INFLUENCING GIRLS

TO PURSUE A CAREER IN THE

CREATIVE INFORMATION TECHNOLOGIES

Michele Mosco

Arizona State University College of Teacher Education and Leadership

April 3, 2008

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INFLUENCING GIRLS TO PURSUE A CAREER IN THE CREATIVE INFORMATION TECHNOLOGIES

Introduction

A leaky pipeline is often cited as the cause for the underrepresentation of women in

computer-related professions. At different stages in their education and entrance into the job

market, women lose interest in these careers at a higher rate than do men, leaving the field after

high school, during college, or before beginning a job in the field (Gurer & Camp, 2002;

Woszczynski, Myers, & Beise, 2003). Proponents of the “leaky pipeline” theory generally assert

that female interest in technology decreases through college student years and early working

years (Gurer & Camp, 2002). However, it seems that females might not be leaking from the

pipeline at greater rates than males; instead, they might not be entering the pipeline at all.

As a programming student in the early 1980’s, the gender composition of students in my

classes was balanced. In addition, having previously taught technology classes to elementary

school students in the 1990’s and 2000’s, I found both male and female students eager to learn

and use technology skills. Now, I wonder how well-represented females are in technology

courses at the high school in which I am currently the librarian.

This suburban metro high school, in its eighteenth year of existence, is predominantly

Hispanic (48%) and White (36%) (National Center for Education Statistics, n.d.). Although only

23% of the students are registered for free and/or reduced lunch, the elementary feeder schools’

average rate is 51.6%. The school’s state achievement testing results are above the state and

county averages, and the graduation rate has increased to just under 90%. The school’s guidance

department approximates that 25% of graduates are university-bound, with an additional 50%

enrolling in a community college, trade school, or the military (M. Gollihar, personal

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communication, November 30, 2007). Clearly the students have the potential for success in a

wide variety of rewarding careers.

However, my high school’s limited courses in the creative information technology fields,

including such careers as web design and development, multimedia, and digital imaging,

surprised me. No computer art, digital photography, or media courses are available at this school.

“Web Publishing” is available for sophomores and juniors who have met the prerequisite “Word

Processing” course, which is required for all students. But the female enrollment for “Web

Publishing” has averaged 23% since the course was first offered for the 2005-2006 school year

(Fictional High School, 2005-2007). This is problematic.

Since 2004, approximately 90% of the after-school web publishing club members have

been male (Fictional High School, 2005-2007). And while female students are interested in

graphic and communication arts because the school’s Artists and Writers Association, a new club

for the 2006-2007 school year, is approximately 75% female, I continue to question: Why are

girls marginalized from high school computer courses other than word processing (S. Rosichelli,

personal communication, February 3, 2008; Sanders & Tescione, 2007)? Why aren’t girls

entering the pipeline toward creative information technology careers in high school?

Theoretical Framework

To determine why adolescent females are not exhibiting interest in creative information

technology careers, it is vital to examine how individuals actually choose a career. Interventions,

then, can be developed to influence or affect this process. Although many career development

theories have been employed to posit how individuals determine a career path, many of these are

incongruent with current cultural and societal norms and populations under study (Creamer et al.,

2007; Kerka, 1998; Stitt-Gohdes, 1997).

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Applicable to the current study is the social cognitive career theory which seeks to

explain career choice through outcome expectations and self-efficacy (as summarized by Lent,

2004). Outcome expectations include those beliefs that an individual holds about the

consequences of his/her behavior (Lent, 2004). If, for example, an individual pursues a

particular career, outcome expectations refer to what the individual imagines will occur. What

will they be doing? Will they be comfortable in the work environment? Will they enjoy the

work? Will the work be fulfilling? With whom will they be working?

Self-efficacy refers to a person’s belief that they can be successful in a certain career

addressing the question, for example:- Will I be successful in this career (Bandura, 1997)? Self-

efficacy is modified through several factors, the strongest being a person’s accomplishments or

their mastery experiences. Gaining mastery experiences in a field increases a person’s

confidence that they will flourish in a particular career.

According to Lent (2004), providing exposure and efficacy-building experiences to

career opportunities is vital to expanding adolescents’ career interests. It is through an

individual’s outcome expectations and self-efficacy that a person develops personal goals.

Additionally, when Smith (2002) extended the social cognitive career theory to the information

technology field, computer self-efficacy through mastery experiences and outcome expectations

were significant predictors of interest in information technology careers. Thus, career choice

according to the social cognitive career theory, depends upon both a person’s outcome

expectations and their perceived self-efficacy which is developed through mastery experiences.

