Overview

Computing remains a heavily male-dominated field even after twenty-five years of extensive efforts to promote female participation. The contributors to Women and Information Technology look at reasons for the persistent gender imbalance in computing and explore some strategies intended to reverse the downward trend. The studies included are rigorous social science investigations; they rely on empirical evidence—not rhetoric, hunches, folk wisdom, or off-the-cuff speculation about supposed innate differences between men and women. Taking advantage of the recent surge in research in this area, the editors present the latest findings of both qualitative and quantitative studies. Each section begins with an overview of the literature on current research in the field, followed by individual studies. The first section investigates the relationship between gender and information technology among preteens and adolescents, with each study considering what could lead girls' interest in computing to diverge from boys'; the second section, on higher education, includes a nationwide study of computing programs and a cross-national comparison of computing education; the final section, on pathways into the IT workforce, considers both traditional and nontraditional paths to computing careers.

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Reviews

A very interesting and insightful book whose survey of contemporary studies makes it essential for anyone interested in understanding the issues affecting gender imbalance in information technology. --Maria Klawe, Dean of Engineering and Applied Science, Princeton University This work provides valuable insight into why women are not choosing to pursue education and careers in information technology. K. J. Whitehair Choice

This work provides valuable insight into why women are not choosing to pursue education and careers in information technology. K. J. Whitehair Choice

This book is a must-read for anyone trying to understand and affect the participation of women in computing. Many of us have been confused by the picture of loss of ground by women in computer science even as women have increased their presence in other fields in other STEM fields. Perhaps the emerging trend of declines in engineering can be informed by the scholarship in this volume. --Shirley M. Malcom, Director, Education and Human Resources, American Association for the Advancement of Science

This work provides valuable insight into why women are not choosing to pursue education and careers in information technology. K. J. Whitehair Choice

Author Information

William Aspray is Bill and Lewis Suit Professor of Information Technologies in the School of Information at the University of Texas at Austin. He is the coeditor of Women and Information Technology: Research on Underrepresentation (2006) and The Internet and American Business (2008), both published by the MIT Press.

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