A community of practice view of intervention programmes: the case of women returning to IT

The study presents an intervention programme for women returning to the information technology (IT) industry following a career break. This is interpreted through the lens of the community of practice perspective. The longitudinal nature of the case study offered opportunities for in-depth investigation of participants' experience and development during the process. Using this datum, a mid-level analytical approach is adopted. It is found that learning about the path to return to IT emerged regardless of the degree of participation in the intervention programme, and this was supported by the diversity and integration embedded in this programme. The implications of the findings for our understanding of intervention programmes are discussed.