Of Girls and Geeks: Environment May Be Why Women Don't Like Computer Science

[The Straight Story]

Of Girls and Geeks: Environment May Be Why Women Don't Like Computer Science

ScienceDaily (Dec. 28, 2009) — In real estate, it's location, location, location. And when it comes to why girls and women shy away from careers in computer science, a key reason is environment, environment, environment.

The stereotype of computer scientists as nerds who stay up all night coding and have no social life may be driving women away from the field, according to a new study published this month. This stereotype can be brought to mind based only on the appearance of the environment in a classroom or an office.

"When people think of computer science the image that immediately pops into many of their minds is of the computer geek surrounded by such things as computer games, science fiction memorabilia and junk food," said Sapna Cheryan, a University of Washington assistant professor of psychology and the study's lead author. "That stereotype doesn't appeal to many women who don't like the portrait of masculinity that it evokes." Such objects help create what Cheryan calls ambient belonging, or the feeling that you fit or don't fit in somewhere.

"It is the sense you get right away when you walk into a room. You look at the objects and make an instant appraisal of how you would fit with the objects and the people who are typically found in that environment. You also make a judgment of 'I like it here' or 'I don't belong here,'" she said

Cheryan set up four experiments involving more than 250 female and male students who were not studying computer science to look at possible reasons why the proportion of women in the field is dropping while the proportion of women in such disciplines as biology, mathematics and chemistry is increasing.

info on the the experiment here:
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/12/091214143728.htm

[virgogal]

1. "Ambient belonging" ----Now there's a new one to kick around.

[crispini]

2. Wait, I'm not supposed to like

computer games, science fiction and junk food because I'm a girl? :crazy: :silly:

[ret5hd]

13. Correct, because statistical analysis always corresponds directly to individual experience.

That's why they always use anecdotal evidence in these kind of things>

[crispini]

18. The two smilies didn't clue you in

that it was a humorous post? Wow. :eyes:

[RandySF]

3. Something doesn't sound right.

"When people think of computer science the image that immediately pops into many of their minds is of the computer geek surrounded by such things as computer games, science fiction memorabilia and junk food," said Sapna Cheryan, a University of Washington assistant professor of psychology and the study's lead author. "That stereotype doesn't appeal to many women who don't like the portrait of masculinity that it evokes."

Masculinity is not what the girls are thinking about.

[SharonAnn]

9. Anyway, that's not masculinity. That's adolescence, male adolescence.

Pizza boxes, dirty socks, dirty jockstraps, cans of beer, etc.

Immature.

[Hekate]

11. There ya go. nt

[LiberalFighter]

17. They need to change it to

salad containers, dirty bras, dirty thongs, bottles of wine coolers, etc

[KittyWampus]

24. and in the case of far too many grown men, that's still reality and arrested development.

[Hekate]

10. I think what she means is the subliminal "Gurlz Keep Owt sign on the clubhouse door" feeling...

Women don't need frilly curtains on the windows to feel welcome, but subliminal messages are powerful. Maybe the environment says: I'm not only not a guy, but I'm not a guy like this, and so I don't belong here. That could be the "portrait of masculinity" that's evoked.

As an aside: Another thing that may or may not be addressed in the article is a study done almost two decades ago by women scientists about coed computer rooms in middle schools and high schools. It wasn't that the girls were not interested or couldn't be taught to be interested, but that "the boys had sharp elbows" as one woman researcher put it. Girls were more diffident, and so were crowded out of what was supposed to be a shared space. Beyond that, the games and lessons were very oriented toward young-males interests in shooting things up. Everything in the environment was geared toward a student who was a default male. Female interest, participation, and capability soared when they got a dedicated space and redesigned lessons and games.

Hekate

[notadmblnd]

4. I worked for a major computer service company for 28 years

there was no shortage of female programmers, engineers, project managers, system administrators etc., course we all grew with the industry and had no formal education. During my career alone I went through keypunch operator, to computer operator of large mainframes of multiple platforms to hardware planning to technical support. I ended my career managing the shipping and receiving of equipment into our 5 building campus, tracking, packaging, loading, unloading, racking servers and turning them over for power up and then onto the system engineers. Coordinating installation between project managers, system admins, vendors and client and the network people.

