investiGaming is a publication of the Serious Game Design group in the Department of Telecommunication, Information Studies, and Media at Michigan State University, 2007-2009
This gateway is partially supported by grant 0631771 from the National Science Foundation.
The opinions expressed are those of the authors and do not represent Michigan State University or the National Science Foundation.
Gender EquityinvestiGaming › Tags › Gender Equity
Scope Definition: GENDER EQUITY is about unequal opportunity or treatment of girls and boys and women and men, and fairness.
Selected Highlights from GENDER EQUITY tag (scroll down to see the full list of entries with this tag, including links to the entries)
Design/Style That Favors Boys or Girls
• High-feminine 15- and 16-year-old girls preferred web sites with strong graphics and multimedia design over content (Agosto, 2004)
• Games designed by middle school girls had a prominent theme of expressing and working through fears and social issues in their stories. The girls tended to use bright, vivid colors. Their stories took place in real world settings. Their stories involved moral decisions. They rarely used violent feedback. They used games to play with gender stereotypes, challenging authority, using humor. (Denner, 2005)
• In the poetics of games, space was conceived as a domain to be conquered and a context for battle. This reflected a predominantly male sensibility. We need a “regendered” or “degendered” poetics of games that is more egalitarian and acknowledges a wider range of spatial and cognitive preferences. (Fullerton, 2008)
• Elizabeth Losh thinks that the game America’s Army is biased toward male players. (tiltfactor, 2007)
• Teaching practices that are typical in primary schools emphasized collaboration and codependency, whereas the cultural message to boys is that masculinity is associated with competition and individuality. This gave boys a contradictory experience that may contribute to the underachievement of boys. Our style of pedagogy is not suited to boys. (Daniels, 2001)
• Ninety percent of adolescents thought technology was cool and regularly used it to chat. Only 28% of adolescent girls contemplated a career in technology compared with 52% of boys. Industry needs to show adolescents that not everyone working in technology is an engineer and that companies need project leaders and business analysts. (Twentyman, 2008)
Game Players and Gender
• There appeared to be increased segregation of pro-players by sex, and more single sex teams. There were higher prize winnings for male teams. Women’s competitions appeared to have a secondary status. There was a “glamorization” of women game players in the marketing and promotion of some female-only teams. (Taylor, 2008)
• The Gamasutra panel had many candidates from which to choose a Top 20 list of women in the video gaming industry in 2008. (Ruberg, 2008)
Aiming for Equity
• Girls’ access to technology and participation in software design on mixed teams (10-12 year olds) could be improved by manipulating social, physical, and cognitive “spaces” in the project environment. (Ching, 2000)
• Fifty-six activities and 96 strategies called “The Neuter Computer” increased girls’ use of computers by 144 percent in the classroom and in the home. (Sanders, 1986)
• To increase girls’ interest in computer technology as a career, introduce them to role models, female-friendly software, and computer-savvy peers in camps and workshops. (Furger, 1998)
• Teachers in the classroom had diverse beliefs and practices about gender. Their philosophy and behavior were influenced by their institutions. Teachers could and did combat inequities resulting from gender socialization. (Streitmatter, 1994)
• Concerns about boys in the discussions about gender equity were not the same between Australia and the U.K. There were various indicators used to establish gender inequality. There was disagreement about what types of reforms promote gender equity. The topic of masculinity has entered the field of gender research. (Yates, 1997)
• Forty-four indicators were identified that measure whether males and females take equal advantage of educational opportunities, perform at the same level, succeed at the same rate, and obtain the same benefits. (Bae, 2000; Freeman, 2004)
• There are many strategies that will encourage more women and minorities to enter technology careers. For example, educators need to connect technology to students’ interests, change social attitudes about women and minorities, involve business in education, and provide career information. Collaborative learning environments and social interaction are important in the learning setting. Introduce technology in middle school. Provide mentors and role models. (Brown, 2001)
• Researchers in fields such as physics and astronomy, stem cell research, car design, genetics, archaeology and geographic information systems found new results when they factored gender into their analysis. (Schiebinger, 2008)
• There is research evidence for discrimination that partly explains the lower percentages of women and minorities in science and engineering. (Sevo, 2008)
• Academia needs to eliminate gender bias in developing critical talent. A coordinated effort across public, private, and government sectors is needed to reform our education and workplace systems that discriminate and discourage women. (Committee on Maximizing the Potential of Women in Academic Science and Engineering, 2007)
Agosto, Denise (2004)
Synopsis:
The study looked at preferences for website design versus content of eleven 14- and 15-year olds.
