HOW GENDER STUDIES IN IT CAN SUPPORT WOMEN IN IT

Resume of a one-day workshop, November 2, 2005

Speaker Dr. Frances Grundy.

She has worked in computing since the 1960s - in industry, in universities and for a short spell in the British National Health Service. She currently teaches computer science at Keele University in the UK. Her overriding interest is gender and technology, particularly gender in IT and computing. She has written a book Women and Computers (1996) and many papers on this subject. She was recently visiting professor at the Institut für Technik und Gesellschaft at the TU Wien.

In the late 1980s in Germany, the US and the UK there was a realization of the low proportions of women studying computing. In each of these countries, as well as others, independent groups were formed to address this problem. In the UK figures for University entrants were as low as 10% in 1987. Now in US about 15 percent of the bachelor degrees in computing in universities are awarded to women. The percentage in Germany is 13%, same thing in Switzerland. So in spite of all the efforts of activists over the past 20 or so years there has not been much improvement.

Frances suggests that there are three levels of criticism and solution to the problem of women in science and technology.Add more women: At this most basic level one can say that science and technology are OK. All that is needed is more women. There are no criticisms of the subject nor of the environment. There is no need to do anything about the male dominated computing labs for example. The solution is to give women equal opportunities, then they will find their own areas of expertise. The idea is to convince girls and women that scientific and technological disciplines are for them, that they can do it. Reformative level: What we have at present is the situation where the ruling group, which is dominated by men, has a common sense idea of what is good: 'flair', 'genius', 'talent' and 'drive' which are often used to describe male activity. The solution is that we should change the working environment or try removing hierarchies and encourage the expression emotions and feelings. Radical level: At present, science and technology are so masculinised that women who enter these disciplines are in danger of compromising themselves. The solution is that they should be transformed in such a way that women can enter them without any loss of identity.

Change in a huge area like this is unlikely to be swift and the result of a decisive frontal attack by a group of organised women. There are far too many women each with her own view of what is needed and how it can be achieved.