The Sacrifices IT Women Make

I'm in the process of revising my gender and computerization syllabus for the spring and came across this report. The study, conducted by the Anita Borg Institute and the Michelle R. Clayman Institute for Gender Research, Stanford University, examined IT women at the mid-level of their careers. What the researchers found was that women in these positions were making personal sacrifices such as delaying marriage and motherhood to promote their careers. In other words, these women felt that they had to make a choice between career and family to be successful in the male-dominated world of IT. Unfortunately, these sacrifices did not led to great rewards. Gender stereotypes (women aren't as technical as men) are still prevalent, which result in women being passed over for promotions. Instead women are placed in low-level positions that have minimal visibility. While some women interviewed for this study claimed that promotions in their early careers were based on merit, they found that gender became an obstacle at the middle management levels. Thus, it is not surprising that 56% of mid-career IT women choose to leave their organizations and pursue other opportunities. One thing both the men and women interviewed for this study noted is that women have to be assertive in order to survive in IT.

The gender bias and stereotypes in IT fields is not new. Women (and their male colleagues) have been aware of this situation for quite some time now. Yet year after year, reports like this one surface. The problem is that these studies report similar results. The IT industry claims that it needs more workers and would like to recruit more women. However, the IT workplace of today continues to be a good ol' boys club. Because of the current financial situation, the number of IT jobs filled by people in places like India are no longer as cost efficient as they once were. Therefore, they are looking to fill those positions with people in the U.S. But, the number of students enrolled in computer science has been on the decline since the mid-1990s. This is true for men and women. So, who is going to fill these positions? If middle management continues to foster a climate that promotes gender bias, it won't be women who will be there to save them. It's time for a change.

Babies and Science

Are babies to blame for the lack of women in the sciences? Or are the low numbers due to a lack of interest in science on the part of women? Mary Ann Mason explores the issue of women in the sciences. She claims that despite the fact that laws such as Title IX have been in place since the 1970s, it is only recently that people have discovered that the sciences may still be a problem for women. While evidence of gender discrimination in this field is not difficult to find, some claim that the quality of this evidence is questionable. The evidence also puts forth a conflicting picture. For example, the book, The Sexual Paradox, suggests that women simply aren't in the sciences because they lost interest in the field. In contrast, Mothers on the Fast Track claims that women are discriminated against. To support this claim, the individuals the authors interviewed were candid about the messages they received from their advisers and departments when it came to babies. Babies are verboten.

Even though female scientists are discouraged from having families, their male counterparts receive a different message. For males, getting married and having kids is the key to academic success; for women, this same formula often equals the end of their academic science career. Mason argues that solid policies related to family leave, childcare, etc. are needed to help women combat this discrimination. While policies are a positive first step, they are meaningless if the unwritten rule in the department is that they are not meant for anyone to use.

Gender Gap in College

In a new book by Linda J. Sax, a professor of education at UCLA, she examines the differences between the male and female college experience. Sax stresses that even though the majority of college students are female (more than 60% female at many institutions), the numbers don't tell the whole story and hide some key concerns.

For this study, Sax collected data from 17,000 male and female students from 200 institutions. One difference her analysis revealed was that females enter college with a lack of confidence. In contrast, their male counterparts have much more confidence at this stage. In other words, even if the females are doing better academically than the males, they do not believe they are doing so. Perhaps even more troubling is that the confidence levels of female college students decline during the college years. However, female students who have positive interactions with the faculty gain self-confidence over time.

Another interesting finding is related to the gender makeup of the students and the faculty as well as the peer groups for students. Students (males and females) do better academically at institutions with a high proportion of female students and faculty. Further, males perform better academically at institutions that have peer support groups that support "traditional gender roles."

There are many other findings outlined in Sax's book. In fact, she found 584 “college effects” that differ between male and female students. While the number of females may equal or exceed the number of males on college campuses around the nation, their experiences may be quite different.