Article 7: Tech gURLs: Closing the Technological Gender Gap

Summary:

        Educators are struggling to bridge that divide between genders; including in technological aspects.  The National Center for Women and Information Technology has reported that girls make up more than 50 percent of high school Advanced Placement test takers but girls only make 15 percent of those who take the computer science AP test.  Also, IT professions are dominated by 74 percent men and a mere 26 percent women.  The stereotype has remained true that when girls start reaching middle school age they become self-conscious about being smart, intelligent and showing interest in topics generally dominated by men.  This makes educators the best people to work to change this attitude by getting girls interested in computer science and related careers.  There is a program called Inspiring Girls Now In Technology Evolution (IGNITE) schools can invest in in order to engage young women in technology. 

        Teachers can provide professional female role models for them to look up to; give these students the chance to see a woman thriving in a profession that is in their IT interests.  The IGNITE program provides mentoring and job-shadowing programs with successful women working in various tech-related fields. 

        Even though we think of boys being the ones to embrace new challenges, girls generally prefer to put what they are learning into context.  IGNITE provides members with the tools to get girls involved in technology.  A school teacher at Roosevelt HS needed a webpage for the Roosevelt’s autism program site and the staff IGNITE member gave that task to two female students and they thrived at the opportunity.

        Teacher training is vital to the understanding of how gender differences appear in our classrooms subconsciously.  By understanding this concept, teachers can follow up with their female students more on technology questions and conceptions.  This also involves debunking and breaking down those stereotypes in order to get girls to express their interest in technology. 

        Student-run clubs are another way that schools can intrigue girls to start expressing their interests in technology.  At Thomas Jefferson High School in VA, a group of female students created Tomorrow’s Women In Science and Technology (TWIST).  By introducing clubs like this at schools, teachers are able to show girls that liking technology and being smart is not frowned upon.

Response

        I love this article and its focus on getting girls interested in technology; I wish that these types of stereotypes did not exist in the classroom.  School is supposed to be a safe place for students to come and explore learning concepts and celebrate their knowledge base.  Stereotypes have no place in the classroom because they carry negative connotations to a student’s development.  I know when I took AP classes in high school, they were very male oriented regardless of the subject.  I took AP Statistics and Euro History but had to drop them half way through the year due to scheduling conflicts.  I wish high schools offered computer science classes to the general population, not with the Advanced Placement target associated with them. 

        I liked how this article even had local examples of how the Seattle School District is involved in the IGNITE program.  With the examples given, the article inspired me to look into the IGNITE program and see what it entails.  Although it costs money, I can see how that it would be beneficial to become a member and incorporate it into your own classroom in order to level the playing field between girls and boys in the technology field.  After going to their website, I found out that they have impacted over 25,000 young women in middle school and high school.  Also, in the Seattle School District alone, female participation in technology classes has skyrocketed from 10 percent to 50 percent since IGNITE’s start in 1999.  In order to even the educational gap between boys and girls, we need to invest in more programs like this so that these jobs will be available to more people.

APA Citation:

Ring, S. (2008). Tech gurls: Closing the technological gender gap. Edutopia, Retrieved from http://www.edutopia.org/computer-science-technology-gender-gap