The gender pay gap in the ICT labour market : comparative experiences from the UK and New Zealand

This paper addresses the issues surrounding gender pay gaps focusing on the Information Communication Technology (ICT) sector of the labour market. Reporting on research conducted in the UK and New Zealand (NZ) we adopted a mixed method approach using comparable qualitative and quantitative research techniques to investigate pay issues amongst women working in ICT in the UK and NZ. Our findings reveal commonalities of experience and some interesting differences. Unlike with the UK sample, for example, in NZ women working in ICT do not believe that their pay reflects their workload, skills and their position within their own organisation. Our study found that non‐transparent pay and reward systems and salary secrets exacerbate inequality and discrimination in the UK and NZ. The paper concludes by offering some policy directions to encourage a narrowing of the gender pay gap and reflects on the benefits of doing cross‐national research

The Ethics of Researching Friends: On Convenience Sampling in Qualitative Management and Organization Studies

Scholarship on the ethical complexities resulting from friendships which develop with respondents during qualitative data collection is well established. There has also been consideration of the ethics of researching existing friends across various disciplines. But, although management and organization scholars use convenience samples of the latter kind in qualitative research, there is virtually no discussion in our field of the ethical implications. In seeking to rectify this, I draw on my experiences of a project where I gathered data from six friends on their experiences of and attitudes towards sexual relationships, motherhood and life–work ‘balance’. I discuss the reportage of what sometimes felt like confidences, the use of ex ante data, the objectification of participants and difficulties relating to respondent validation in order to highlight some of the ethical challenges in qualitative management and organizational research with friends