The purpose of this study was to assess what attracted women to information technology (IT) careers, what kinds of experiences they encountered upon entry, what factors influenced their persistence, and for those persisting, what advice they would offer to other women pursuing IT careers. This study followed a qualitative methodology that employed semi-structured interviews with 26 women who worked in Hard or Soft IT roles, or both. The semi-structured interviews were guided by an original interview protocol created for this study. Thematic analysis was used to discover compelling narratives and emerging themes and subthemes from the participant interviews. The results indicate that participants' first and early exposure or experience with computers, the influence from individuals, and personal and financial motivators are what attracted them to IT careers. This study also found that the support participants received while seeking their first IT job was from their college's career services or from family or friends, and the main reason for accepting their first job was to kickstart their careers, even when the job or role was not in an area of IT they wanted. The challenges participants encountered mostly upon entry into IT careers were gender bias and the lack of work experience. Participants received supports mostly from their employers and from family or friends upon entry into IT careers, and the presence of other women on their team fostered a positive experience and was a contributing factor to persistence. Factors influencing participants' persistence also included keeping a strong support system, high self-efficacy, personal preference, and the opportunity to work with new and emerging technologies. Finally, participants advice to women pursuing IT careers is to be strong and self-confident, to join or create a network, and lastly, to stay current. The results, interpretations and implications for future research are discussed. [The dissertation citations contained here are published with the permission of ProQuest LLC. Further reproduction is prohibited without permission. Copies of dissertations may be obtained by Telephone (800) 1-800-521-0600. Web page: http://bibliotheek.ehb.be:2222/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtml.]