Gender and Computing

Abstract

Worldwide, information technology (IT) has exhibited phenomenal growth over the past several decades. This growth underlies the creative and analytical processes for the full range of endeavors ranging from science to business and social interaction, and it powers the burgeoning IT economy. Other benefits include vast career opportunities (OECD 2012), and the implications associated with unparalleled access to information. Finally, a benefit noted in many nations is that women’s access to IT and participation in computing can be an important mechanism of economic growth and societal development. Nevertheless, women and men are seldom equal participants in this boom.

Appendices

Vignette 8.1 Faculty Wives of Computing

• Betsy DiSalvo 

1. Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA, 30307, USA

   Betsy DiSalvo

“I am a faculty wife. My husband teaches and researches design and technology, he works on robots a lot.” For a many years, this is how I introduced myself to new acquaintances (all of our new acquaintances were in academia that is what happens when you are a faculty wife). Eventually, between him bringing home interesting questions and talking about exciting project, me feeling unfulfilled in my job with a desire to learn more, and the stars aligning in a certain pattern, I went back to school. I studied Human Centered Computing at Georgia Institute of Technology, eventually earned my Ph.D. and started as an Assistant Professor there in 2012. Before marriage, I never would have dreamed that I would earn a Ph.D., let alone a Ph.D. in computing. I credit (and some days blame) it on the exposure to new ideas I gained as a faculty wife.

I am not the first faculty wife in computing. To understand faculty wives’ role in computing, it is important to reflect on the history and development of computers during WWII. The University of Pennsylvania’s Moore School of Electrical Engineering was executing a military contract to develop ENIAC (Electronic Numerical Integrator and Computer) and required massive amount of hours on the part of mathematicians to calculate trajectories for military applications. With the lack of men available to work during the war, particularly men skilled in mathematics, these calculations were made by a large group of female mathematicians, called Computers. At the end of the war, men were available to do this work, but at this point the work was considered a traditionally female role, and women who had worked on the ENIAC programming were the most prepared to continue (Light 1999).

A number of these young women working on the ENIAC project married more senior men working on the project, and these men moved to faculty jobs after the war, their wives helped with their husband’s research. Adele Goldstine, who managed the female Computer team and wrote the technical documentation, was the wife of Herman Goldstine. She followed her husband from the ENIAC project to Princeton to work on the Institute of Advanced Study Electronic Computer Project (ECP). When asked about the programmers on the ECP in an interview in 1980, H. Goldstine commented:

We had a couple; we had wives who were programmers. A couple of women. For instance, my wife worked for von Neumann as a programmer, on a Los Alamos contract. And then we had two other, Hedi Selberg and Margaret Lambe who were wives of professors. Hedi’s husband was a professor at the Institute and Margaret’s husband is now a Stony Brook. (Stern 1980, p. 52)

His statement is telling, in that it diminishes both the role of the programming and the role of the women in the projects. These collaborators were considered just wives of professors but not full team members. The job of programming was not given the same consideration as other work on the ECP; it was something left to the wives, who are described by their husbands’ positions rather than their contribution. There were at least five women who developed programs for the ECP, all wives of professors, and no recollection of men who did this work from H. Goldstine or others who have been interviewed (Stern 1980a, 1980b, 1981).

A report by Burks, H. Goldstine and von Neumann, the Preliminary Discussion of the Design of an Electronic Computing Instrument, begins to outline a programming language, what they call “Symbolization” with their corresponding operation (Burks et al. 1986 ). While Von Neumann and others developed some test programs, the full programs were developed by the “wives” including Von Neumann’s wife, Klara Dan von Neumann. The faculty wives that did this programming had to be fluent in the mathematical programs to translate them into machine language. In some ways the role of these women was less of a Computer, and more similar to that of a compiler; translating between mathematical functions and machine language.

As efforts to establish formal programming languages that were more similar to English, rather than machine language, began to succeed, the role of women diminished, until woman became the anomaly rather than the standard in computer programming. There are many contributing factors to this: most of the women who worked as computers during WWII went to work fulltime in their homes after the war; as the computer programming came to the forefront of technological development it was regarded as less of a clerical task; and computing was being established as an industry so the work of a computer programmer was seen as a job rather than patriotic service (Light 1999).

