Gender Stereotypes In The Computer Science Field
Although women have played an immense role in the development of computer science, there has been some gender stereotype in the male dominated field. A study reveals that the percentage of women at the doctoral level is persistently below 25 percent. |
The gender stereotypes also play a role in affecting the decision of students to take a particular course and their ability to judge and perform in that chosen field.
Many scholars have chosen to believe that technical skill is gender based, and this has had a detrimental effect as well. This determines what men and women may be attracted to. Not just students, it is also seen that sometimes there is a shortage of female faculty in Computer Science, as in Stanford University.
It is believed that women generally do not enter the computer science field fearing the discrimination. Added to this, the time it takes to become a professor also contributes to this gap. A 1989 study by the Committee on the Status of Women in Computer Science, said that the relatively low percentage of women in the Computer Science field is because women face difficulties in becoming computer scientists.
Tracing the origin of the field, it can be seen that computers were invented in a time when women were still not very active outside their homes or in the industrial fields. They were ideally viewed as house-wives. Nevertheless, this attitude needs to change if women are to excel. Although there are disputing accounts on the gender bias, there are figures and clear indications of the stark gap in the number of men and women in the field.
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