Women in Computing - Case Study Example

Strategies to increase Participation of Women in Computing Section Number of Strategies to increase Participation of Women in Computing Information and Communication Technology (ICT) has transformed society as never before. ICT is an all-pervasive scientific field that has revolutionized the way people live, the way they work and even the way they relax, play and have fun. ICT has pervaded all walks of life and work. ICT has, in fact, become an integral and indispensable part of life. The computer and communication technology, the coming of the digital age, has put life on the fast track, cutting down on process time, bringing in greater efficiency and assuring higher reliability. The single most important factor behind this technological revolution has been the development of the technology of the computer. The roots of development of computing devices, however rudimentary they may have been compared to present times, can be traced back to the abacus – an arithmetic-oriented machine – and continued with the invention of the Slide Rule in 1620 which was used by generations of engineers and other professionals who needed to do some fast calculations with numbers. The next stage in the development of the computer saw the introduction of the punch-card technology initiated by the likes of Basile Bouchon and Jean-Baptiste Falcon in the first quarter of the 18th Century. Charles Babbage finally came up with the design of his analytical engine in 1835. This analytical engine soon developed into a general-purpose programmable computer, employing punch cards for input and a steam engine for power. Till the Second World War, all computers were mechanical and electrical analog computers. An analog computer represents data as physical quantities and operates on the data by manipulating the quantities (Infoplease). It was around the Second World War that computer technology underwent a radical shift with the advent of the digital computer. Humankind has passed through four generations of digital computers to step into the current fifth generation. The first generation digital computers used vacuum tubes for circuitry and magnetic drums for memory (Webopedia). The application of the transistor to computer technology ushered in the second generation of digital computers from around 1956 to 1963. The invention of the Integrated Circuit (IC) brought in the third generation of computers during the period 1964 to 1971. The third generation computers also saw a huge shift in the interactivity between man and the computer. It was the microprocessor that marked the advent of the fourth and present generation of computers in 1971. In 1971 Intel produced the Intel 4004 chip which made it possible to accommodate all the components of the computer on a single chip. IBM manufactured the first computer for home users in 1981, Apple followed suit and introduced the Macintosh in 1984. The mouse afforded a new and highly-flexible mode of interactivity between human and machine. Graphic User Interfaces (GUIs) based on the windows approach made it possible to operate computers with the minimum of exposure. The desktop had come to stay. The present day emphasis is on Fifth Generation computers when machines will be able to incorporate human-level intelligence in their functioning. Robotics, Artificial Intelligence and Web Intelligence are new disciplines of computer science that work to take computers to a completely new dimension of development. Role of Women in development of Computing As in the introduction to this paper, women usually do not find mention in standard write-ups on the history of computing. This, in spite of their important contribution to the development of computing since its very inception. When the computer revolution swept across the United Sates during the Second World War, many women programmers worked on early breakthrough computers such as the Electronic Numerical Integrator and Computer (ENIAC). Women such as Adele Goldstine were also the pioneering programmers of America’s military computer programming. Augusta Ada Byron Lovelace is known as the first computer programmer. The ADA computer program, which was used by the Department of Defense, was named in her honor. Dr Grace Murray Hopper, known as the grandmother of COBOL, helped develop the first computer programming language COBOL. She also played a crucial role in the development of the first modern IBM computer. Judy Levenson and Thelma Estrin both of whom received graduate degrees in the early Fifties made significant contributions to the field. The first women to receive a Ph D in computer science were Dr Mary Kenneth Keller who worked on the development of the well-known computer programming language BASIC. Joyce Currie Little, Jean Sammet, and Mary Hawes are women whose names deserve mention for their work in the field during the 1950s and 1960s. The Incredible Shrinking Pipeline The scenario has however changed drastically over the years. The participation of women in computing has taken a nosedive. This is largely indicated by the dropping percentage of women participating in computer science programs in universities and the inadequate presence of women in the higher reaches of computing fields and careers. The Information Technology Association of America (2005) recorded a decline of 18.5 percent in the percentage of women in the Information and Communication Technology (ICT) workforce since 1996. In what has been termed the ‘incredible shrinking pipeline’ (Camp, 1997; Camp, Miller, & Davies, 1998; Davies & Camp, 2000) it has been found that the percentage of participation of women in computer science courses in universities all across the United States has not only remained low but has fallen in the last two decades. In 1984, there were 37 percent of women enrolled in the programs for bachelor’s degrees in Computer Science. In 1996, the figure had come down to 25 percent. (National Science Foundation, 2000). More undergraduate women who have enrolled for computer science have left the major than their male counterparts (Cohoon, 2001). Besides, although there has been a dramatic increase in the percentage of women graduate students, women still account for less than 25 percent of computer science graduate degrees (National Science Foundation, 2000). The consistent low representation of women in computing and in computer science programs in universities “raises the disturbing possibility that the field of computer science functions in ways that prevent or hinder women from becoming part of it...Practices that exclude women are not only unethical, but