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- Text DocumentThe Impact of IT Intervention Programs for Girls(GenderIT 2014, 2014) Coldwell-Neilson, Jo; Craig, Annemieke; Gorbacheva, Elena; Beekhuyzen, JenineThe goal of our study is to investigate the longitudinal effects of one intervention program for schoolgirls in the Information Technology (IT) field. This bi-annual event has been conducted regularly since 2006 with the aim of confronting a decline in the interest among girls to study IT and promoting study and work opportunities in the field. Each event has been evaluated with pre- and post-event surveys. Longitudinally, both students and teachers have also been surveyed three to four years after the event in which they participated. Results from the 2006 cohort surveyed in 2009-2010 are reported on in this paper. The main conclusion is that, unfortunately, any increase in the uptake of IT in schools that occurred as a result of attending the event was transitory. Therefore, it is crucial that inspiring, engaging, and empowering computing classes are being offered continuously at all secondary schools.
- Text DocumentSelf-defence IT – Migrant Women and ICTs Strategies(GenderIT 2014, 2014) Gouma, Assimina; Ernst, Waltraud; Carrington, Kim; Caixeta, LuzenirInformation- and Communications Technologies (ICTs) are central in everyday life in (post-) industrial societies. However, the conditions of their availability and the practicalities relating to their use vary greatly: ICTs users focus on different social issues using “new media” and (re)produce power dynamics in different ways. From this perspective, ICTs are systems with complex inclusionary and exclusionary mechanisms that run along intersections of class, gender, race, age etc. The paper analyses the results of the research project Selfdefence IT. Self-defence IT is an action research project initiated by the migrant women organisation maiz. Therein, women with migration biographies formulate a series of concerns in relation to ICTs that are relevant for both private and public spheres. It shows that the experience of migration changes and influences the way ICTs are used. Depending on context, ICTs may function as instruments to transcend national and social boundaries, as a platform for social control or as an opportunity for mobility in training and work.
- Text DocumentAttributions in HCI: A Gendered View(GenderIT 2014, 2014) Janneck, Monique; Guczka, Sascha R.; Niels, AdelkaIn two pilot studies we measured computer-related attribution styles, i.e. the systematic ascription of causes to effects in situations of failure or success, identifying a typology of nine specific attribution styles [6]. In this paper we briefly summarize results and take a specific look at gender differences regarding attribution patterns in situations of failure and success when using computers.
- Text DocumentBeyond Game Design for Broadening Participation: Building New Clubhouses of Computing for Girls(GenderIT 2014, 2014) Kafai, Yasmin B.; Burke, QuinnThe absence of women in IT has been a vexing issue for over two decades. Most attempts to broaden participation in computing have focused on “unlocking the clubhouse” to a more diverse group of participants. One popular approach has been to ask girls to program games, which developed into the Game Design Movement, a series of studies and tools to help develop and empower females as designers of interactive digital media. This paper examines the rationales and successes behind the Game Design Movement in order to outline new strategies for broadening participation in computing. Rather than simply “unlocking the clubhouses” through expanded game-making activities, we argue here that educators and researchers should devote themselves to “building new clubhouses” altogether by focusing on using new programmable materials, interactive activities, and both in-person and online communities that leverage the traditions of girls’ play worlds and the cultural practices of women’s crafting communities.
- Text DocumentMy Reputation in the Web! Self-(re-)presentation and image management of female and male youngsters in Facebook(GenderIT 2014, 2014) Knoll, Bente; Fitz, BernadetteThe use of Web 2.0-technologies goes hand-in-hand with a users' public image. Today, youngsters especially have to face the challenge of balancing between protecting their privacy and updating as well as maintaining one's online image. This research paper titled "My Reputation in the Web" focuses on the online-identity management and image repertoire of male and female youngsters using Facebook. An intention of the research was to identify the different requirements, living conditions and living realities of young male and female web-2.0-users. Furthermore, a special aspect of this research is the focus given to acquire knowledge of the target-group concerning their safety and privacy in the social web. The survey, designed as actionorientated workshops, was carried out at five schools in Austria in February and June 2013. Based on the results of this empirical study, concrete tools and guidelines for teachers and trainers, such as a handbook and a train-thetrainer-E-learning course, will be developed by the end of September 2014.
