Hala Annabi

About

Dr. Hala Annabi is an Associate Professor in the Information School at the University of Washington. Her research focuses on creating and maintaining inclusive learning organizations. Dr. Annabi investigates diversity and inclusion interventions in the technology industry aimed at retaining and advancing women, as well as recruiting, retaining, and advancing individuals with autism. She has earned a Ph.D. in Information Science and Technology from Syracuse University in 2005, along with an MBA and a B.S. in Business Administration and Management Information Systems from Le Moyne College. Her work includes developing best practice guides, toolkits, and frameworks to support neurodiverse individuals and underrepresented groups in technology workplaces, and she has contributed extensively to conferences, journals, and scholarly publications on these topics.

Research topics

• Political Science
• Computer Science
• Psychology
• Artificial Intelligence
• Sociology
• Software engineering
• Demography
• Nursing
• Public relations
• Psychotherapist

Selected publications

• Improving the retention of women in the IT workforce: An investigation of gender diversity interventions in the USA

  Information Systems Journal · 2018-02-07 · 84 citations

  article1st authorCorresponding

  Abstract To meet the high demand for information technology (IT) professionals, organizations must become more effective at attracting and retaining women. Ninety‐seven percent of companies surveyed by Forbes in 2011 had implemented diversity and inclusion interventions. Despite these efforts, the percentage of women working in IT continues to decline, raising questions about the effectiveness of current organizational interventions aimed at increasing gender diversity. This study sought to gain…

  PublisherDOI

• A theoretical framework for investigating the context for creating employment success in information technology for individuals with autism

  Journal of Management & Organization · 2019-03-05 · 75 citations

  article1st authorCorresponding

  Abstract There is limited research that addresses the inclusion of individuals with autism in the workforce. Autism employment in information technology (IT) is a new phenomenon and there is no established theory to draw from to investigate this phenomenon. In this paper, we review the existing literature on autism employment and present a theoretical framework to study information technology workplace readiness to equitably include individuals with autism. Our proposed framework extends Annabi…

  PublisherDOI

• It's Not Just About Attention to Details: Redefining the Talents Autistic Software Developers Bring to Software Development

  Proceedings of the ... Annual Hawaii International Conference on System Sciences/Proceedings of the Annual Hawaii International Conference on System Sciences · 2017-01-01 · 26 citations

  articleOpen access1st authorCorresponding

  Technology giants SAP, Google and Microsoft have recently begun hiring initiatives targeting individuals with Autism Spectrum Condition (ASC) for software development roles. In order to fully engage and include individuals with ASC, a deeper understanding of the cognitive style and talents of individuals with ASC is needed. In this paper we present an analysis of current cognitive theories of autism, and promote the theory of hyper-systemizing as one that best explains the talents and challenges…

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• The Dark Side of Software Development: Job Stress amongst Autistic Software Developers

  Proceedings of the ... Annual Hawaii International Conference on System Sciences/Proceedings of the Annual Hawaii International Conference on System Sciences · 2020 · 11 citations

  Senior authorCorresponding

  The software workplace is a competitive space and presents significant stressors for software developers. Autistic software developers are more susceptible to stress, and due to the unique challenges they face in addition to those faced by the majority, neurotypical software developers. There is very little research addressing stressors for autistic people in the software workplace and how to mitigate those stressors. This paper synthesizes the existing literature relevant to software workplace…

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• CULTIVATING VOLUNTARY ONLINE LEARNING COMMUNITIES IN BLENDED ENVIRONMENTS

  Online Learning · 2019-03-19 · 9 citations

  articleOpen accessSenior author

  In this paper we argue for the possibility of using asynchronous technology to create a continuous, voluntary learning community in face-to-face courses. We discuss the theoretical concepts and values that are the foundation of such a community, describe some of the activities that take place there, and present principles of cultivation that we believe will help instructors nurture such communities in their own classes. The examples we present suggest that the emergence of a voluntary online lea…

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

Frequent coauthors

• Kevin Crowston

  11 shared

• Robert Heckman

  Syracuse University

  9 shared

• Sean T. McGann

  7 shared

• Mina Tari

  University of Washington

  6 shared

• James Howison

  The University of Texas at Austin

  4 shared

• Chengetai Masango

  Syracuse University

  3 shared

• Martha García‐Murillo

  2 shared

• Sarah Pels

  Ohio University Lancaster

  2 shared

Education

• B.S., Business Administration and Management Information Systems

  Le Moyne College

• Other

  Le Moyne College

Awards & honors

• AIS Service Award, Social Inclusion SIG - Association for In…
• AIS Leadership Impact Award, Social Inclusion SIG - Associat…
• Reviewer of the Year Award - AMCIS, 2018
• Dean's Special Recognition Award - The College of Business,…
• Senior Class Faculty Recognition Award - The College of Busi…

Similar researchers at University of Washington

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• Andrew Begelh-36
• Amanda Baughanh-6