Where the Girls Aren't
Last Sunday, the New York Times published an article on the gender gap in the computer and informational sciences. In it they stated that women earn less than a third of the bachelor's degrees that are given in computer and information sciences, and only 18 percent of the advanced degrees! These are the same type of numbers that were being reported in math and many of the sciences a couple generations ago. But why? It's not that girls don't like computers.
They do. And I would bet that the average amount of time spent using a computer is close to equal for girls and boys, even though what they use their computers for may be different. From my observations, girls use the computer as a communication tool....a new way to network with friends and make new friends. Boys tend to spend more of their computer time gaming and surfing.
The New York Times article went on to quote people expounding the two basic sides, nature vs. nurture; is the observable difference brain-based and gender specific, or is the difference a product of culture and the way the two sexes are raised?
Or is it peer pressure? When all the students enrolled in a class are of one gender, it can be very daunting for a student of the other gender to enroll. This goes back to the old question of why there aren't more girls in shop classes or more boys in dance classes. And even when there isn't any outward peer pressure, it requires the young person to step outside of their comfort zone. Not something a self conscious teen is apt to do.
In high school I took drafting as one of my electives. It sounded interesting, and I needed another class, so I signed up. I was the only girl in the class....quite a shock the first day! I turned out to be pretty good, and even won the school's industrial arts award the year I graduated. But what surprised me was the hostility of the guys in the class. They felt that I didn't belong, and didn't hide their feelings very well! It was a good thing
that I was a bit of a hard-head even then and didn't let the uncomfortable situation force me to transfer out. Since this wasn't a plot for a cheesy movie where everything turns out okay, many of them never did get over it. My senior year when I won the award, some pretty nasty rumors flew around the school about how and why I got the award!
So what can we do about the gender gap in the computer sciences? Raise independent thinkers...hard heads who aren't afraid to buck the system and be different. Encourage our girls. Look for new ways to integrate more communication tools and design into our technology classes. And hire and promote more women in technology positions.
(I just had to add that last one....maybe my boss will read this!)
5:28:27 PM 
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