they are likely to thwart the discipline’s progress, as potential contributors to the field are discouraged from participation” (Pearl, et al., 1990, pp. 48). This raises the inevitable question of whether there are some inherent gender-related differences in aptitude and intellectual capabilities between men and women that deter women from participating in computing on the same footing as men. Does the computer have an inherent gender bias? Innumerable studies on women, gender and sex differences have tired to find gender-based biological differences in intellectual abilities between men and women. Other researches have looked into gender differences in spatial and mathematical abilities. Although there have been a few exceptions, the large body of research has not been able to find any significant difference between male and female in these spheres. Even in the exceptional studies which have been able to isolate minor differences, there is no evidence that specific biological factors contribute to these differences. Hilary Lips’s (1993, pp. 174) statement sums it up: “Despite psychologys long history of searching for intellectual differences between the sexes, such differences have for the most part, proven small and elusive.” If there are no intellectual differences between the sexes, then it follows logically that the difference in participation in computer science courses between men, and women and in computing as a whole, is the result of social and cultural factors. This paper suggests strategies, based on cultural and sociological approaches, to improve women’s participation in computer science programs of universities or community colleges. Strategy I: Bridging the Experience Gap Research has consistently shown that males and females have varied in their past experiences with and current use of computers, both in quantity and in quality (Enderton, 2003, pp. 6). It has been consistently demonstrated that males “overwhelmingly use computers more often than females” (Kay, 1992, p. 278). Moreover, it has been found that males more often had a computer at home and used these computers to a greater degree than females (Chen, 1986; Colley, Gale, & Harris, 1994; Shashaani, 1994, 1997). Prior computer experience definitely provides an advantage to male students, especially if the university or college has a policy of admitting students on the basis of computer experience. The girl student would then face the first obstacle in the admission process itself. What is even more disconcerting is the fact that there is a positive correlation between computer experience and attitude: “The positive correlation between computer attitudes and experience revealed that students who knew more about the computer, used computers more, and had more access to home computers were also more interested in computers and had more confidence in working with them.” (Shashaani, 1997, pp. 46) Women with lesser computer experience than men would therefore always be at a disadvantage, and would lag behind resulting in frustration, disappointment and finally dropping out of the course itself. In view of the experience gap between women and men, it is suggested that admissions are not taken on the basis of prior computer experience, and the course curricula designed in a way that it facilitates the less experienced to catch up with the more experienced. Such a design would have to ensure that the less experienced students, primarily the women, are able to compete constructively with their more experienced counterparts without any undue stress on themselves. Margolis & Fisher (19 ) asserts that “this change, together with getting the message out to prospective students that ‘experience is not a prerequisite,’ helped to achieve early gains in recruiting women to the classes entering in 1996 through 1998,” in Carnegie Mellon School of Computer Science where they conducted their study on how to improve participation of women in computer science programs. Strategy II: Computing with a Purpose In what Margolis and Fisher (2002) calls ‘computing with a purpose’ it has been found that women find computer science more meaningful and compelling if it is linked practically to other fields with its social context in mind. Women appear to appreciate the versatility of the computing fields and its exciting, changing nature, as well as its secure employment more than males do (Enderton, 2003, pp. 23). The second strategy of this paper suggests that computer science courses should be more oriented towards practical fields of work. This would greatly increase the appeal of such courses for women. Computer science curricula has traditionally been oriented on the basis of male ‘fascinations’ with the aspects of the subject that may appeal to women students being largely ignored (Enderton, 2003, pp. 23). Contextualizing the curricula will increase its appeal to women. Contextualizing would imply taking off sole emphasis on programming and focusing on linking projects and practical utility sessions with relevant industries, research organizations and services. Margolis and Fisher (19 ) cites three examples during the course of their study in which components of the computer science curricula were directly linked to other disciplines. “All three of these courses”, Margolis and Fisher (19 ) concludes, “have been extremely well received and present good examples of the integration of computing with other disciplines in pursuit of real-world objectives.” Strategy III: Enabling Rejection of the Geek Stereotype Many researches have indicated that one major reason behind the under-representation of women in computing is the misconception that computer science or Information Technology professionals are geeks and loners obsessed with computers. Jepson and Perl (2002) identified a nerdy image of IT people as one of six reasons that girls do not choose computer science courses. Hazzan and Levy (2006) identified a “geeky” and loner image as one of three factors discouraging women from computing careers, arguing that women are more likely to be interested in careers involving more interaction with people. Margolis and Fisher (2002) suggested that women are more likely to be affected by the geek stereotype than men are, and thus, when women do not experience an intense obsession with computers, they are more likely to contemplate whether they really belong in the computing field. Girl students would prefer computer science programs more if this geek or nerdy image of the computer professional is negated through a systematic awareness campaign that would involve not only the students, both male and female, but also