It is these factors, then, that are vitally important to understanding why females do not enter the

information technology career pipeline.

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Review of Literature

In the eighties when computers became available to the general population, researchers

began to seek an explanation for the low participation rates of females in the field. While the

technology has dramatically evolved since that time, societal norms, such as gender expectations

in traditionally male-dominated fields, have also changed. Thus, although there are numerous

studies investigating the underrepresentation of females in information technology careers, many

cannot be applied to today’s information technology field.

Of those that are more current and do apply to this study, I used the social cognitive

career theory’s components— outcome expectations and self-efficacy to filter from the research

the most salient impediments to girls’ choice of creative information technology careers. See

Appendix A.

Outcome Expectations: With Whom Will I Work? Stereotypes of Computer Workers

According to the social cognitive career theory, people consider with whom they will be

working when choosing a career (Lent, 2004). Research has shown that girls perceive

computing professionals to be overwhelmingly male (Cooper & Weaver, 2003) and indeed they

are. According to a 1999 study, 80 percent of information technology professionals are male

(American Association of University Women Educational Foundation [AAUWEF], 2000) while

a 2005 study by the Information Technology Association of American (ITAA) found that women

comprised 24.9% of those employed in professional computing fields in 2004. More specific to

the current study, in the web design/development field, females comprise only 16% of those

employed (A List Apart, 2007).

In addition, both genders picture computer experts as males wearing glasses and

possessing superior intelligence with less than average social skills (ITAA, 2005; Jepson & Perl,

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2002; Margolis, Fisher, & Miller, 1999; Margolis & Fisher, 2002; Mercier, Barron, and

O’Connnor, 2006; Zarrett & Malanchuk, 2005). Computer professionals are also perceived as

having difficulty separating themselves from their non-creative, solitary work on a computer in a

cubicle (Cohoon & Aspray, 2006; Howe, Berenson, and Vouk, 2007). The media perpetuates

this image, an example of which is the Geek Squad television commercials for Best Buy Co.,

Inc. (see, for example “Agents Up Close” at http://www.geeksquad.com/agents). Unfortunately,

the field truly is predominantly male, but the “geeky” image, while prevalent, is false

(AAUWEF, 2000). Thus, adolescent females must be introduced to those employed in these

fields, both male and female, to witness the reality of the range of personalities they posses.

Outcome Expectations: What Will I Do? A Lack of Career Information

In choosing a career, consideration is given to not only with whom one will work, but

also to what one will be doing (Lent, 2004). There must be a match between what the person

enjoys doing and what they believe a job entails. In terms of gratifying computer activities,

several studies found gender differences in adolescents’ computer use. Boys tend to enjoy

computing for its own sake, while girls were more apt to use computing to accomplish something

(Cohoon & Aspray, 2006; Cukier, Shortt, & Devine, 2002; Lang, 1999; Margolis & Fisher,

2002). Indeed studies that compared the gender differences in type of computing activity found

that boys were more likely to play games whereas girls were more likely to use computers for

communication and homework (Colley & Comber, 2003; Hunley et al., 2005; Ogan, Robinson,

Ahuja, & Herring, 2006). In several studies, girls ranked endeavors such as designing and

creating, as the technology-related activities with which they were most satisfied (AAUWEF,

2002; Magoun, Eaton & Owens, 2002; Margolis & Fisher, 2002; Olszewski-Kubilius & Seon-

Young, 2004). Researchers also found that girls are more likely to choose information

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technology as a career when their computer experiences are tied to other fields, such as

medicine, education, and the arts, as well as human and social contexts (Creamer, Burger, &

Meszaros, 2004; Margolis et al., 1999; Upitis, 2001). Information technology does link to these

fields in many contexts, but girls perceive these careers to utilize much different proficiencies in

a highly isolated environment.

Unfortunately, both genders have relatively little information about the responsibilities

and roles of these careers (Harris & Wilkinson, 2004). When high school students were asked to

rate the skills most necessary for a computer-related career, fast typing, basic computer skills,

and logic ranked highest while creativity, communication skills, and graphics came in last

(Klawe, 2001). Researchers also note that girls perceive information technology careers as

solitary endeavors in which communication skills are unnecessary (AAUWEF, 2002; Davies,

Klawe, Nhus, Ng, & Sullivan, 2000). The media readily portray career responsibilities for those

employed in workplaces such as hospitals and courtrooms, but rarely do movies and television

shows include computer professionals (Jepson and Perl, 2002). Perhaps because of the

familiarity with careers portrayed in the media, nearly half the girls surveyed by Barker, Snow,

Garvin-Doxas, and Weston (2006) aspired to professional emergent careers which included

medicine, law, law enforcement, the armed forces, and architecture. Consequently, because

students do not understand the competencies required for creative information technology

careers, they cannot accurately predict the outcome expectations for those careers and are not apt

to choose them.

