In November 1999, I posted a short article on the gender imbalance in the technical industries. In particular, the disturbing decrease in the number of women in Information Technology fields over the last 14 years was spotlighted. The topic sparked quite a bit of lively discussion in our forum, so I decided to summarize what our members had to say on this issue.
When I analyzed our members’ postings on the relative lack of women in technical industries, I found that the discussion centered on three main topics:
- Socialization that discourages females from pursuing technical/computer science pursuits
- The working environment in technical firms
- Stereotyping of technical knowledge and skill as male, leading to discrimination against females who seek technical positions or education
A main topic of discussion was the idea that females are not socialized to be proficient in math, science, or technical pursuits, and this has a negative impact on the number of women in math and science fields. One member argued that girls are socialized to be interested in domestic activities, to play with dolls and stereotypically feminine toys, while boys are socialized to be interested in tools, technology, and mechanical devices. "Queenmom" mentioned that the lack of computer games for girls has a negative impact on their interest in computers as they grow older. The fact that it is still not acceptable for young girls to be "computer geeks" could also be affecting the number of females who pursue computer science degrees and jobs.
Similarly, "DavPilky" pointed out the strong influence that children have on each other as they grow up. He observed that "peers are tremendously important to a child, so if playing with Barbie is a requirement of the peer group to be a member, the child may assimilate this to fit in." Indeed, research shows that in early childhood, peers are the most stringent enforcers of gender roles. As young girls grow up, it can be quite difficult for them to pursue their interests in math, computers, or science and still feel accepted by their peers.
Another fairly large discussion thread had to do with education and classroom dynamics, and how these affect young girls’ interest in math and science. "Mpfeifer" argued that at the high school level, girls are not encouraged to take electronics or science classes. One young woman from Australia reported that computer classes are ridiculed by most of her peers, and "if you ask any of them WHY they don't listen or pay attention (in computer class) it is usually because they don't see Computers as a serious course. Computer jobs are seen by most as… done by geeky computer nerd GUYS! They seriously don't think that it is a job that can or should be done by girls. And as sad as I am to admit it, I don't think I would be doing this career if it weren't for the fact that I'm the only girl in an all boy family and I grew up being treated just like all my brothers and acting like them too. If it weren't for that I don't think I would have even considered computers simply because it is not advertised to girls, especially not at our school."
"Pipi Bluestocking" shared some research done by one Board of Education (NSW, Australia). She reported that this research found that girls aged 15-16 tend to defer to males in the classroom. They therefore segregated the high school science classes into all-male and all-female for two years, when the students were ages 15-16. The results were reportedly quite positive: "by the end of High School (2 years after the experiment finished) the science classes comprised 60/40 girls/boys. There were girls in the top percent of every class. We also gained enough self confidence to hold our own in the maths classes as well."
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