the faculty. Such a campaign would enable the girl student to negate such male-dominated stereotyping and find her own footing on the field. In computing, this stereotype work against gender equity, and Fisher, Margolis & Miller (1997) states that there is hope of increasing female participation in computing if “the perceptions of most computer science students being immature males who burrow into their computers for all forms of satisfaction” can be dispelled. Strategy IV: The role of teachers and teaching The fourth strategy involves providing pedagogical support to women students. Pedagogical focus on the earliest course of the curriculum in which the new female student finds the maximum difficulty could help ease her into the program. If better, more experienced and senior teachers are pressed into service at such crucial junctures of the curriculum women will find it easier to assimilate into the program with their male counterparts. Such faculty could also take on the role of mentoring the female students. The presence of more female faculty will also be a helping factor. In a study conducted in the United States, it was found that one third of the computer science departments employed no women faculty (Andrews, 1994-1997). It has been found that computer science departments “with no female faculty lost female students at high rates relative to men” (Cohoon 2001, pp. 113), and that those “departments with higher female proportions of enrollment were more likely to retain women at comparable rates to men” (Cohoon 2001, pp. 112). Female peers and faculty could provide valuable advice on being a woman in the field and help sustain the female students through perceived threats and crises. The faculty should also be sensitized to issues of gender equity and diversity so that the female student is not discriminated against. Strategy V: Nurturing the female student Nurturing the female student from school level to take science and mathematics as subjects that could lead to a computer science course at the university or college level will facilitate in increasing the participation of women in computer science programs. This will provide more computer experience to the female student and annul her disadvantage in this regards vis-à-vis her male counterpart. Each university or college should initiate such programs and tie up with schools to facilitate the entry of female students under such programs. Adequate career counseling should be provided from a very early stage. The Carnegie Mellon Summer Institute for Advanced Placement Computer Science Teachers (6APT program), implemented as a result of the Margolis and Fisher (19 ) study, delivered unexpected results in the form of increased recruitment of girl students to the classes of 6APT participants. Margolis and Fisher (19 ) expresses the confidence that these participants “will help to enhance the flow of women into Carnegie Mellons and other universities computer science programs.” Ideally, the five strategies defined in this paper should all be implemented together in an organized manner to derive the best possible results in enhancing and increasing the participation of women in computer science programs and thence on to different areas of the field of computing. Implemented individually also, some of these suggested strategies such as bridging the experience gap or rejecting the geek stereotype would go a long way in increasing women participation in computing on their own. This paper however provides only the outline and the basis of the strategies, detailed planning and implementation blueprints would be essential for effective implementation. References -01 Andrews, B., 1994-97, CRA Taulbee surveys. Computing Research News, 6-9, 2. Camp, T. (1997), The incredible shrinking pipeline, Communications of theACM, 40 (10),103-110. Available. http://www.mines.edu/fs_home/tcamp/ cacm/paper.html [January 13, 2008] Camp, T., Miller, K, & Davies, V.,2000, The incredible shrinking pipeline unlikely to reverse. Available. http://www.mines.edu/fs_home/tcamp/ new-study / new-study.html [January 13, 2008] Chen, M., 1986, Gender and computers: The beneficial effects of experience on attitudes. Journal of Educational Computing Research, 2, 265-282. Cohoon, J., M., 2001, Toward improving female retention in the computer science major. Communications of the ACM, 44, 108-114. Cohoon, J., M., 2001, Toward improving female retention in the computer science major. Communications of the ACM, 44, 108-114. Colley, A., M., Gale, M., T., & Harris, T., A., 1994, Effects of gender role identity and experience on computer attitude components. Journal of Educational Computing Research, 10, 129-137. Davies, V.,& Camp, T., 2000, Where have women gone and will they be returning: Predictions of female involvement in computing. The CPSR Newsletter, 18 (1). Available. http://cpsr.org/publications/newsletlers/issues/2000/Winter2000/ davie-camp.htmI [January 13, 2008] Enderton, M., 2003, Women in Computer Science: Two Studies on the Effects of Stereotypes, Psychology Department, Macalester College. Fisher, A., Margolis, J. & Miller, F., 1997, Undergraduate Women in Computer Science: Experience, Motivation and Culture, School of Computer Science, Carnegie Mellon University, 1997 ACM 0-89791-889-4/97/0002. Information Technology Association of America, 2005), Untapped talent: Diversity, competition, and Americas high tech future. June 21, 2005. Arlington, VA. Kay, R., 1992, An analysis of methods used to examine gender differences in computer-related behavior. Journal of Educational Computing Research, 8, 277-290. Margolis, J., & Fisher, A., 2002, Unlocking the Clubhouse: Women in Computing. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press. National Science Foundation, 2000, Women, minorities, and persons with disabilities in science and engineering 2000. Available. http://www.nsf.gov/sbe/srs/nsf00327/start.htm [January 13, 2007] Pearl, A., Pollack, M., E., Risken, E., Thomas, B., Wolf, E., & Wu, A., 1990, Becoming a computer scientist: A report by the ACM committee on the status of women in computing science. Communications of the ACM, 33, 47-57. Shashaani, L., 1994, Gender-differences in computer experience and its influence on computer attitudes. Journal of Educational Computing Research, 11, 347-367. Shashaani, L., 1997, Gender differences in computer attitudes and use among college students. Journal of Educational Computing Research, 16, 37-51. Webopedia, “The five generations of computers,” Internet.com. Available. http://www.webopedia.com/DidYouKnow/Hardware_Software/2002/FiveGenerations.asp [January 14, 2008] Read More