Self-Efficacy: Can I Do This Job? Skills Development

Self efficacy refers to a person’s belief that they can be successful in a particular career

(Bandura, 1997). According to the social cognitive career theory, it plays a key role when a girl

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considers choices for a career and can be cultivated through successful, enjoyable computer

experiences. Stitt-Gohdes (1997) asserts that this is critical to introducing women to male-

dominated career choices. The self-efficacy of females entering male-dominated careers is lower

than the self-efficacy of those entering traditionally female careers (Bandura, Barbaranelli,

Caprara, & Pastorelli, 2001). Because information technology careers are perceived and are in

fact male dominated, females pursuing computer careers tend to have lower self-efficacy, which

according to Bandura (1997) may hinder their ability to perform and succeed.

Many believe that boys approach computers with more self-confidence because a

pervasive leisure activity for them is computer game playing (Margolis & Fisher, 2002).

However, according to national study, the amount of computer and internet use does not differ

significantly by gender (DeBell & Chapman, 2006). In fact, 15-17 year-old girls are more likely

to maintain a blog (an electronic journal) than boys in the same age group (Lenhart & Madden,

2005). Yet several researchers found that even with equal expertise, males possessed greater

self-confidence in their abilities and indeed often overstated their ability level (Colley &

Comber, 2003; Davies et al., 2000; Herring, Ogan, Ahuja, & Robinson, 2006; Howe et al., 2007;

Oosterwegel, Littleton, & Light, 2004; Zarrett, Malanchuk, Davis-Kean, & Eccles, 2006).

Consequently, it might be girls’ perceptions that they arrive at the computer with less skills and

experience than boys, not fact. Therefore, providing girls with technology experiences in which

they feel successful may positively influence girls’ self-efficacy and in turn, their desire to elect

technology-related careers as career options.

Raising Girls’ Interest in Entering the Pipeline

In this intervention, I am seeking to increase the number of females who actually enter

the creative information technology career pipeline. To do so, I will focus on those barriers that

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appear most applicable to today’s creative information technology field. Hopefully this

intervention will help ameliorate the following barriers to participation: stereotypes (Who will I

work with?), lack of career information (What will I do?), and mastery experiences with specific

technology skills and thus, its related self-efficacy (Can I do this job?). This action will focus on

increasing girls’ interest in utilizing computers for web design/development, digital image

manipulation, and multimedia--the creative information technology careers—which did not exist

during previous research studies on gender equity in the field.

The Intervention: “TAG: Technology and Girls” Club

Utilizing a female-segregated intervention as advocated by Cooper and Weaver (2003)

and Magoun et al. (2002), I will develop a girls-only technology club at my high school. The

club, comprised of activities enumerated in Appendix B, has tentatively been titled “TAG:

Technology and Girls.” It will meet for 90 minutes weekly over a ten-week period, and during

this time, the female participants will be provided with female role models in the industry, with

information about creative technology careers, and with opportunities for success developing

creative technology skills. This will be done to determine whether (1) Presenting female role

models who are employed in creative information technology careers will stimulate female

participants’ interest in these careers by negating the prevalent stereotypes and addressing the

outcome expectation of “With whom will I work?”; (2) Information about creative information

technology careers will increase girls’ interest in pursuing these careers by addressing the

outcome expectation of “What will I do?”; and (3) Providing computer skills instruction to

increase girls’ foundational skills in creative information technology will increase their

hypothetical interest and self-efficacy in these careers addressing the self-efficacy question of

“Will I be successful in this job?”.

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Participants

The participants in the study will consist of fifteen girls who attend the high school at

which I am the librarian. Because girls enrolled in advanced math and science classes are already

destined for careers in math and sciences and are typically recruited for science, technology,

engineering, and math (STEM) enrichment activities, a different population will be targeted to

avoid the “saving the saved” situation (Barker et al., 2006, p.115). Since the focus of my study

is on creative information technology careers, girls who are interested in creative endeavors and

have foundational computer skills will be targeted for participation.

Girls will be eligible to participate in the workshop series based on several

characteristics. First, the girls who do not exhibit interest in programming or web design as

measured by lack of enrollment in these courses will be targeted. Second, girls who exhibit

interest in creative activities as measured by enrollment in visual arts classes or participation in

creative extracurricular activities, such as the Artists and Writers Association, will be targeted.

