GLASS CEILING AND MOONLIGHTING: EXPLORING THE DUAL CHALLENGES OF WOMEN EMPLOYEES IN IT SECTORS

The information technology sector provides numerous employment opportunities, both offline and through work-from-home arrangements.This sector attracts a large number of young professionals due to its attractive salary packages.However, women employees in the IT industry face challenges such as the glass ceiling and moonlighting, which limit their career advancement due to gender bias.To increase income and enhance skills, some talented women employees engage in moonlighting.The aim of this research is to examine the combined effects of the glass ceiling and moonlighting on women employees' performance, welfare, and career advancement in the IT sector.A total of 360 respondents are selected through simple random sampling from selected IT companies located in and around Chennai district, Tamil Nadu.Descriptive statistical techniques and Structural Equation Modeling (SEM)are used to analyze the demographic characteristics of respondents and to understand how organizational actions help address challenges, impacts and enhance the success of women employees in IT roles.