Dear BI Career Consultants:
What are some strategies for overcoming the gender gap in information technology?

If we are to close the gender gap in information technology we must begin to address two critical questions: Are information technologies "gendered by design?" And can the same approach to preparing students for information technology careers work for both girls and boys?

Gendered by Design?
In all aspects of our lives, our cultural histories influence our consumption, for example, our taste in food, movies, clothes and music. However, there is an assumption that when it comes to our use of information technologies our cultural histories should not influence our preferences.
This is apparent in the lack of variety that is available in educational software for diverse audiences. Given that software designers design programs based on their cultural histories,  and given the ethnicity and gender of the majority of software designers, African American women are often the least likely audience for whom software programs are designed. Repeated exposure to such software over time can lead to the perception by African American female students that they are not cognitively equipped to successfully use and/or develop such technologies.
Understanding how technologies are "gendered by design" will enable us to understand the influence of design decisions on the existence of the gender gap.

Does One Size Fit All?
While there are skills and knowledge pertinent to success in the information technology field, the question we need to explore is whether there are multiple ways to help students acquire these ways of doing and knowing. I suggest that we devote resources to finding creative ways of helping girls acquire the necessary skills and knowledge by embedding teaching and learning in contexts that are personally meaningful.
Research has shown that girls often do not see the usefulness in learning how to
program. Therefore, by designing an introductory course around real projects that are meaningful, we might be able to move one step closer in helping girls to see that developing technological skills might enable them to become the creators of their technological worlds rather than just the consumers.