The is a distinct gender gap in the creation and utilization technology. There are not enough people opting to study computer sciences, especially women. The article above states four reasons why women are not involved.
“And here’s the truth: It’s not solely a problem for women. It’s a problem for men, too. In just five years, there will be a million unfilled computer science–related jobs in the United States, which according to our calculations could amount to a $500 billion opportunity cost.”
So how do we change this culture? How do we get women and men more involved with technology? Do we need to rethink who creates the and runs the technology? Can AI's fill the gap where there are not enough people? I ROBOT!
Four Reasons
Culture
Lack of Role Models
Poor Pipeline
Sexism
Culture:
Create an image of the stereotypical computer scientist but switch out the image of the male in the parents basement writing code with the image of a woman. This will point out that the image itself is a stereotype that is incorrect, but also raise awareness to the fact that when we think of a computer coder we are thinking of a male and not a female. Now I have to find a basement, or recreate that basement look in photoshop. More than likely I will create that image as a composite image.
Role Models:
There is a distinct lack of role models for females in the world of technology. Do you know who Megan Smith is? She was the Chief Technology Officer of the United States from 2014-2017 serving under President Obama. Before that she was a Vice President at Google, and a former CEO of Planet Out. PlanetOut, Inc. is a leading global online media company or entertainment company exclusively targeting the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) demographic. This is quite an impressive resume, but yet she is not someone that we study at school. She is not an influencer or a trend setter in the terms that lots of people know who she is, but she has a notable footprint in the technology that should be recognised. Megan Smith went to MIT, worked at Apple in Tokyo and many other companies. In 2012, she started Google's "Women Techmakers" diversity initiative. She is a proponent of STEM education. As of March 2018 she is the CEO and Founder of shift7.
Poor Pipeline
How are we encouraging young women to get involved in technology? How are we making technology interesting for young women?
More males are playing video games than girls. They are interacting with CSS coding more than girls and so are more informed or experienced by the time they get to college. Girls feel like they are behind and that is intimidating them out of the field of study. We need to get more girls involved and involved at a younger age. We need to get girls interested in code and design at a younger age. We need girls to feel just as capable as boys.
Sexism
Computer science is a field that doesn't encourage or entice women to be involved. If they are it is assumed that they are the help and not an equal partner in the development of new technologies. We need to break the glass ceiling when it comes to the perception of who is good at computer science. We need to push forward as women and be more involved. If we are not included then we need to start our own conversations and business and get involved without the permission of anyone else.