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Challenges for women in computing in Bangladesh considering the learning and workplace environment over a period of eight years

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Abstract

This work presents a series of longitudinal studies aiming to explore challenges and opportunities for women pursuing education or profession in the field of computing. The work is based on the Naila Kabeer’s framework that considers access, agency and achievement as elements of women’s empowerment. Methods: This study incorporates data from two in-person surveys (N = 120, F = 85), ten one-to-one interviews (N = 10, F = 10), eight focus group discussions (N = 46, F = 34), four seminars with 239 female members (N = 239, F = 239) and two observations on more than one thousand participants (students, educators and other stakeholders) in competitive programming settings (N = 1402, F = 1402). Results and Conclusion: Our research work exhibits the necessity of policy level strategies to initiate institutional support, technological solutions to accommodate non-participating women and cautious attention to put an end to socially ingrained challenges at familial and interpersonal levels.

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Data availability

The qualitative interview data are not sharable currently since the participants did not agree on sharing the data beyond the current research. Since the research was done without funding and spanned over a long period of time, it is not possible to track the participants for such consent. We hope to get such permission in future.

Notes

  1. Women pursuing education or job in the field of computing.

  2. uncle.

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Acknowledgements

The authors thank all the participants and institutions that supported the researchers.

Funding

The work was not funded by any external funding source. It was continued as an effort to make progress by the contributing researchers and authors of the paper.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. North South University, Dhaka, Bangladesh

    Nova Ahmed, Lamia Iftekhar, Silvia Ahmed & Tamanna Motahar

  2. Independent Researcher, North South University, Dhaka, Bangladesh

    Mahbuba Tasmin & Tamanna Islam Urmi

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  1. Nova Ahmed
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  2. Lamia Iftekhar
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  5. Silvia Ahmed
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The first author was in-charge of the overall project design and continuation while all the other authors engaged in the research study over various phases and all the authors actively engaged in the writing of the paper. The paper has been written collaboratively using a shared platform where every author contributed actively.

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Correspondence to Nova Ahmed.

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The research work focuses on women working in computing and technology field in Bangladesh. It does not have any direct competing interest with others.

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Ahmed, N., Iftekhar, L., Tasmin, M. et al. Challenges for women in computing in Bangladesh considering the learning and workplace environment over a period of eight years. SN Soc Sci 2, 227 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s43545-022-00529-y

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