Women, girls and information technology
Encyclopedia
Women have been involved in computers since computers were first envisioned. They are present in all facets of computing and information technology
. Despite this, their presence is comparatively small in these fields; see statistics below.
When America's first electronic computer, ENIAC
, was developed, its programmers were women. Jennifer S. Light's essay, "When Computers Were Women," documents and describes the role of the women of ENIAC and outlines the historical omission or downplay of women's roles in computer science history.
It has also been claimed that there is a growing demand for IT workers with leadership, interpersonal, and communication skills in order to combat the general drop in worker retention and ineffective training. In particular, the cost of replacing a skilled technical employee has been estimated to be as high as 120% of the yearly salary of the position. Furthermore, over 50% of 900 IT leaders in the US who were surveyed cited retention of skilled professionals as a primary concern. In addition, leaders with business and soft skills
are sought after. Qualitative studies shows that many women in technology are interested in this combination of technical and non-technical work, hence they are potentially a good fit in these roles.
On a similar note, it has been argued that the inclusion of women in computing will mitigate innovation-hindering effects such as groupthink
by preventing the group from becoming too homogenized.
Gender diversity has been suggested to give benefits such as better decision making, increased creativity, and enhanced, innovative performances. Additionally, a gender diverse workforce will help businesses to better cater to their clients since their product and service offerings will reflect the varied interests of those who pay for these items.
The book Gender and Computers : Understanding the Digital Divide claims that the lack of participation of females in computing excludes them from the "new economy", which calls for sophisticated computer skills in exchange for high salary positions. A consequence from such exclusion will likely result in further social and gender inequality.
degrees were awarded to women in 1984, the number has been decreasing over time: from 1989-1990, 29.9% of Computer Science degrees were awarded to women and from 1997-1998, only 26.7% of the same degree's recipients were women. Similar figures are given by alternative sources: Women’s share of bachelor degrees in the computer and information sciences increased steadily through the mid-1980s where women earned 37% of the 38,878 degrees conferred in 1984–85. The number of the same degrees awarded to women has been increasing since 1992–93, yet the percentage awarded to women was down to 22% in 2005.
It is worth noting, however, that the pattern for Master’s degrees is somewhat different : the number and percentage of degrees earned by women is slowly, but steadily increasing to a high of 5,432 or 34% in 2000–01 (NCES, 2002).
Although teenage girls are now using computers and the Internet
at rates similar to their male peers, they are five times less likely to consider a technology-related career or plan on taking post-secondary technology classes. The National Center for Women & Information Technology reports that of the SAT takers who intend to major in computer and information sciences, the proportion of girls has steadily decreased relative to the proportion of boys, from 20 percent in 2001 to 12 percent in 2006. The total number of these students (boys and girls) has also been decreasing since 2001, when it peaked at 73,466.
According to a College Board
report, among SAT takers in 2006, slightly more girls than boys reported to having "course work or experience" in computer literacy, word processing, internet activity, and creating spreadsheets/databases. More boys than girls (59% vs 41%) reported course work or experience with computer programming. Of the 146, 437 students (13%) who reported having no course work or experience, 61% were girls and 39% were boys.
Many more boys than girls take Advanced Placement (AP) Computer Science exams. According to the College Board in 2006, 2,594 girls and 12,068 boys took the AP Computer Science A exam, and 517 girls and 4,422 boys took the more advanced AP Computer Science AB exam. From 1996 to 2004, girls made up 16–17% of those taking the AP Computer Science A exam and around 10% of those taking AP Computer Science AB exam.
showed that the degree of interest in the field of Computer Science
for teenage girls is comparably lower than that of teenage boys. The same effect is seen in higher education; for instance, only 4% of female college freshmen expressed intention to major in Computer Science
in the US.
In part to qualify for federal education funding distributed through the states, most U.S. states and districts now focus on ensuring that all students are at least “proficient” in mathematics and reading, making it difficult for teachers to focus on teaching concepts beyond the test. According to a Rand Corporation study, such a concentration on testing can cause administrators to focus resources on tested subjects at the expense of other subjects (e.g., science) or distract their attention from other needs. Thus, despite the availability of the Computer Science Teachers Association ACM Model Curriculum for K-12 Computer Science, computational thinking is unlikely to be taught either standalone or as integrated into other areas of study (e.g., mathematics, biology) anytime in the near future. The National Center for Women & IT distributes free resources for increasing awareness of the need for teaching computer science in schools, including the "Talking Points" card Moving Beyond Computer Literacy: Why Schools Should Teach Computer Science.
