Home > Media Coverage > Workplace.ca, December 11, 2002

Workplace Research

(TORONTO) A University of Western Ontario professor in London is launching a $3 million study of aging and information technology in the workplace.

Julie McMullin, a professor in Western's Department of Sociology, will lead an international study called "Workforce Aging in the New Economy," which will look at employment growth in the information technology (IT) sector, aging in the workforce, and employment changes in the new economy.

“The IT industry is known for workplaces made up of mostly young, white males. Many of these workplaces have pool tables, bars, and a casual, 'fun' atmosphere. But they also experience rapid turnover," says McMullin. "Our study will be examining this unique and growing sector to help shape human resource policy not only for the IT industry, but for the workforce as a whole."

With a $3 million grant from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC)-the largest grant ever from the federal agency-McMullin will lead a team of researchers at eight universities to study discrimination based on age, gender, race, and ethnicity in the IT workforce; relationships between employers and employees in IT firms and whether they are good places to work; specific skill sets required for IT work; the portion of older workers, women, and ethnic and racial minority groups currently employed in the IT sector; and how IT employers deal with major events in employees' lives, such as the school-to-work transition, marriage, and parenting.

Over four years, the study team will collaborate with various labour groups, technology
organizations, government agencies, and IT companies in Canada, the United States, Australia, and the and interviewing IT managers and company owners.
Three other SSHRC grants announced in Toronto yesterday will study the changing ways that Canadians live and work. David Livingstone at the University of Toronto will examine ways to design better strategies for lifelong learning. Norene Pupo at York University in Toronto will research ways to support workers and their families dealing with workplace changes. Marlene Scardamalia of the University of Toronto will study how to encourage and promote innovative thinking in schools.

The four projects are receiving a total of $9.9 million from SSHRC's five-year, $100 million Initiative on the New Economy, which targets research on the nature of the new economy and its impact on management and entrepreneurship, education, and lifelong learning.

Original Citation Information:

Workplace Research. (2002, December 11). Retrieved December 11th, 2002, from
http://www.workplace.ca/daily_articles/20021211-1.html