Third, girls who possess basic computing skills as evidenced by completion of the school’s one-

semester word processing course will be recruited for participation. Recruitment into the

program will occur via informational flyers posted throughout the high school campus (see

Appendix C), morning announcements presented over the public address system, and

announcements during arts classes.

Data Collection & Instrumentation: Survey

Both quantitative and qualitative data will be collected through administration of a

survey. An eight-section survey (see Appendix D), adapted from a survey used in a National

Science Foundation study (Creamer, Lee, & Meszaros, 2007 – see Appendix E), will be

administered to all participants. Each participant’s pre-intervention survey will be linked with the

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corresponding post-intervention survey and analyzed for program effects. Appendix A provides

a correlation chart to illustrate how the survey questions relate to the research questions. The

final version of the validated, pilot-tested survey will be administered to the club’s participants at

the beginning of the club and again at the final club session in the fall of 2008.

Instrumentation: Pilot Testing

The survey instrument will also be pilot tested during which errors in question

comprehension, processing and response communication will be pinpointed (Collins, 2003;

Fowler, 1995; Presser et al., 2004; Willis, 2005). The questions included in Appendix F will be

asked during an individual administration of the survey to five participants who agree to

participate in the pilot study and meet the criteria for participation for the club. .

In addition, criterion-related evidence of validity for the survey will be determined using

a second instrument (Appendix G), an interview which will be used to measure similar points of

inquiry. Each of these three interview questions should elicit the same response as its

corresponding survey question (see Appendix G for correspondence). Through these interview

questions, concurrent validity will be indicated if participant responses to the interview questions

correlate with their responses on the corresponding survey question.

Data Collection & Instrumentation: Researcher Observations

In addition to survey data, I will maintain a repository for observational and live field

notes. As a participant/observer, I will be listening and observing for indicators that demonstrate

a change in quantity and nature of stereotyping of computer workers, of information about these

careers, and of self-efficacy and technology skills. Additionally, as indicators are presented, I

will elicit further explanation from the participants through general probes, such as, “Why do

you say that?” or “What do you mean?” Through these researcher memos, I will document trends

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in participants’ behavior that indicate changes in stereotypes of computer professionals,

knowledge of computer careers, and self-efficacy.

Data Collection & Instrumentation: Individual Interviews

After the survey is administered at the final workshop session, five of the participants

will be randomly selected to participate in individual interviews. They will be asked the open-

ended questions found in Appendix J. These questions directly address the study’s research

questions.

Data Collection & Instrumentation: Participant Products & Researcher Evaluation

During the intervention workshops, the participants will create three major products: a

personal website, a digital story, and a manipulated image. Although these products do not

directly address stereotypes of information technology personnel and knowledge of computer

careers, these products will be used as evidence of each participant’s mastery experiences with

computer skills. Because a person’s self-efficacy increases given his/her mastery experiences

(Bandura, 1997), these products will be used to indirectly measure the participants’ self-efficacy

using these technology tools. I will use the rubric in Appendix H to assess these skill levels.

Data Analyses

These data types--surveys, field notes, interviews, and participant products--will be

triangulated during the analysis stage of this study to determine whether the club’s activities

cause a significant change in the participant’s perception of people employed in these careers,

the job responsibilities of these careers, and the participants’ self-efficacy related to the

technology skills introduced. First, the participants’ pre-intervention surveys as compared to

their post-intervention surveys will be used to assess change in the girls’ attitudes about people

employed in these fields, knowledge of job responsibilities, and their own computer skills and

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resulting self-efficacy. Second, my observations, qualitative field notes, and interviews will

provide additional data with which to confirm or disconfirm the findings revealed in the survey

data and the interviews. Finally, evaluation of the creative technology products produced by the

participants will provide supplementary data with which to measure mastery experiences and

indirectly, resulting levels of self-efficacy. Thus, analysis of the quantitative data will occur

simultaneously with the analysis of the qualitative data.

Quantitative data will be analyzed using Statistical Package for the Social Sciences

(SPSS) Version 15.0. Descriptive statistics will be calculated for the group’s responses to the

pre-intervention and post-intervention surveys. Inferential statistics will be used to examine

changes in the participants’ perspectives after program involvement using dependent samples

paired t-tests. Effect sizes will also be calculated to measure the magnitude of the effect of the

intervention.