, men and women viewed computers very differently. Women interviewees were more likely to state that they saw the computer as a tool for use within a societal and/or interdisciplinary context than did the men interviewed. On the other hand, men were more likely to express an interest in the computer as a machine. Moreover, women interviewed in the Margolis et al. study perceived that many of their male peers were "geeks," with limited social skills. Females often disliked the idea that computers "become their life." The students observed and interviewed in that study were probably not representative of students in general, since at that time, in order to be admitted to CMU Computer Science a student needed to have some programming experience. More research is needed to understand the generalizability of Margolis' and Fisher's findings.
From a two year research initiative published in 2000 by AAUW, young girls in focus groups reported that "lack of interest" was not the reason for steering away from a computing career, but rather, their male peers were treating computers as toys. They expressed distaste in boys' behavior. Still, the National Assessment of Educational Progress showed as far back as 2000 that boys and girls use computers at about the same rates, albeit for somewhat different purposes.
Nearly 1000 students in University of Akron
were surveyed, and it was discovered that females hold a more negative attitude towards computers than males. Another study assessed the computer-related attitude of over 300 students in University of Winnipeg
and obtained similar results.
This is thought to contribute to the gender disparity phenomenon in computing, in particular the females' early lack of interest in the field.
Like the pre-college situation, solutions are most often implemented outside of the mainstream (e.g., providing role models, mentoring, and women’s groups), which can also create the perception among women, their male peers, and their professors that to be successful, women need “extra help” to graduate. Most people do not realize that the “extra help” is not academic, but instead access to the kind of peer networks more readily available to male students. Many women decline to participate in these extracurricular support groups because they do not want to appear deficient. In short, the conditions under which women (and underrepresented minority students) study computing are not the same as those experienced by men.
However, it is not enough to just acknowledge skills. Women also lack the support and advocacy needed to promote these skills. Women feel alone and at a loss because they lack role models, networks, and mentors. These support systems not only help women develop talent and opportunities for career advancement, but they are also needed to promote women to more senior roles. It can be understood that advocacy is a major player in the advancement of females into senior tech roles.
Suggestions for incorporating more women in IT careers includes, but is not limited to, formal mentoring, on-going training opportunities, employee referral bonuses, multicultural training for all IT employees, as well as educational programs targeting women.
Another strategy for addressing this issue has been early outreach to elementary and high-school girls. Programs like, all girl computer camps, girls’ after-school computer clubs,and support groups for girls; have been instilled to create more interest at a younger age. A specific example of this kind of program, is the Canadian Information Processing Society
outreach program, in which they send a representative to schools in Canada, speaking specifically to grade nine girls about the benefits of Information Technology careers. The purpose is to inform girls about the benefits and opportunities within Information technology
.
Information technology
Information technology is the acquisition, processing, storage and dissemination of vocal, pictorial, textual and numerical information by a microelectronics-based combination of computing and telecommunications...
. Despite this, their presence is comparatively small in these fields; see statistics below.
When America's first electronic computer, ENIAC
ENIAC
ENIAC was the first general-purpose electronic computer. It was a Turing-complete digital computer capable of being reprogrammed to solve a full range of computing problems....
, was developed, its programmers were women. Jennifer S. Light's essay, "When Computers Were Women," documents and describes the role of the women of ENIAC and outlines the historical omission or downplay of women's roles in computer science history.
The Need to Focus on Females
A proposal from an economical standpoint suggests that in order to avert the computing and IT industry from dangers such as global sourcing, a solution is needed to increase the participation of underrepresented groups like women.It has also been claimed that there is a growing demand for IT workers with leadership, interpersonal, and communication skills in order to combat the general drop in worker retention and ineffective training. In particular, the cost of replacing a skilled technical employee has been estimated to be as high as 120% of the yearly salary of the position. Furthermore, over 50% of 900 IT leaders in the US who were surveyed cited retention of skilled professionals as a primary concern. In addition, leaders with business and soft skills
Soft skills
Soft skills is a sociological term relating to a person's "EQ" , the cluster of personality traits, social graces, communication, language, personal habits, friendliness, and optimism that characterize relationships with other people...
are sought after. Qualitative studies shows that many women in technology are interested in this combination of technical and non-technical work, hence they are potentially a good fit in these roles.