Looking back on this history, I wonder if these women had been given the agency to pursue independent intellectual questions, would the development of stored programming language begun sooner, moved faster, or had a different trajectory? I recognize that even with the advancement of women in computing, stepping out of my role as a faculty wife, into the role of a faculty member was unusual, difficult, and risky. While my husband is not as venerated as von Neumann, because of the sequence of our degrees and appointments and the choice to take his last name, people outside of my department frequently perceive my work as an extension of my husband’s, or dismiss my appointment in academia as a courtesy. There is little I can do to change that perception.

And I am not alone, while women have certainly made progress, currently 36% of faculty have an academic partner, yet only 20% of wives said their career comes first compared with 50% of men (Schiebinger et al. 2008). These statistics, my experiences, and the history of women in computing leave me asking if women shortchange themselves or if perceptions that our work is less valuable shapes our choices?

1.1 References

Burks, Arthur. W., Herman H. Goldstine and John Von Neumann. 1986. Preliminary Discussion of the Logical Design of an Electronic Computing Instrument. In Papers of John von Neumann on Computing and Computer Theory, ed. William Aspray and Arthur Burks, 97–142. Cambridge: MIT Press.

Light, Jennifer S. 1999. When Computers Were Women. Technology and Culture 40(3): 455–483.

Schiebinger, Londa, Andrea Davies Henderson and Shannon K. Gilmartin. 2008. Dual-Career Academic Couples: What Universities Need to Know. Report from the Michelle R. Clayman Institute for Gender Research Stanford University, http://www.uiowa.edu/~dcn/documents/DualCareerFinal.pdf (accessed 31 August 2013).

Stern, Nancy, B. 1980a. An Interview with Arthur W. and Alice R. Burks. Charles Babbage Institute, The Center for the History of Information Processing, University of Minnesota, http://conservancy.umn.edu/bitstream/107206/1/oh075aab.pdf (accessed 31 August 2013).

_____. 1980b. An Interview with Herman Goldstine. Charles Babbage Institute, The Center for the History of Information Processing, University of Minnesota, http://conservancy.umn.edu/bitstream/107333/1/oh018hhg.pdf (accessed 31 August 2013).

_____. 1981. An Interview with Willis H. Ware. Charles Babbage Institute, The Center for the History of Information Processing, University of Minnesota, http://purl.umn.edu/107699 (accessed 31 August 2013).

Vignette 8.2 Making a Meaningful Choice: Women’s Selection of Computer Science in India

• Roli Varma 

1. School of Public Administration, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM, 87122, USA

   Roli Varma

Low participation of women in computer science (CS) education is a pressing problem in many Western countries (Ahuja 2002; Lie 2003; Singh et al. 2007). By and large, the field of CS is perceived as masculine both by men and women in Western countries (Wajcman 2004). In contrast, women in India have increased their presence in CS education in most nationally accredited institutes and universities (Basant and Rani 2004; Varma 2009; Fig. 8.4). In general, the field of CS is perceived as women-friendly both by men and women in India (Varma 2010). Regardless of economic, political, and social advantages in the Western countries, women in India seem to have levels of success in CS education that appears to somewhat outstrip those of Western women. This paper uncovers why women in India are attracted to CS education and career.

2.1 8.7 Methodology

The paper is based on in-depth interviews that were conducted by the author with 60 female undergraduates majoring in CS in 2007–2008. The study took place in two engineering institutes and two universities that granted 4-year undergraduate degrees in CS. Random sampling was used to select 15 subjects who were in their second and later years of studies at each institution. Interviews were recorded, transcribed, and analyzed with Nvivo. All of the students interviewed were young, unmarried women between the ages of 19 and 22. Other than being a full-time student, none held a job while attending university. Almost all of them characterized their family background as in the middle- or upper-middle-class categories. Almost 75% of students were born to Hindu families, with the majority belonging to middle and high castes; remaining students were born to Sikh and Muslim families.

2.2 8.8 Findings

2.2.1 8.8.1 Why Do Women Choose Computer Science?

