Why Aren't Girls More Tech Savvy?

Girls blow off the high-end computer culture because it doesn't incorporate their interests. How--and why--the computer culture needs to change (NEA Today, November 2000)

In 1998, the American Association of University Women report, Gender Gap, revealed that while young women are taking math and science classes in almost equal numbers to young men, they're lagging behind in participating in computer science classes and pursuing technology-based careers. A two-year commission subsequently looked into the issue of gender technology and teacher education, and the findings were released recently in the AAUW report, Tech Savvy: Educating Girls in the New Computer Age.

Do girls approach technology differently than boys do?
Girls are certainly using the Internet and E-mail as much as boys. But differences show up at advanced levels: Girls aren't going as far in computer science, programming, engineering, and information technology majors or careers.

Why the breakdown?
According to the Tech Savvy report, girls in general have little interest in a computer's speed, how technology works, or programming. They're less interested in the machine for the machine's sake than they are in advancing things that they're already interested in--solving problems, communicating with their friends, finding information.

What about educator attitudes toward technology? How do these affect what's going on in the classroom?
"That's the hidden story in the discussion," says Pamela Haag, AAUW's director of research.

"A majority of educators are women," notes Haag. "In our online survey of 900 teachers, we found that teachers have some of the same concerns and legitimate skepticism about the use of computer technology in the classroom as girls do."

Many teachers want to know whether technology can help them teach--be it English, art, history, or math. But they remain unclear on what technology is really supposed to do in the classroom.

Many feel they're expected to use technology in sophisticated ways when it isn't really clear how they can get training or support.

"Virtually all the teachers we surveyed believe that technology is here to stay, but they have a range of opinions about whether or not this is really good for the classroom," says Haag.

Teacher concerns are often met with criticism, notably that teachers just aren't able to handle the new technology. AAUW's Commission on Technology, Gender, and Teacher Education, which prepared Tech Savvy, notes that teacher concerns need to be addressed, not derided--and that educators themselves should be designing instruction that takes advantage of technology across all disciplines.

What changes are needed to make education more tech-savvy?
"A shift more toward content and less emphasis on the technical would be important, to have computers serve as more than just high-tech blackboards," says AAUW's Haag.

Schools of education and school districts also need to support professional development for school staff that helps educators use computer technology creatively across the curriculum.

"If students are exposed to computers in areas that already interest them," says Haag, "they may get more involved than if the focus is on learning about the history of technology, programming language, or how the machines work."

Girls also need to be educated on the many options available in technology fields.

In AAUW focus groups, girls have declared that they have little interest in pursing information technology careers because they perceive that these careers involve spending all day sitting in front of a screen.

The image of the computer nerd, in other words, lives on vividly in their minds.

In fact, all sorts of opportunities for tech-savvy women are out there, and many involve human interaction, problem solving, sales, and marketing--and go far beyond sitting in front of a computer all day.

Why should the field of high technology change for girls, instead of the other way around?
For one, because the AAUW study found that girls today are confident enough to say, "We can do this, we're just not interested." They're going to change the culture, not change for it.

But if the technology culture and today's girls don't find common ground, future employment opportunities for girls will be closed off.

"The fastest growing jobs for the next two decades will involve computer engineering and programming and design," notes Haag. And if girls aren't attracted to these fields today, they may be shut out tomorrow.

--Michelle Y. Green

Order Tech Savvy ($12.95) from the American Association of University Women, 800/225-9998, www.aauw.org.

Eleanor Roosevelt Teacher Fellowships, from the AAUW Educational Foundation, award from $1,000 to $9,000 to teachers working on issues involving girls and education. Application deadline: January 10, 2001. For information, visit www.aauw.org.