It was a great job and I gave it up after my husband died so I could finish raising our son (he was 10). If only I had known when I stopped working that there would be no jobs when I was ready to go back, I never would have stopped. Funny, I could have retired this year.

Ah well, no sense whining, I just hope the person that got that job appreciates what he's got. All through my career, lots and lost of women.

[ieoeja]

7. I noticed more women programmers when I started 25 years ago.

I started with my current employer 18+ years ago. And even then the majority of our developers were female. But today we have exactly *one*. The numbers do seem to be decreasing for some reason.

On the flip side, where I work today 100% of our business analysts are female (which kind of annoys me as I think I'd be better doing that; in fact, when I was placed into my current position I, my old boss, and my new boss all thought that would make more sense).

[glitch]

14. Me as well. Many women in math, economics and computer science.

In CA though. This study could be more about region than computers.

[notesdev]

5. Dirty little secret

The reason women don't go into IT is because it is sexual harassment hell... how many women want to spend their careers being looked at longingly by aging nerd virgins?

[howard112211]

12. Since we are doing shallow stereotypes today...

...I'll call a "the women were mean to geeks way before the geeks were mean to women"

and raise a "the real reason is that evo psych thing that says woman's brain isn't developed for math"

and a "the other reason is woman is too busy sleeping with Tiger Woods to learn how to code".

[notesdev]

16. Let's hear it for shallow stereotypes

Actually, I'm in the business and I've seen this stuff go on firsthand in quite a few places. It may be a stereotype but it's only because it's well-grounded in reality. And no objection to the counter-stereotypes either, pretty much matches my observations. Of course, I'm not as PC as some around these parts, so your mileage may vary.

[crispini]

19. As a woman in the business, that's not my experience.

Of course, I'm also pretty good at riding herd on a bunch of guys, so :shrug:

[sendero]

25. I'm in the business ..

... and I dont' see it at all. The old nerds are scared of women. The worst
case scenario is that they ignore them.

[niyad]

6. or possibly too many of them heard larry summers telling them that women are no good at math and

science.

[ieoeja]

8. Masculinity?!?

[Greyhound]

15. Couldn't it also be that women are just better at knowing which way the winds are blowing?

Clinton & Co. ensured the future of CompSci is in Asia, not here.

[Sparkly]

20. Interesting, but...

Star Trek posters, video game boxes and Coke cans
OR
nature posters, art, a dictionary and coffee mugs.

It didn't prove that this is related to Computer Science; since it's about environment, it could apply to any other field.

Further, they asked about the environment in terms of its "masculinity." They might also have asked about whether it seemed more juvenile, intelligent, supportive, etc.

So imho the study is kinda flawed.

[Sen. Walter Sobchak]

21. Could it simply be geeky people are attracted to geeky endeavours?

My girlfriend works in the electronics industry and is pretty much the most senior woman in the entire company outside of the CFO, a non-technical role. To look at her house, cars or office you would never guess a woman inhabited the space.

Her job is tearing competitors products apart to determine their cost and to keep tabs on R&D to make sure they aren't developing a $500 device with a $1000 bill of materials. She dragged me to a party once that consisted of about sixty people huddling around a table to watch a blue light on a circuit board flicker on for the first time. At which time the assembled crowd began chanting "Jay-Tag, Jay-Tag, Jay-Tag" at which point the BBQ was delayed for almost an hour as the mob insisted the firmware be loaded on the prototype on the spot. Half the crowd remained inside as the software guys tried to see if they could connect the device to a computer.

That is a pretty alienating environment for anyone.

[undeterred]

22. I am a female in the computer field

and I would tell young women to enter it only if they are willing to endure sexism which is worse than in other fields. You don't have to be a geeky young male to be good at your job. But a lot of the geeks who eventually get to be managers think you do.

[tabatha]

23. I am too, and the hours are brutal.

I would recommend that both men and women think very carefully before becoming chained to a keyboard.

[treestar]

26. no way, if I thought I had that kind of mind and could do it, I'd be in

that field! That's where the money has been my whole adult life.

I can't stand blood and guts either, or I'd be a nurse. Good job market.

Unfortunately for me, I have no talent with whatever it takes to do computer programming. But if I could do it, I would be! Everything has to be computerized these days. I have a law office and I'm stuck with a web page and filing online and doing everything by effing computer.