Girls In Tech

Yesterday, Orange Silicon Valley released the results of a study that is both a cause for concern as well as celebration on the topic of women and technology.  While women are taking on more high-profile roles in technology and are increasingly immersed with the web and social media, there are still a number of challenges that need to be addressed.  The challenges noted in the study include:

- The decrease in the percentage of women obtaining Computer Science degrees. (In 2006 women made up 12% of Computer Science degrees, compared to 1993 when the number was at 18%. )

- The low percentage of women in leadership roles. (Only 3% of venture-backed companies are run by women, and only 8.5% of Silicon Valley companies have a female board director)

The good news is that the evolution of the web from a place where people go to get information, to a place where people go to connect, communicate and express themselves, is giving more women a deeper level of interaction with web technology. This is exemplified by the fact that females make up the majority of every age category on Facebook.

Another cause for celebration cited in the study is “the new network”, which points to the establishment of organizations geared towards helping women collaborate and grow professionally to become a stronger force in technology. Girls in Tech is specifically called out in the research report as an example of an organization that focuses on the engagement, education and empowerment of women in technology.

Below is an excerpt from Orange’s report with key findings:

- Women are demonstrating new influence at the executive suites of all of the major technology companies in Silicon Valley, including Google, Intel, Cisco, Adobe, Yahoo! and Oracle.

- The traditional under-representation of women in the technology sector is being reversed with the next generation of Girls in Tech, who are prolific users of and contributors to social media platforms invented in Silicon Valley and now in use all over the world.

- This ‘third generation’ of Women in Tech – coinciding with the emergence of Generation Y as a profound influence on the workforce – is already demonstrating a complete lack of intimidation about being in the technology workforce.

- The content creation tools that come built into new devices and the social web, on sites such as Facebook, MySpace, and now the iPhone, are creating a new paradigm for producing computer ‘code’, making Girls in Tech a powerful source of world-changing innovation.

-  Women in Silicon Valley are rethinking what Work/Life Balance means and redefining how companies approach the needs, of women in particular, at different stages of their careers and personal life.

Research for Her Code: Engendering Change in Silicon Valley, was conducted in the first half of 2009, and included interviews with women from a range of ages and disciplines, including academia, engineering, management, finance and marketing.  For the full pdf report, click here.

Tags: computer science, girls in tech, Orange, Silicon Valley, Tina Tran
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Guest Post by Sara Czyzewicz: Sara Czyzewicz is a creative technologist and Co-Founder of DandyID.org – a service for managing online identities. Learn more about her on DandyID.

YOU CODE GIRL!

Or don’t you? Well maybe you should! In fact, many more girls should.

Here’s why.

A large portion of users (Internet and desktop) are women — and in some cases, a dominating portion. “More females are online than males—although males tend to spend more time once they go online,” says Lisa E. Phillips, author of the new report US Internet Users. Men and women encompass diverse sets of values, expectations and usage patterns; thus, engineering efforts representing both genders during product development more equally could lead to higher levels of customer satisfaction and acquisition – key for business success.

Additionally, it is not a lack of relevant skills or viable disinterest keeping girls away; in fact, cultural bias, mythical stereotypes, and lack of exposure are found to be heavy influencers.

“The nerd factor is huge,” Dr. Cuny said. According to a 2005 report by the National Center for Women and Information Technology, when high school girls think of computer scientists they think of geeks, pocket protectors, isolated cubicles and a lifetime of staring into a screen writing computer code. And then there is the home environment. “Overall, the women we interviewed had done less hands-on exploration of the computer than the men”, from Unlocking the Clubhouse: Women in Computing – “They gave fewer accounts of working beside their fathers and more stories of watching from the sidelines. Computing and tinkering had not been their main childhood activities.”

Computer science departments report that women now make up less than 10 percent of the newest undergraduates. And while the industry as a whole is changing its mindset about women in IT, they are still poorly represented in the world of code. This is a concerning trend, not only because young women should share the field’s challenges and rewards, but also because the relative absence of women is a troubling indicator for American computer science generally – and for the economic competitiveness that depends on it. “Factors driving women away will eventually drive men away as well”, says Lenore Blum, a computer scientist at Carnegie Mellon University.

“Unless we change the way that we educate our children, there will always be a gender divide in the most important area of 21st century life. And women will always be on the wrong side of that divide, the have-nots in the real power centers of our culture”, says Jeannette Cézanne , Technical Writer, IBM, in her book review of “Unlocking the Clubhouse: Women in Computing”.

As Girls in Tech community members and readers, here is our call to action: Talk, mentor and teach.

Engage girls you know – Show the young women in your life how to link to an image or use an FTP client. For many the “attachment begins at home”. Talk about career opportunities: check out NCWIT’s “Talking Points” for encouraging young women to consider careers in IT“.

Toy with electronics – such as Snap Circuits (build your own burglar alarm, anyone? I had something like this, and what a blast! Especially with a sneaky brother to keep out of my room.)

Be gender unbiased – We need men included and supporting these efforts too!

Communicate the Cool – Shun the outdated stereotypes of anti-social code monkeys! “So maybe it’s not accurate to say geeks today are better looking — but they’re certainly better dressed. With hipper haircuts. ” With events such as Geek Dinners, Open Coffees, New Tech Meetups, Tweet-ups, and the numerous un-conferences, socializing and collaboration are more prevalent than ever.

What are your ideas for supporting women in technical careers and academia? Share your thoughts – we won’t byte!

Tags: code, computer, computer science, girls and technology, Lenore Blum, Lisa E Phillips, Sara Czyzewicz, technolog, Unlocking the Clubhouse, women and technology
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