Overview
Girls’ decisions not to participate in IT have been linked to both societal stereotypes about IT and the influence of parents, teachers, and peers. In this chapter the attitudes of the wider community towards girls and IT are explored and compared with the results of the Digital Divas program in order to investigate possible relationships. In this case it was found that when messages from the community about IT are divided, participants in the program are more likely to change their attitudes. The changes, however, were not always in the direction expected.
Introduction
One of the assumptions of the Digital Divas program was that the wider community (including parents, as well as other teachers and students not participating in the program) would be supportive.
The influence of society on girls’ decisions to participate in IT is sig-nificant. While interventions such as the Digital Divas program try to convey the message to girls that it is acceptable and normal for them to have an interest in IT, they do not operate in isolation, and if girls are getting different messages from friends, family and society at large, then the impact of interventions may be less than hoped for. Indeed, in an evaluation of the CC4G intervention, Fuller, Connor, Johnston, and Turbin (2009) asked
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how strongly interventions could influence attitudinal change when ‘the girls (and boys) in our study were subject to an array of influences – educational, social, financial, emotional and cultural – on their attitudes to and abilities in IT’ (p. viii). This issue helped shape a PhD study on which the current chapter is based. Specifically, the PhD examined the relationship between community attitudes and the outcomes of the Digital Divas program. The primary research question for this study was:
Are the attitudes of the community towards IT important in terms of a successful intervention program?
In order to address this question, the attitudes of the community were gathered, the results from the program at two schools in 2011 were examined, and these findings were compared to explore a possible relationship. In line with the main Digital Divas program research, this study used a mixed-methods approach; both quantitative and qualitative data were gathered.
Three interesting findings became apparent from the PhD study. First, girls’ attitudes were most likely to change when community attitudes about IT were divided. Second, the changes in girls’ attitudes were not always in accordance with the goals of the Digital Divas program, suggesting that influences other than the program were at play. Third, the high standards of delivery presumed by the authors of the intervention were compromised by the practical implementation of the intervention, which may have unintentionally influenced the outcomes of the program.
IT Stereotypes
In some respects the research involved an investigation of the power of stereotypes, especially the way they can hinder achievement of intervention goals. So it was necessary to identify and examine key relevant stereotypes from the literature that include:
• IT is a male domain.
• IT professionals are geeks.
• IT jobs are socially isolating.
• IT jobs are bad for your health.
• IT jobs are difficult and boring.
• IT jobs are not compatible with a normal family life.
• IT professionals make a lot of money.
IT is a male domain. Here, two separate preconceptions have been com-bined: that IT professionals are men, and that men are naturally suited to IT. Currently the IT field in Australia is dominated by males (Department of Education Employment and Workplace Relations [DEEWR], 2013) and IT classrooms have been likened to a male locker room (Margolis &
Fisher, 2002). When asked to draw IT professionals, male characters are drawn more frequently than females by both male and female students (Mercier, Barron, & O’Conner, 2006). Ideas circulating within the wider society that males have more technically-minded brains than girls, and an innate, obsessive fascination with technology, are seen as advantageous in the pursuit of an IT career (Leder & Forgasz, 2012; von Hellens, Clayton, Beekhuyzen, & Nielsen, 2009). In addition, males themselves believe they are naturally suited to IT (Zeldin, Britner, & Pajares, 2008).
IT professionals are geeks. The geek or nerd stereotype is widely cited by girls as a reason why they are not interested in joining the IT profession (Anderson, Lankshear, Timms, & Courtney, 2007; Lang, 2003; Margolis
& Fisher, 2002). Those working in IT have been described as looking unhealthy – pale and grossly over- or underweight; wearing glasses with unfashionable hairstyles and clothing; exhibiting antisocial behaviour and having a strong interest in science fiction (Cheryan, Plaut, Steele,
& Davies, 2009; Mercier, Barron, & O’Conner, 2006; Sheehan, 2003;
Steele, 2010).
IT jobs are socially isolating. A stereotype of an IT job is that it involves working in isolation rather than being part of a team (Lang, 2003, Lang, 2007, Multimedia Victoria [MMV], 2001). Margolis and Fisher (2002) suggested that females are particularly sensitive to this stereotype. Female university students, in one study, reported the lack of friendships in an overwhelmingly male environment as a major reason for their withdrawal (Miliszewska, Barker, Henderson, & Sztendur, 2006).
IT jobs are bad for your health. It has been reported that students imagine that IT professionals work indoors in dark offices, often surrounded by junk food and science fiction paraphernalia (Cheryan et al., 2009; Steele, 2010; von Hellens, Clayton, Beekhuyzen, & Nielsen, 2009).
IT jobs are difficult and boring. Findings have suggested that IT work is thought to be technical, difficult, boring and repetitive, involving long hours and late nights (Fisher, Lang, Craig, Forgasz, & Lazarenko, 2009;
Johnson & Miller, 2002; MMV, 2001; Miliszewska, Barker, Henderson,
& Sztendur, 2006; van Oost, 2000; von Hellens, Clayton, Beekhuyzen, &
Nielsen, 2009).
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IT jobs are not compatible with a normal family life. Concerns about family have been reported as reasons for leaving IT university courses (Miliszewska, Barker, Henderson, & Sztendur, 2006), and women working in IT have reported their concerns about needing to place work ahead of family commitments in order to succeed in their jobs (von Hellens &
Nielsen, 2001). More recently, criticism of the way the CEO of Yahoo, Marissa Mayer, chose to balance motherhood with her job reinforced the stereotype that IT is not a suitable job for women who have or want families (Miller, 2012).
IT professionals make a lot of money. It is widely recognized that IT professionals can earn a great deal (von Hellens, Clayton, Beekhuyzen, &
Nielsen, 2009) although, unexpectedly, this has not always been seen as a positive, with some students describing those in the profession as ‘money-grubbing’ (Jewel & Maltby, 2001). Students reported that although they were aware of how well-paid IT jobs were, and the opportunities available, they were more interested in pursuing careers that related to their personal interests (MMV, 2001).
In summary, it appears that the prevalent stereotype is that IT is a male domain dominated by unhealthy, socially isolated geeks who spend all day inside doing difficult, boring jobs; this stereotype helps socialise girls to believe they are less suited to IT than boys.