On a similar note, it has been argued that the inclusion of women in computing will mitigate innovation-hindering effects such as groupthink
Groupthink
Groupthink is a psychological phenomenon that occurs within groups of people. It is the mode of thinking that happens when the desire for harmony in a decision-making group overrides a realistic appraisal of alternatives. Group members try to minimize conflict and reach a consensus decision without...
by preventing the group from becoming too homogenized.
Gender diversity has been suggested to give benefits such as better decision making, increased creativity, and enhanced, innovative performances. Additionally, a gender diverse workforce will help businesses to better cater to their clients since their product and service offerings will reflect the varied interests of those who pay for these items.
The book Gender and Computers : Understanding the Digital Divide claims that the lack of participation of females in computing excludes them from the "new economy", which calls for sophisticated computer skills in exchange for high salary positions. A consequence from such exclusion will likely result in further social and gender inequality.
Most Recent Statistics
For the most recent statistics on women's participation in information and computing education and workforce, see the National Center for Women & IT (NCWIT) By the Numbers or the Microsoft-funded NCWIT Scorecard: A Report on the Status of Women in Information Technology.In Education
Although 37.1% of US Computer ScienceComputer science
Computer science or computing science is the study of the theoretical foundations of information and computation and of practical techniques for their implementation and application in computer systems...
degrees were awarded to women in 1984, the number has been decreasing over time: from 1989-1990, 29.9% of Computer Science degrees were awarded to women and from 1997-1998, only 26.7% of the same degree's recipients were women. Similar figures are given by alternative sources: Women’s share of bachelor degrees in the computer and information sciences increased steadily through the mid-1980s where women earned 37% of the 38,878 degrees conferred in 1984–85. The number of the same degrees awarded to women has been increasing since 1992–93, yet the percentage awarded to women was down to 22% in 2005.
It is worth noting, however, that the pattern for Master’s degrees is somewhat different : the number and percentage of degrees earned by women is slowly, but steadily increasing to a high of 5,432 or 34% in 2000–01 (NCES, 2002).
Although teenage girls are now using computers and the Internet
Internet
The Internet is a global system of interconnected computer networks that use the standard Internet protocol suite to serve billions of users worldwide...
at rates similar to their male peers, they are five times less likely to consider a technology-related career or plan on taking post-secondary technology classes. The National Center for Women & Information Technology reports that of the SAT takers who intend to major in computer and information sciences, the proportion of girls has steadily decreased relative to the proportion of boys, from 20 percent in 2001 to 12 percent in 2006. The total number of these students (boys and girls) has also been decreasing since 2001, when it peaked at 73,466.
According to a College Board
College Board
The College Board is a membership association in the United States that was formed in 1900 as the College Entrance Examination Board . It is composed of more than 5,900 schools, colleges, universities and other educational organizations. It sells standardized tests used by academically oriented...
report, among SAT takers in 2006, slightly more girls than boys reported to having "course work or experience" in computer literacy, word processing, internet activity, and creating spreadsheets/databases. More boys than girls (59% vs 41%) reported course work or experience with computer programming. Of the 146, 437 students (13%) who reported having no course work or experience, 61% were girls and 39% were boys.
Many more boys than girls take Advanced Placement (AP) Computer Science exams. According to the College Board in 2006, 2,594 girls and 12,068 boys took the AP Computer Science A exam, and 517 girls and 4,422 boys took the more advanced AP Computer Science AB exam. From 1996 to 2004, girls made up 16–17% of those taking the AP Computer Science A exam and around 10% of those taking AP Computer Science AB exam.