- Text DocumentAgony of Choice? Webforms for Selecting Titles(GenderIT 2014, 2014) Marsden, NicolaEliciting information to formally address a user on a family-name basis is an aspect of user interface design that is inevitably connected to the issue of gender. In most cases an appropriate salutation includes information about the addressee's sex, i.e. it requires the designer to make decisions about how to present this information. Results from a survey of how webforms for selecting titles are designed are presented, showing a binary approach to gender, a tendency for the male title ("Herr") to be the given default, and offering several starting points for discussion on user experience of webforms, sex and gender.
- Text DocumentA Rail of One’s Own” – Creating Spaces for Women in IT(GenderIT 2014, 2014) Laugwitz, Laura LindaVolunteer-based programs such as the Rails Girls project are recruiting people from within the field of information technology (IT) to help change the ratio of men and women in programming. By offering free coding workshops for women without any prior experience, the Rails Girls project is challenging hegemonic notions of technology as difficult to master. Rails Girls has chapters all over the world and is quite popular within the Ruby / Ruby on Rails community. This paper gives insight into the workings of Rails Girls Berlin, analyzes how spaces for women in IT are created and which processes of inclusion and exclusion need to be considered when trying to create an empowering experience.
- Text DocumentWomen and their Work–Life Balance in German IT Consulting(GenderIT 2014, 2014) Nissen, Volker; Termer, FrankGermany’s current population pyramid – as well as certain gender aspects – has led to a call for increasing numbers of working women in many industrial sectors. However, IT consultancies still find it difficult to adequately exploit highly qualified women’s potential when recruiting and bonding them. We believe that this originates from deficits in the perceived work–life balance of female consultants. Therefore, on the basis of an empirical study carried out with the aid of online interviews and following expert phone interviews, the current state of work–life balance in German IT consultancies is looked at in this paper. We focus on the situation of female IT consultants and show that the consulting sector can improve the work–life balance of female IT consultants by means of additional efforts, and also by raising the attractiveness of this sector for entrants.
- Text DocumentBarke - Gender all around! A practical and holistic approach towards recruiting and retaining women in the field of IT(GenderIT 2014, 2014) Barke, Helena; Siegeris, Juliane; Nordmann, StefanieIs a women-only degree program an effective way to provide a path for women into attractive carriers in the field of IT? This paper presents different ways, how the University of Applied Sciences HTW Berlin attempts to recruit, support and retain women for STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics). The focus is on the mono-educative degree program 'Informatik und Wirtschaft' (computer science and business administration) and its gender-oriented curriculum. The degree program is one part of a three-phase-support-model to attract women for STEM in general. This support-model and the linkage with the degree program will be explained. Finally we present as one first indication of success, the diversity of the reached student group.
- Text DocumentBeyond “Pink” and “Blue”: Gendered Attitudes towards Robots in Society(GenderIT 2014, 2014) Wang, Yan; Young, James E.Developing an improved understanding and awareness of how gender impacts perceptions of robots and interactions with them is crucial for the ongoing advancement of the human-robot interaction (HRI) field, as a lack of awareness of gender issues increases the risk of robot rejection and poor performance. This paper provides a theoretical grounding for gender-studies in HRI that illustrates potential dangers of “pink” versus “blue” dichotomous over-simplifications of women and men, and advocates for including potential users of both sexes. We further present the results from an exploratory survey of women and men’s attitudes toward robot development that demonstrates how real-world gender differences on attitudes toward robots go beyond simplistic generalizations. We envision that this work will provide HRI designers with a foundation and exemplary account of how gender can influence attitudes toward and interaction with robots, serving as a resource and a sensitizing discussion for gender studies in HRI.