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Gendered Data Work Practices and the Struggle for Recognition in a Public Healthcare and Social Service Organisation.

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Title: Gendered Data Work Practices and the Struggle for Recognition in a Public Healthcare and Social Service Organisation.
Authors: Alastalo, Marja1 marja.alastalo@uef.fi, Lehto, Iiris1 iiris.lehto@uef.fi
Source: Scandinavian Journal of Information Systems. 2025, Vol. 37 Issue 2, p515-542. 28p.
Subjects: Occupational segregation, Sexual division of labor, Data integrity, Social services, Public health, Digital technology
Abstract: Redeeming the promise of digitalisation and datafication in healthcare and social services requires a lot of work, which has been made visible through the concept of data work. The concept of data work has been used to capture the diversity of work that is done to mobilise and use data for a variety of purposes. In this article, we analyse the work done in a public healthcare and social service organisation to develop, implement, and maintain systems and produce standardised data for data-driven technologies. Specifically, we look at the gendered aspects of this work. Our analysis is based on two years of ethnographic fieldwork with a data team working on for instance data validation, record keeping guidance and training, and reporting. Although the ICT sector is still male dominated, the studied team is composed entirely of women, all of whom had professional backgrounds in healthcare, social services, or administrative roles within these sectors. Theoretically, we bring together critical data studies on data work and feminist scholarship on occupational gender segregation and the feminisation of work. We argue that due to the persistence of occupational gender segregation and the feminisation of data work, this labour often remains invisible or unrecognised and undervalued within organisations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
Copyright of Scandinavian Journal of Information Systems is the property of Information Systems Research in Scandinavia (IRIS) Association and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)
Database: Engineering Source
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  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="JN" term="%22Scandinavian+Journal+of+Information+Systems%22">Scandinavian Journal of Information Systems</searchLink>. 2025, Vol. 37 Issue 2, p515-542. 28p.
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  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Occupational+segregation%22">Occupational segregation</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Sexual+division+of+labor%22">Sexual division of labor</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Data+integrity%22">Data integrity</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Social+services%22">Social services</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Public+health%22">Public health</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Digital+technology%22">Digital technology</searchLink>
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  Label: Abstract
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  Data: Redeeming the promise of digitalisation and datafication in healthcare and social services requires a lot of work, which has been made visible through the concept of data work. The concept of data work has been used to capture the diversity of work that is done to mobilise and use data for a variety of purposes. In this article, we analyse the work done in a public healthcare and social service organisation to develop, implement, and maintain systems and produce standardised data for data-driven technologies. Specifically, we look at the gendered aspects of this work. Our analysis is based on two years of ethnographic fieldwork with a data team working on for instance data validation, record keeping guidance and training, and reporting. Although the ICT sector is still male dominated, the studied team is composed entirely of women, all of whom had professional backgrounds in healthcare, social services, or administrative roles within these sectors. Theoretically, we bring together critical data studies on data work and feminist scholarship on occupational gender segregation and the feminisation of work. We argue that due to the persistence of occupational gender segregation and the feminisation of data work, this labour often remains invisible or unrecognised and undervalued within organisations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
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  Data: <i>Copyright of Scandinavian Journal of Information Systems is the property of Information Systems Research in Scandinavia (IRIS) Association and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract.</i> (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)
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        Value: 10.17705/3SJIS/037.27
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        Text: English
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        PageCount: 28
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      – SubjectFull: Occupational segregation
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Sexual division of labor
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      – SubjectFull: Data integrity
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      – SubjectFull: Social services
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      – SubjectFull: Public health
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              Text: 2025
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