The findings show that some female students became interested in CS education because they had early exposure to computers either in their homes, cyber cafes, or friends’ places. They used computers to browse the web, chat/email, and play games. A few took computer classes in their high schools to learn word processing, power point, and paint; however, they complained that the computer laboratories have poor resources with limited access due to power cuts. At least one-third of students were not exposed to a computer pre-college. A significant factor in most female students’ entrance into CS involved encouragement from a parent, sibling, or cousin who owned a computer or studied in an engineering field. They influenced the students by narrating personal experiences or by conveying that CS has a great potential for women. Especially male family members described CS as an excellent major for women because it required merely mental power not physical, and because they could work indoors rather than outdoors on a construction site. Also, students made a pragmatic assessment of the CS with great potential for employment, the omnipresent presence of computers in government and industry, and the power to be on the cutting-edge modern technology. A few female students believed that a CS degree would let them have some social independence.

2.2.2 8.8.2 Why Do Women Perform Well in Computer Science?

Since female students had little experience with computers in high schools, did they feel prepared for CS study at the university? A large majority of students stated that either their schools did not prepare them well or only partially prepared them for university level CS. Yet, most of these students believed that their high school education in mathematics was strong, and thus critical to their ability to proceed into CS. They were extremely confident about their mathematical skills and, thus, logical thinking and analytical abilities. So, even though they found CS a hard, demanding, technical field, female students felt their mathematical training prepared them to do well in CS at the university level.

2.2.3 8.8.3 How Do Women Perceive Computer Science?

Female students view the typical CS culture as people-friendly especially women-friendly. It consists of dedicated, hard-working, intelligent, meticulous, and smart students who help those needing assistance. In addition to the CS study, these students are active in social events and sports and it is pleasant to be around them. According to them, women who study CS are well respected by faculty and peers in the educational arena and by family members, friends, and neighbors in the social arena. Also, female students believed that economic rewards for a woman with a CS degree are much higher than with a degree in other science and engineering fields. Some female students indicated that employment in information technology (IT) companies is well appreciated and it alleviates concerns their families had about the high cost of marriage.

2.2.4 8.8.4 Why Do Women Stay in Computer Science?

If female students do not like the CS or find CS difficult, would they try to avoid disappointment by switching their major? The findings show that an overwhelming majority of students had not entertained the idea of leaving CS to another major. The respondents reported it did not cross their minds to switch to something else because of the economic benefits, work opportunities, and social independence they could gain with a CS degree. Most students did not know anyone who changed majors or dropped out of CS, which was seen as a step backward.

2.2.5 8.8.5 What Women Hope to Get with a Computer Science Degree?

Upon completion of their CS degree, most female students planned on joining the workforce, with a few interested in moving directly into a graduate program, and the remaining students undecided about a job or higher education. Students were confident about receiving placement into good IT companies due to the frequent job placement campus visits by company recruiters. Students who expressed their desire to move directly into a graduate program felt it would allow them even more opportunity than their peers, along with a broader range of possible employment and higher pay. Students who were not sure whether to join the workforce or a graduate program wanted to decide on the strength of job placement and the admission to the university that they wanted to attend.

2.3 8.9 Conclusion

Women in India are enrolling in CS because it is a means for them to secure a friendly working environment, gain prestige, become career-oriented professionals, and attain an economically independent status. This shows that women in computing cannot be viewed as a globally homogeneous group. The gender imbalance in the Western countries is not a universal phenomenon as it has been presented in the scholarly literature.

2.4 Acknowledgments

This research was supported by a grant from the National Science Foundation (0650410).

2.5 References

Ahuja, M. 2002. Women in the Information Technology Profession: A Literature Review Synthesis and Research Agenda. European Journal of Information Systems 11: 20–34.

Basant, R. and Rani, U. 2004. Labour Market Deepening in India’s IT. Economic and Political Weekly 39, 5317−5326.

Lie, M., ed. 2003. He, She and IT Revisited: New Perspectives on Gender in the Information Society. Oslo: Gyldendal Akademisk.

Singh, K., Allen, K.R., Scheckler, R. & Darlington, L. 2007. Women in Computer-Related Majors: A Critical Synthesis of Research and Theory from 1994 to 2005. Review of Educational Research 77: 500−533.

Varma, Roli. 2009. Exposure, Training And Environment: Women’s Participation in Computing Education in the United States and India. Journal of Women and Minority in Science and Engineering 15(3): 205−222.

_____. 2010. Computing Self-efficacy Among Women in India. Journal of Women and Minorities in Science and Engineering 16(3): 257−274.

Wajcman, Judy. 2004. Technofeminism. Cambridge: Polity Press.