In the Workforce
Women’s representation in the computing and information technology workforce has been falling from a peak of 38% in the mid-1980s. From 1993 through 1999, NSF’s SESTAT reported the percentage of women working as computer / information scientists (including those who hold a bachelor’s degree or higher in an S&E field or have a bachelor’s degree or higher and are working in an S&E field) declined slightly from 33.1% to 29.6% percent while the absolute numbers increased from 170,500 to 185,000 (NSF, n.d.). Recent numbers from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (2006) and Catalyst indicate that women comprise 27-29% of the computing workforce.Lack of Educational Opportunity, Interest and Awareness at Secondary Education Level
A study of over 7000 high school students in Vancouver, CanadaVancouver
Vancouver is a coastal seaport city on the mainland of British Columbia, Canada. It is the hub of Greater Vancouver, which, with over 2.3 million residents, is the third most populous metropolitan area in the country,...
showed that the degree of interest in the field of Computer Science
Computer science
Computer science or computing science is the study of the theoretical foundations of information and computation and of practical techniques for their implementation and application in computer systems...
for teenage girls is comparably lower than that of teenage boys. The same effect is seen in higher education; for instance, only 4% of female college freshmen expressed intention to major in Computer Science
Computer science
Computer science or computing science is the study of the theoretical foundations of information and computation and of practical techniques for their implementation and application in computer systems...
in the US.
In part to qualify for federal education funding distributed through the states, most U.S. states and districts now focus on ensuring that all students are at least “proficient” in mathematics and reading, making it difficult for teachers to focus on teaching concepts beyond the test. According to a Rand Corporation study, such a concentration on testing can cause administrators to focus resources on tested subjects at the expense of other subjects (e.g., science) or distract their attention from other needs. Thus, despite the availability of the Computer Science Teachers Association ACM Model Curriculum for K-12 Computer Science, computational thinking is unlikely to be taught either standalone or as integrated into other areas of study (e.g., mathematics, biology) anytime in the near future. The National Center for Women & IT distributes free resources for increasing awareness of the need for teaching computer science in schools, including the "Talking Points" card Moving Beyond Computer Literacy: Why Schools Should Teach Computer Science.
Research on Men's and Women's Perspectives on Computing Study
According to a 1998–2000 ethnographic study by Jane Margolis and Allan Fisher at Carnegie Mellon UniversityCarnegie Mellon University
Carnegie Mellon University is a private research university in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States....
, men and women viewed computers very differently. Women interviewees were more likely to state that they saw the computer as a tool for use within a societal and/or interdisciplinary context than did the men interviewed. On the other hand, men were more likely to express an interest in the computer as a machine. Moreover, women interviewed in the Margolis et al. study perceived that many of their male peers were "geeks," with limited social skills. Females often disliked the idea that computers "become their life." The students observed and interviewed in that study were probably not representative of students in general, since at that time, in order to be admitted to CMU Computer Science a student needed to have some programming experience. More research is needed to understand the generalizability of Margolis' and Fisher's findings.
From a two year research initiative published in 2000 by AAUW, young girls in focus groups reported that "lack of interest" was not the reason for steering away from a computing career, but rather, their male peers were treating computers as toys. They expressed distaste in boys' behavior. Still, the National Assessment of Educational Progress showed as far back as 2000 that boys and girls use computers at about the same rates, albeit for somewhat different purposes.
Nearly 1000 students in University of Akron
University of Akron
The University of Akron is a coeducational public research university located in Akron, Ohio, United States. The university is part of the University System of Ohio. It was founded in 1870 as a small college affiliated with the Universalist Church. In 1913 ownership was transferred to the City of...
were surveyed, and it was discovered that females hold a more negative attitude towards computers than males. Another study assessed the computer-related attitude of over 300 students in University of Winnipeg
University of Winnipeg
The University of Winnipeg is a public university in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada that offers undergraduate faculties of art, business and economics, education, science and theology as well as graduate programs. The U of W's founding colleges were Manitoba College and Wesley College, which merged...
and obtained similar results.
This is thought to contribute to the gender disparity phenomenon in computing, in particular the females' early lack of interest in the field.
Barriers to Women's Persistence in Undergraduate Computing
See Chapter 5, Cohoon and Aspray A Critical Review of the Research on Women’s Participation in Postsecondary Computing Education for a comprehensive review of literature on barriers to women in undergraduate computing. Factors shown in research include:- Undergraduate classroom teaching in which the “weedout” practices and policies privileging competition over cooperation tend to advantage men.
