and distinguishing factors, five groupings – 'The Super Mom', 'The Fatalist', 'The Cognizant', 'The Social Butterfly', and 'The Adventurer' – have emerged, providing different type of ways these factors have influence women in obtaining their managerial position.

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