On influences on women choosing technology careers

Report: Women Who Choose Computer Science – What Really Matters (Google, 2014)

Today I had a read of this Google backed report into women in technology. In the face of so many reports commenting about negative perceptions of women and tech, this one stood apart due to its positivity. The report identified the two main drivers that can have the most impact on increased female participation as ENCOURAGEMENT (social/family/peers and self belief) and EXPOSURE (availability of academic subjects and perceptions of the tech sector). The report also highlighted that some commonly held beliefs about what influences students may not be as important as we credit them.

Top four influencing factors are:

• Social encouragement: positive reinforcement of computer science from family and peers. Family support influenced 17% of people surveyed, peers 11%. It also noted that girls are half as likely to receive encouragement as girls.
• Self perception: having an interest in puzzles and problem solving – and a belief that those skills can translate to a successful career. Self perception of maths ability and problem solving influenced 17% but the ultimate influencer was a passion for solving problems and tinkering.
• Academic exposure: availability of both structured (formal/graded studies) and informal (after school programs). This accounted for 22.4% of explainable factors – the study went on to say that regardless of how they were exposed – young women that had been exposed were more likely than those that weren’t (eg. Anything is better than nothing).
• Career perception: familiarity and perception that tech careers can be diverse and be positive. Accounts for 27.5% of explainable factors on why a young woman would pursue an career in technology. The main problem here is that a flawed perception of tech (ie nerdy, boring, hard, technical) actively dissuades young woman from pursuing an interest, and ultimately correcting the perception.

Things that have less influence include: ethnicity, family income, parental occupation and perceptions of natural ability. Other factors that had limited influence include: having a family member in the tech sector, early exposure to tech, age of first computer exposure, access to mobile devices, natural aptitude, pre-college computer science education.

The conclusion is overwhelmingly positive. Mainly because the report believes that the four core influencers can be addressed. It believes that outreach programs should:

• contain a parent education component,
• provide young woman an opportunity to practice problem solving skills,
• support organisations adding informal or formal computer science education to more schools,
• focus on the visibility of female role models and story telling of positive impact careers.

My thoughts:

I liked the simplicity of this arrangement – exposure and encouragement. It makes sense. I liked the positivity that these are actionable areas and the suggestions for how to act. I like that the report makes an effort to identify things that are not critical influencers (but could be seen as distractions to outreach programs?). I would argue that those elements are things that need to be considered – e.g. parents and peers will still influence but, depending on background/situation, may influence in different ways.

One thing the report didn’t touch on was the age at which young women are most receptive to external influences. The report is categorised into ‘high school’ and ‘post college’ – but doesn’t mention primary education or the role of high school peers in subject selection. There is the common perception that early high school (age 13-14) is the subject choice cliff, the point at which female perceptions of technology is first revealed (and where schools a lot of their student cohort).

On Attitudes to ICT Careers and Study Among 13-19 Year Olds

As a state, Victoria has been hit pretty hard by the Australia wide decline in ICT enrolments. Between 2002 (peak) and 2012 (trough) Victoria experienced a drop of over 10,000 students in tertiary computer science related degrees. This compares to a decline of 5,600 in NSW and 8,700 in Qld. Percentage wise we are talking declines of 38% (Victoria), 49% (Queensland) and 28% (NSW). Its no wonder that the Victorian Government (Department of State Development, Business and Innovation) has commissioned four reports (2004, 2007, 2009, 2012) investigating career choice and study options among young people. Here are some of the findings, paying attention to noticeable changes from 2009-2012:

Some things don’t change:

• The percentage of students that studied ICT in year 9 or above (remained at 42%)
• Awareness of the term ICT (sits at 40%) – although students had trouble defining what it meant
• Understanding that ICT had career opportunities (67%)
• Interest in studying ICT at a tertiary level (when asked) remains at 41%
• Interest in pursuing a career in ICT (when asked) remains at 46%

Some things do:

• Decline: student interest in working in the ICT sector compared to other sectors (from 35% to 24%)
• Decline: interest in studying ICT (when compared with other courses) from 37% down to 28%
• Increase: students believe they have a better understanding of ICT as a career choice (51% in 2009, 56% in 2012)
• Increase: students believe ICT is recession proof (10% in 2009, 30% in 2012)
• Increase: students thought that delivery of ICT in schools has improved (64% in 2009, to 79% in 2012)

What students are looking for:

• a job they can excel in (83%)
• a job that is in line with their areas of interest (82%)
• a job they’re proud of (78%)
• a secure job (77%)
• a chance to earn good money (75%)
• Summary: students are looking for a job that they will enjoy for many years, one that provides the lifestyle they want to have, is not stressful, one where they are not stuck indoors and behind a desk all day and one that offers a good work/life balance

Influencers:

• Parents (85%) remain the key influencer for career choices and guidance
• People that work in the industry (83%)
• Teachers (71%)
• Work experience in the area (71%)
• Other family members (72%)
• Institution open days/careers fairs (72%)
• Friends and peers (56%) play less of a role, but still a greater role than generic internet sources, media and social media

Perceptions of ICT:

• Students still see ICT as monotonous and desk bound (58% agree)
• Low human interaction (44% agree)
• Geeky and nerdy (30% agree) – these perceptions are formed from teachers that teach the subject, people they know in the industry and impressions they receive from TV. While students are not anti-geek, they don’t necessarily identify with that image.

Positioning: the report then looks at what messages resonate with the ambitions of students in different age category:

• Years 7-8: ICT should be a positive school experience, not tied to career choices but role modelled by adults and fun to engage in
• Years 9-10: at this age, messaging should directly address and alleviate misconceptions about ICT and promote ICT as a gateway to future career choices
• Years 11-12: students need to know the broader skills sets required of tertiary level ICT, outside of the technical expertise – students need reassurance that they are capable of being able to study at a higher level.

Communications and Information:

• Ensure that outward facing communications resonate with students – this includes both rationally (i.e. salary, career options, in demand industry etc) and emotionally (fun career, stay abreast of tech trends, fulfilling career)
• Clarify misconceptions: ICT does not need to be desk bound, it has group work, it is social, it is global etc
• Convey the diversity of available careers: ideally in ‘day in the life’ style promotions
• Disseminate information via school networks (careers advisors, teachers and parents)
• Work on gaining mainstream multimedia attention for campaigns

The role of industry:

• The challenge with this issue is representing diversity of career choice in a targeted fashion that meets the diverse interests of students at different age levels. Industry can play a greater role in schools and participating in careers expos.

Industry’s own actions will have a significant impact on addressing educational and broader workforce issues over time, and as such, they along with schools, education providers, and the Government, must continue to take joint responsibility and ownership for attracting people to the industry to achieve positive outcomes for the sector as a whole