Hurdles in the Pipeline: Girls and Technology Careers

Frontiers, 2005 by Kekelis, Linda S, Ancheta, Rebecca Wepsic, Heber, Etta

INTRODUCTION

If you ask most children to draw a picture of a computer scientist, you will probably get a picture of a man in a lab coat working in a cubicle. The images in these drawings reflect a problem with the way today's youth perceive technical careers. Most students do not imagine a career in the field,1 and for girls, a career in technology is especially unlikely.2 When they do study technology, girls are more likely than boys to work on clerical skills, in courses that do not prepare them for careers in advanced technology fields.3 Even girls with positive experiences with computers are not inclined to study more advanced technologies.4

TECHBRIDGE PROGRAM DESCRIPTION

We talked with girls in our community to find out what kinds of technology projects appealed to them and used the findings to design a program for girls. The resulting program, Techbridge, is sponsored by Chabot Space and Science Center in Oakland, California. Techbridge introduces about 250 girls annually to a variety of applications of technology that include digital storytelling, building robots, programming, animation, and career exploration.5 The afterschool technology programs are hosted at elementary, middle, and public high schools in Oakland and surrounding communities and at the California School for the Blind in Fremont.6

METHODOLOGY

The primary sources of data for this paper are in-depth interviews and focus groups with 126 Techbridge girls and 34 of their parents or guardians. The girls ranged in age from eleven to nineteen years old, with most in the twelve- to fifteen-year-old range. We selected girls who had a broad range of involvement and skill levels within their programs and who reflected the range of racial and socioeconomic backgrounds in their schools.7 Forty-two girls are African American, twenty-six are Asian, twenty-nine are white, twenty-one are Hispanic, and eight are multiracial or other. Interviews were conducted in English, Cantonese, or Spanish and were structured around a set of open-ended questions. Data were analyzed using a grounded theory method, as developed by Anselm Strauss and others.8

IDENTIFYING HURDLES IN THE PIPELINE

The goals of Techbridge were to engage girls in learning and using technology, to embolden their plans for further study in technology, and to increase their interest in pursuing careers in technology. Although adolescents may be several years away from entering the workforce, information about their plans for their future gives an indication of their intentions to pursue classes and extracurricular opportunities that increase their chances of an academic and career path in technology. To explore these issues, we asked girls the following questions about their career interests and future plans: What do you want to be when you grow up? What kinds of classes do you need to prepare for your career choice? Where do you think you will be in ten years? What do you have to do to get there?

We were surprised to find that even with positive experiences in the program, most girls did not aspire to careers in technology. One girl told us, "I like computers a lot," and "Everything that we've been doing so far [in Techbridge] has been fun." Yet, when asked about her career goals, this student explained, "It seems like I'm interested in technology, not as a career, but as a habit." In a focus group, four middle-school girls described the technology in Techbridge as "fun, so amazing, interesting, makes me feel smart." But minutes later, these same girls closed the door to career options in technology, saying, "I don't plan on doing it as a career," and "I like it but it's not something I would grow up to do." In exploring why some girls did not see technology as compatible with their interests and identities, we discovered that girls face a number of hurdles in the educational pipeline for technology careers.

Hurdle Number 1: Negative Stereotypes about Computing Jobs

Girls told us that even though they enjoyed working on computers in Techbridge, they would not want jobs where they "look at a computer screen all day" and "come home with headaches." Many girls believe that it might be boring to work with computers and be confined to an office: "I would really hate to be stuck at the computer all day.... I would rather have a job that's more involved with the world." With images of "little cubicles and people sitting glued to the computer," it is understandable that some students do not aspire to technology careers.

After hearing descriptions like these, we asked the girls to describe their images of persons working in technology fields. One group of middle-school girls, adamantly not interested in technology careers, offered the following description: "They look hecka smart because they are wearing those little glasses . . . and lab coats . . . probably geeky and use vocabulary that you wouldn't understand and be able to keep up with." When asked about the gender and race of these workers, this group of African American girls agreed that they imagine men who are white or Asian.