Because the study involves a phenomenon—career choice—the grounded theory

approach will be used to allow theories to emerge from the qualitative survey and field

observation data (Glaser as cited in Dick, 2005). This process consists of four procedures

through which data will be explored (Strauss & Corbin as cited in Leedy & Ormond, 2001).

First, from each response, key words and phrases will be identified and labeled as codes for that

response (Miles, 1984). The responses will also be examined as a whole to determine any

overall idea(s) that may not be represented through individual words. These codes will then be

categorized into common groups that share similar characteristics. After open coding is

completed, axial coding will help to locate interconnections to form themes which will help to

illustrate the context within which the categories and codes will co-exist as well as help to

explain the conditions from which the codes arose. Third, the themes will be combined to

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develop a “story line” to describe what is happening in the situation being studied. Finally, a

theory will be hypothesized to explain participant responses and observational data.

Project Aspirations

The “Technology and Girls” club aspires to positively impact participants’ interest in

creative information technology careers (Timeline in Appendix I). In doing so, career

opportunities for these participants will hypothetically increase. Web design, in particular, is a

lucrative field in which over 50% of those employed earn more than $40,000 per year, with less

than 20% working more than 50 hours per week (A List Apart, 2007). The flexibility of this

career field is well-suited to women, who often juggle families and careers for many years.

Additionally, through the intervention, some participants may become attracted to other

information technology careers resulting in another positive effect.

In the local school community, increased interest in these careers may improve the

gender balance in both the web design course and the web design club, revitalizing both the

course enrollment and the club’s enrollment in the process. If this indeed is the result, this

intervention may serve as a model for other programs both at the high school and community

college levels.

On a national level, society benefits when females help America build a “high tech future

drawing from the broadest possible talent pool” (ITAA, 2005, p. 4). Indeed, it is this untapped

talent that concerns many researchers (Lang, 2003). Furthermore, although women consume

information technology products equally, these “same IT products and services…are conceived

and designed mostly without women’s input” (National Center for Women and Information

Technology, 2007, p.14). Both genders must be included in today’s knowledge-based economy,

as any exclusion will result in reduced economic status (Lang, 2003). It is imperative not only to

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prevent the leaks that may be present in the “pipeline,” but also to ensure that females enter the

pipeline for their own benefit as well as to benefit society as a whole.

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Appendix A

Model of Increasing Girls’ Interest

in Creative Information Technology Careers

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Appendix B

TAG: Tentative Activity Schedule

Week 1 Introductions Pre-Intervention Survey Intro to Digital Photography Self-Portrait Beginning

Week 2 Editing Self-Portrait Introduce Digital Storytelling Complete Storyboard Write Script

Week 3 Introduction to Windows Movie Maker Record Voice/Sound Edit Images

Week 4 Complete Digital Stories Week 5 Guest speaker – Art Institute of Phoenix Week 6 Introduce Web Design

Begin GooglePages Site Storyboard Pages Plan Images/Content

Week 7 Continue Work on Web Page Week 8 Guest speaker – Arizona State University

Continue Web Page Development Week 9 Complete Projects Week 10 Post-Intervention Survey

Gallery Display with Invitations to Parents and Faculty

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Appendix C

Recruitment Flyer/Announcement

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Appendix D

Adapted Survey to Pilot Test

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Appendix E

Original Survey from Women in Technology Project http://www.wit.clahs.vt.edu

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34

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Appendix F

Pilot Testing

Cognitive Interview Process

As participant is completing survey

When participants pause or seem uncertain of how to respond, these clarifying questions will be asked so as to locate survey questions that may need to be modified.

1. What do you think this question is asking? 2. Why did you answer this question this way?

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Appendix G

Survey Validation Questions

1. Describe what you think a typical day is like for a person employed in the computer field.

(validates survey question 3-3)

2. When I say “information technology worker”, what image or picture comes to mind?

(validates survey question 3-4)

3. How confident are you of your computer skills? How much do you think you know

about computers in comparison to others? (validates survey question 3-1 and 3-2)

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Appendix H

Rubric for Evaluation of Participant Products

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Appendix I

Timetable

March 2008 Survey pilot testing and validation

May 2008-July 2008 Development of specific session’s activities

August 2008 Recruitment of participants

September 2008 Club begins

November 2008 Club ends

December 2008 Data analysis begins

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Appendix J

Individual Interview Questions

Post Intervention

1. Have the club’s activities increased your interest in technology careers? 2. Have the club’s activities given you a more complete picture of the people who work in

creative information technology careers? 3. Have the club’s activities increased your knowledge of the job responsibilities of the

creative information technology careers? 4. Has the club’s technology instruction increased your confidence working with

computers?