On February 21, Techcrunch published an article with the headline, “Women outnumber men for the first time in Berkeley’s Intro to Computer Science course;” it reported that 106 female students had enrolled versus 104 male students in this very technocentric course.
You might wonder why anyone is even reporting such a small statistical difference about which gender dominates in an introductory computer science course. For me, this small but significant step brings up important issues that are relevant in our current techno-savvy world.
By recognizing this gender gap, tucked away deep within the structures of academics in technology, we can pinpoint problems and create solutions to improve women’s participation in all levels of technological advancement and development.
Female role models offer examples of careers women may not have considered possible otherwise.
As a female technology user, I have had experiences where my knowledge and work have been belittled simply because I have a vagina. It’s frustrating, to say the least. The stigma that drives this belittling is an example of why women still have a low visibility in technology fields, despite being as well-educated as men.
Based on a study released by Statistics Canada this past December, women are still underrepresented in STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics and computer science) fields. According to 2011 StatCan data, only 39 per cent of STEM graduates between ages 25 to 34 were female.
Numbers such as these are a reminder that arbitrary male-dominance still exists in these fields. However, seeing an increased number of female students in computer science programs disrupts the assumption that women are afraid of technology and are not “wired” to understand technology as well as men.
Another issue is the huge gap between male and female participation in the tech industry. Analyzing labour market outcomes of university graduates in 2011, the unemployment rate gap for men with a STEM university degree was just 4.7 per cent while it was seven per cent for women. If women are educated in technology, why are they so much less visible in the field?
My guess is that the biggest unstudied barrier for women in entering the field is that we value men in the tech industry more than women. We do this by default. This is not to say that men are better or more intelligent than women, but we have been shaped by patriarchal ideologies to think that women and technology do not mix, that women are not interested in learning about technologies. This assumption misrepresents and holds back women from participating in the industry.
Male-centric models of workplace processes and practices have been embedded within the industry and keep women from being completely successful in the world of tech: “Boy’s clubs” and gender-bias for job positions are big hurdles that women face when seeking opportunities to use their own knowledge and skills.
Personally, I have worked in a place where higher-paying and more technocentric jobs are allocated for and given to male employees while women are hired to fill in jobs that provide nurturing and assistance with lower wages.
I believe that attracting more women to STEM fields and having high-profile role models in tech such as Yahoo’s Marissa Mayer and Facebook’s Sheryl Sandberg can help restructure and narrow the gender gap in the technological field today and in the future. Female role models mean women are able to take themselves out of the patriarchal ideology STEM fields face. They offer examples of careers that women may not have considered possible otherwise.
Only when we see women as legitimate participants in the industry will changes follow through.
