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Online Distance Learning ForumMonday, September 12, 2005Computer Science Jobs: Are Girls More interested in Angelina Jolie's Babies Than Lara Croft's bytes?
The UK technology news is fall of talk of the crisis of under-representation of women in IT and computer science. Harvard University President Lawrence Summers recently for suggested that the difference between male and female brains make it hard for women to understand science, and that is one reason for the low number of women in computer science jobs. This claim may seem outrageous to many, but the suggestion does not seem so far-fetched in my house.
My husband is an IT consultant. I am a writer. I am fascinated by areas of technology, but only as a consumer. I see this behavior mirrored already in my six year old daughter, while my eight year old son likes to take things apart and put them back together. The truth is, however, that plenty of girls are interested in IT, but they keep hitting that old glass ceilign. Could online computer science degrees help redress these entrenched attitudes? It's not often that Angelina Jolie is upstaged, but even she could not quite measure up to her virtual character Lara Croft. For women trying to make a name for themselves in computer science jobs, it may well seem that Lara Croft is destined to always be the most famous female in IT. As in the masculine world of the MBA, could online degrees in computer science make a difference? According to the Computer Research Association, women's interest in computer science jobs fell 80 percent between 1998 and 2004, and 93 percent since its peak in 1982. So what are the reasons for this? Research suggests that male and female brains are different, but science and history has shown women can compete in any area where they are offered an equal footing. So is it the computer science jobs that are letting women down? Analysts at the Labor Department's Women’s Bureau reported in 2003 that men held 69.5 percent of the nation’s 347,000 jobs in managing computer and information systems. Kara Helander, western region vice president at Catalyst, a New York-based nonprofit organization that advocates for the advancement of women in corporations, states that women are seriously underrepresented among corporate officers in computer science jobs. Her main reason is the exclusionary culture and the long hours. There is simply very little room for a woman who has family commitments. Lower down the scale, part-time computer science jobs are in short supply. So is it all about babies then? It seems bizarre to me that IT - this most modern of modern technologies, should have such old-fashioned attitudes. Not all women stay at home with their children so this, in itself, is not reason enough to exclude them from computer science jobs in the 21st century. Online working offers another alternative. But what if a woman has difficulty with a computer science degree in the first place? This is where online study could help. Maribel Gonzalez, a high-flying math scholar at high school, found herself quitting her computer science degree after a year. She believed that the masculine, sink or swim style of programming teaching did not suit her. An online computer science degree could offer a temporary answer to this massive problem. Male and female brains are different, as are our manners of assimilating knowledge. An online computer science degree would have allowed Maribel to learn at her own pace and in her own way. As it is, Maribel became a teacher, a traditionally more fitting job for a woman. Both the US and UK governments have recognized that there must be changes to increase the chances for women in computer science jobs. Online degrees and working must play a part in this. Not all woman trawl the Internet just for the latest news on Angelina Jolie. And there are at least as many men on there looking for pictures.If you are a woman out there looking into online computer science degrees, take comfort from this, and the fact that you may be getting the best of the medium. All you men out there interested in computer science jobs watch out!
Comments:
That's some interesting info on from the Computer Research Association. Did they mention where women's interests have been leading them to? I mean women gotta be getting jobs somewhere. I know that there's a lot of enthusiasm for the healthcare field with the retiring of baby-boomers. Is there any research to show any increas e of women in that field as opposed to men? In other fields?
It's clear that male and female brains are different. Why on earth would I bother to get into all that techy stuff if I can have a man do it for me? I am SO glad that there are men out there willing to get into it. I could not manage without my iPod, cell phone, and chat rooms. However, I am one girl that's happier painting my nails than figuring out the technology. I just want it to be as easy as possible.
Thanks Guys!
I bet there's more to you than nail polish and makeup jonquil - esp with a name like that! If you like to live technology rather than make it, more power to you and to the rest of us. I'm glad someone is making something out of all that circuitry, which to me, for one, seems pretty useless. So much for progress!
Why does everyone seem to think that science and tech is the highest calling of mankind? why aren't we talking abt males and their underdeveloped verbal skills? M and F brains might be different, but I don't see why it's interesting to make that distinction. Is jonquil a nailpainting diva because of her estrogen? Would James lose his interest in computer research if he took female hormones? who the heck cares!
Thanks for your comments about my piece on computer science jobs, James, Jonquil and Kaetzchen. They seem to vary in their seriousness and depth! Jonquil, while I don't spend a lot of time painting my nails, I hold my unpainted hands up and say that I am no techie either.
However Kaetzchen, I must say that I am one of the ones who do care about women in the workplace, and I believe that women have a right - and something to bring, to computer science jobs and other IT disciplines. Who knows, in future, it may be irrefutably proved that men are better are these areas, but I strongly believe in equality and flexible working for all - and flexible learning. That's why I am passionate about online degrees. If none of us cared about who got what jobs - be it different sexes or races, we would still be living in a nineteenth century environment. It is the job of us - those who have been able to afford a good education, to fight for and think about helping others do the same. That said - I have no interest in computer science jobs for myself, but I'd like to think there will be no glass ceiling for my daughters. James, I've found some interesting statistics on just where women are working, but that will have to wait until tomorrow.
I think that all jobs should be open to men and women, but I do think that male and female brains are different in some ways, and there may be some things that more women or men will be good at or interested in. That doesn't mean that ALL women will be better than ALL men, or vice versa; it could just be a general trend. We're all too different to put absolutely binding stereotypes on anyone.
At the same time, I don't think we should push men or women to break stereotypes merely for the sake of breaking them. People should be encouraged to do what they're good at and interested in, regardless of how it agrees with (or defies) a stereotype.
I couldn't agree with you more chilena. This issue goes much deeper than gender too. I found some interesting statistics about women in the labor force in a 2004 study of that name. Some of them are surprising. For instance, women held half of all management, professional, and related occupations in 2004. Encouraging data, as is the news that 33 percent of women age 25 to 64 years held a college degree in 2004. Not surprisingly, however, women still trail behind men considerably on the wages front.
Also, while women now hold half the managerial positions, they continue to be in specific areas. Only 14 per cent of architects and engineers and 29 per cent of physicians and surgeons were women. To address an earlier query by James, by contrast, 86 per cent of paralegals and 89 per cent of dieticians and nutritionists were women. Make of these statistics what you will, but they seem unlikely to change in a hurry. Paralegal studies and nutritional studies are currently some of the most popular - and freely available, online degrees. These type of degrees are ideal for working mothers who want to branch out into the world of work. The more flexible hours of study - and ultimately working, make these type of online degrees a good bet for many woman. However, I don’t want to be sexist here. They could be just as suitable for male career changers. The question was, is and will be for some time to come - would they want these careers? I am looking forward to some good data from studies of online degree demographics in the next few years.
I've just found out something depressing. In August, the Bureau of Labor Statistics discontinued its women worker employment series in the current employment statistics payroll survey. For full details, see http://www.boston.com/news/globe/editorial_opinion/oped/articles/2005/10/12/a_blind_eye_to_gender_bias/
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If you didn't laugh you would cry. If scientists do ever prove that different genders suit different jobs better, I just hope all those scientists aren't men. << Home Archives
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