Paradoxes of gender and ICT policy' A comparative study - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

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Paradoxes of gender and ICT policy' A comparative study

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Title: Paradoxes of gender and ICT policy' A comparative study


1
Paradoxes of gender and ICT policy. A comparative
study
  • Vivian Anette Lagesen
  • Nora Levold
  • Knut H. Sørensen
  • Norwegian University of Science and Technology
    (NTNU)
  • Department of interdisciplinary studies of culture

2
Outline of the paper
  • Main issue The impact of gender inclusion
    policies upon the number of women in computer
    science
  • Main concern the Norwegian situation in a
    comparative perspective
  • Point of the departure The well-known problem of
    low and decreasing percentages of women in
    computer science
  • It would be easier to put a man on the moon
    than to get more women to enter computer
    professions (Wendy Hall, President of the
    British Computer Society)
  • Approach Comparison of three countries
    California, Malaysia and Norway that differ in
    terms of
  • share of women computer science students
  • presence and content of gender inclusion policies

3
A role for feminist politics?
  • Bacchi argues the importance of national policies
    to support equal opportunities
  • Technofeminism (Wajcman 2003) emphasises the
    importance of feminists engaging to get more
    women into technoscience to undermine mens
    numerical and cultural dominance
  • Cyberfeminism (Plant 1996) suggests that new ICT
    is inherently feminine and thus that the
    technology will help to include more women

4
Potential policy tools/inclusion instruments
  • Agenda setting
  • Information campaigns
  • ICT and gender focused strategies in primary and
    secondary schools and tertiary eduaction
  • Quotas

5
Potential problems with policy
  • Neglect of gender issues
  • Category politics and gender stereotyping
  • General rather than targeted strategies (One
    size fits none)

6
Sources
  • Two in-depth case studies
  • Norwegian University of Science and Technology,
    Trondheim
  • University of Malaya, Kuala Lumpur
  • California Interviews and analysis of web pages
  • Secondary sources on gender politics in the three
    countries

7
Some general notes on women in computer science
  • Malaysia Around 50 per cent women students in
    computer science
  • California Accurate information not available
    but presumably around 20-25
  • Norway Varies across institutions, from less
    than 10 percent up till 20 per cent

8
The two case study universities
  • Norwegian university of science and technology,
    Department of information and computer science
    (IDI)
  • 198515
  • 1996 6
  • 1997 38
  • 2004 Below 10
  • University of Malaya, Faculty of Computer Science
    and Information Technology (FSKTM) (2001)
  • 39 women PhD students
  • 42 women master students
  • 52 women bachelor students (CS)
  • 66 women bachelor students (IT)
  • Majority of women staff
  • Quite stable around 50 since early late 1980s
    (sjekk opp med Ng!)

9
Three diverse countries in terms of gender and
ICT policy
  • Norway A strong political emphasis on gender
    equality and womens position, sustained
    inclusion efforts related to girls/women and ICT
    state feminism
  • California No state level inclusion policy with
    regard to women and ICT, but relatively strong
    presence of networks for women in ICT/women in
    technology
  • Malaysia Government inclusion policy with regard
    to ICT for everybody, emphasis on equal
    opportunities for women but not particularly with
    regard to ICT/computer science

10
Presence and content of gender inclusion policies
Norway
  • Strong general presence of concern for womens
    situation
  • Long tradition of state feminism demanding
    government action to rectify gender inequalities
  • 20 years of policy efforts to counter a
    gendered digital divide in Norwegian schools
    with limited success
  • Several initiatives to recruit and retain more
    women in higher education in computer science and
    engineering

11
Strengths and weaknesses Norway
  • Strengths
  • Public support, strong legitimation
  • National outreach
  • Integrated in other public measures
  • Weaknesses
  • Strongly gendered segregated labour market
  • Policies sustain gender differences, e.g. related
    to choices of education and occupation. They are
    instead shaped to reduce the consequences of
    these differences in terms of income and welfare
  • Widespread use of gender stereotypes in efforts
    to recruit girls/women to computer science and ICT

12
Presence and content of gender inclusion policies
California
  • Public gender inclusion initiatives with regard
    to ICT and computer science do occur, but they
    are local in origin
  • Womens network and organisations seem to play a
    relatively prominent role. Examples
  • Institute for women and technology (including
    Systers)
  • Women In Technology International (WITI)
  • Society of Women Engineers
  • Women in Computer Science and Electrical
    Engineering (UC Berkeley)
  • Women in computing at Stanford

13
Example of web page Stanford University
  • On-line Resource List Useful Sites
  • Graduate Student Survival Guide
  • How to Succeed in Graduate School
  • Graduate Student Resources
  • Survival in the Academy
  • Tomorrow's Professor
  • U.S. Department of Education Financial Aid Page
  • Women's Home Page
  • AWIS  Women in Academic Science and Engineering
    Site
  • Organizations at Stanford
  • Graduate Women's Network (GWN)
  • Society of Women Engineers (SWE)
  • Women's Center

14
Example of web page UCLA
  • Women
  • American Association of University Women (AAUW)
  • Association for Women in Computing (AWC)
  • Committee on Women in Science Engineering
    (CWSE)
  • Society of Women Engineers (SWE)
  • Women in Engineering Organization (WIEO)
  • Women in Engineering Programs Advocates Network
    (WEPAN)

15
Strengths and weaknesses - California
  • Strengths
  • Policy from below, based on womens own efforts
  • Oriented towards empowerment
  • Seems to create some feeling of belonging through
    a focus on the share of women, the establishment
    of role models and network building
  • Direct action
  • Weaknesses
  • Dependent on enthusiasts, even local enthusiasts
  • Marginal related to most institutions
  • Visibility?
  • Open issue
  • Strong career orientation
  • Self-made women?

16
Presence and content of gender inclusion policies
Malaysia
  • Women as icons of modernity (Ong 1995)
  • ICT a key technology in Malaysia
  • Multimedia Super Corridor (MSC)
  • Computer literacy programme (Computers in
    education)
  • Primary and secondary school computer clubs
  • NB! Inclusion strategies oriented towards
    everybody not just women

17
Strengths and weaknesses Malaysia
  • Strengths
  • Successful inclusion of women in computer science
    higher education
  • Computer science is not perceived as masculine
  • Weaknesses
  • Maybe to strongly based on instrumental motives
    computer science as a sensible career choice
  • Re-enforced by strong parental authority
  • Open issue
  • The situation for educated women in the ICT
    industry is not known

18
Paradoxes and conjectures
  • Norway with the most outspoken governmental
    efforts to include women in computer science is
    less successful in actually achieving this
  • Neither Bacchis emphasis on national equal
    opportunitiy politics, nor Wajcmans
    technofeminism nor Plants cyberfeminism
    provides good explanations
  • Conjecture I Norways state feminism with its
    accept of gender differences in terms of
    education and work may be counter-productive with
    regard to problems like women and computer
    science
  • Conjecture II Inclusion strategies based on
    gender stereotypes are ineffective
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