- Laboratory climates in which women are seen as foreign and not belonging at best, and experience blatant hostility and sexism at worst.
- Well-meaning people who unwittingly create stereotype threatStereotype threatStereotype threat is the experience of anxiety or concern in a situation where a person has the potential to confirm a negative stereotype about their social group. First described by social psychologist Claude Steele and his colleagues, stereotype threat has been shown to reduce the performance of...
by reminding students that “women can do computing as well as men.” - Strong resistance to changing the system in which these and other subtle practices are continuously reproduced
Like the pre-college situation, solutions are most often implemented outside of the mainstream (e.g., providing role models, mentoring, and women’s groups), which can also create the perception among women, their male peers, and their professors that to be successful, women need “extra help” to graduate. Most people do not realize that the “extra help” is not academic, but instead access to the kind of peer networks more readily available to male students. Many women decline to participate in these extracurricular support groups because they do not want to appear deficient. In short, the conditions under which women (and underrepresented minority students) study computing are not the same as those experienced by men.
Lack of Acknowledgement and Promotion of Skills
Women in technical roles often feel that the skills and feedback they bring to their jobs are not valued. 65% of females in technical roles advised that those they reported to were receptive and responsive to their suggestions. This also speaks directly to the retention of females in the industry as females will commonly leave a company when they feel that what they are offering a company is not valued. A Catalyst report called Women in Technology:Maximizing Talent, Minimizing Barriers shows the concerns felt about this by sharing the following quote from an interviewee I would like to be involved with more projects than I am currently involved in; I feel that I am being underutilized. I would prefer my supervisor give me an opportunit to expand my skillsets and my responsibility at work."However, it is not enough to just acknowledge skills. Women also lack the support and advocacy needed to promote these skills. Women feel alone and at a loss because they lack role models, networks, and mentors. These support systems not only help women develop talent and opportunities for career advancement, but they are also needed to promote women to more senior roles. It can be understood that advocacy is a major player in the advancement of females into senior tech roles.
Changing the Gender Disparity
Majority of the data collected about women in IT has been qualitative analysis, such as interviews, and case studies. This data has been used to create effective programs addressing the under representation of women in IT.Suggestions for incorporating more women in IT careers includes, but is not limited to, formal mentoring, on-going training opportunities, employee referral bonuses, multicultural training for all IT employees, as well as educational programs targeting women.
Another strategy for addressing this issue has been early outreach to elementary and high-school girls. Programs like, all girl computer camps, girls’ after-school computer clubs,and support groups for girls; have been instilled to create more interest at a younger age. A specific example of this kind of program, is the Canadian Information Processing Society
Canadian Information Processing Society
The Canadian Information Processing Society is the Information Technology professional society in Canada.The society certifies and regulates the Information Systems Professional designation in most provinces....
outreach program, in which they send a representative to schools in Canada, speaking specifically to grade nine girls about the benefits of Information Technology careers. The purpose is to inform girls about the benefits and opportunities within Information technology
Information technology
Information technology is the acquisition, processing, storage and dissemination of vocal, pictorial, textual and numerical information by a microelectronics-based combination of computing and telecommunications...
.
See also
- Women in computingWomen in computingGlobal concerns about current and future roles of women in computing occupations gained more importance with the emerging information age. These concerns motivated public policy debates addressing gender equality as computer applications exerted increasing influence in society...
- Women in the Information AgeWomen in the information ageWomen in the Information Age is a research project located at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst. The project is focused on women's involvement in technology and in uncovering reasons behind the lack of women in the field. WITIA is headed by Dr. Jane Fountain. The project was previously...
- BCSWomenBCSWomenBCSWomen is a Specialist Group of the British Computer Society, with the aim of supporting women working and considering a career in Information Technology....
, a Specialist Group of the British Computer SocietyBritish Computer SocietyThe British Computer Society, is a professional body and a learned society that represents those working in Information Technology in the United Kingdom and internationally...
External links
- Resources related to Women in Computing
- Carnegie Mellon Project on Gender and Computer Science
- Stanford Women in Computer Science
- SIGIS - STRATEGIES OF INCLUSION:GENDER AND THE INFORMATION SOCIETY
- IWITTS - Institute for Women in Trades, Technology and Science