Hi-Tech Girls
“We think that we have done everything in the women’s movement to get rid
of those old prejudices, but
.” Joan Dutter, Science Teacher
Encouraged by her dad from the time she was a kid, 18-year-old Melissa has
always enjoyed science. “He’s always pushed me toward science as far back as
I can remember. When I was about six I got a microscope under the Christmas
tree,” says Melissa. But, while her father has been supportive, Melissa sometimes
gets the opposite reaction from her male classmates. She can often feel very
empty inside. Melissa says, “For some reason, they just don’t seem to think
that we’re as smart or capable or competent. From about middle school onward,
there’s just this huge pressure to always be feminine and always be cute and
bouncy and perky and, you know, that doesn’t go all that well with serious academics.”
Unfortunately, high school teachers see the same predicable pattern. The 9th
grade science classes are filled with girls but by 12th grade, females are few
and far between. Science teacher Joan Dutter says, “We think that we have done
everything in the women’s movement to get rid of those old prejudices but society
still looks at it that way.” Experts say parents of girls with high tech interest
should encourage teachers to allow girls in the class to work together when
possible. Strength in numbers can keep girls on track when they feel shunned
by the guys. “Many times I’m aware of what the guys are doing and for that reason
I
have single gender lab groups or maybe move them to a different place,” says
Dutter. As for Melissa, thanks to the encouragement she’s gotten, she will be
attending Cornell University next year and she figures the sky’s the limit.
“I’m probably going to major in computer science and then hopefully I’ll land
a great job. The technology market right now is pretty good.”
Ten Tips On Getting Girls Interested in Computers
- Girls like to join clubs and take classes with their friends. Invite girls
to join computer classes as a group.
- Girls need role models. They need to see women using computers competently
and confidently. Share information with them about women who are leaders in
the field.
- Make a conscious effort to encourage girls. Make them lab assistants or
in class, call on girls more often, even if they don’t volunteer.
- Inform them of what computer science as a career is really like. Girls
may perceive it as a job spent all day in a cubicle with nothing but a machine.
- Encourage them to be daring with the machine. Girls tend to ask for assistance
when something won’t work and boys tend to try to figure it out. It’s a real
confidence booster when they succeed.
- For young girls, purchase games that appeal to them. The more time a young
child can spend on a computer, the more confident she will become with the
machine.
- In class, collaborate more and compete less.
- Show them what computers can do for them. They need to see computers as
a tool and not a toy.
- Put home computers in a centralized location and give girls equal access
with their brothers.
- Talk to counselors, parents, and teachers to enlist their help in encouraging
the girls in your school into higher levels of computer science.
Source: Center for Research on Parallel Computation, Rice University
The Statistics Show
- Girls represent 17% of the Computer Science advanced placement test takers,
and less than one in ten of the higher level Computer Science test takers.
- Women comprise 20% of information technology professionals.
- Women receive less than 28% of the Computer Science bachelor’s degrees,
down from a high of 37% in 1984. Computer science is the only field in which
women’s participation has actually decreased over time.
- Women make up just 9% of the recipients of engineering-related bachelor’s
degrees.
Source: AAUW report, Tech-Savvy: Educating Girls in the New
Computer Age (2000)
Resources
American Association of University Women Educational
Foundation
Department of Mathematics
– Rice University
Advocates for Women in Science, Engineering
and Mathematics
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