Keywords:
journal, case study, gender theories, computer skills, middle school, gender equity
Full Text: Yes | Abstract: Yes | Highlights: Yes
Synopsis:
Statistical measures of whether males and females have access to the same educational opportunities.
Keywords:
report, gender equity,
Full Text: Yes | Abstract: Yes | Highlights: Yes
Synopsis:
Explores the reasons women and minorities are underrepresented in technology-related careers and suggests strategies that schools and teachers can use in order to attract women and minorities to high-tech careers and prepare them for work.
Keywords:
IT careers, gender stereotypes, gender equity, report, classroom context
Full Text: Yes | Abstract: Yes | Highlights: Yes
Synopsis:
Statistical measures of whether males and females have access to the same educational opportunities, updating the report in 2000.
Keywords:
report, gender equity,
Full Text: Yes | Abstract: Yes | Highlights: Yes
Synopsis:
Qualitative study examines a three-month software design activity in which mixed teams of girls and boys (10–12 year olds) designed and implemented multimedia astronomy resources for younger students.
Keywords:
journal, academia, cooperation, game design, gender equity, children
Full Text: Yes | Abstract: Yes | Highlights: Yes
Synopsis:
A national report on women in science and engineering with recommendations for action.
Keywords:
academia, book, gender equity, workforce, it careers, working conditions
Full Text: Yes | Abstract: Yes | Highlights: Yes
Synopsis:
Suggests that boys experience a contradiction between the cultural messages and practices associated with masculinity (competition and individuality) and the teaching practices typical of successful primary schooling (collaboration and codependency).
Keywords:
journal, learning, classroom, gender equity, learning process
Full Text: Yes | Abstract: Yes | Highlights: Yes
Synopsis:
Describes the content of 45 games that were designed and programmed by middle school girls in order to determine what girls like about games and gaming.
Keywords:
case study, conference, middle school, girls designing games, gender inclusive, storytelling, cooperation, gender stereotypes, gender equity
Full Text: Yes | Abstract: Yes | Highlights: Yes
Synopsis:
Proposes a “new poetics” of game space in which game design is more egalitarian and games themselves draw on a wider range of spatial and cognitive models.
Keywords:
academia, journal article, MMO, player types, motivations, pink games, what women want, game design, competition, storytelling, empowerment, femininity, the Sims
Full Text: Yes | Abstract: Yes | Highlights: Yes
Synopsis:
The gender gap in the IT workplace can be reduced by introducing flexible schedules, and training for workers who temporarily leave and need to catch up again, to accommodate work/family balance. Women seem to have a more difficult time advancing to management and leadership positions.
Keywords:
academia, book, gender equity, empowerment, IT careers
Full Text: Yes | Abstract: Yes | Highlights: Yes
Keywords:
IT careers, gender equity
Full Text: Yes | Abstract: Yes
Synopsis:
The first Gamasutra list of Top 20 women working in the video game industry in 2008.
Keywords:
Industry, media-press, work force, game industry, gender equity, IT careers
Full Text: Yes | Abstract: Yes | Highlights: Yes
Synopsis:
A book on differences between boys’ and girls’ access to computers and how to make it more equal.
Keywords:
book, gender equity
Full Text: Yes | Abstract: Yes | Highlights: Yes
Synopsis:
A book of edited papers by prominent scholars on research and design projects that were influenced by gender analysis.
Keywords:
Academia, Book, IT Careers, workforce, working conditions, gender theories, gender equity, psychology
Full Text: Yes | Abstract: Yes | Highlights: Yes
Synopsis:
A list of about 100 recommended resources on the issue of women in science and engineering.
Keywords:
blog, workforce, it careers, girls designing games, working conditions, computer skills, classroom context, gender equity, self-efficacy
Full Text: Yes | Abstract: Yes | Highlights: Yes
Synopsis:
A digest of basics regarding discrimination, with an emphasis on women in science and engineering: laws, terminology, concepts in research, intervention programs, organizations, and metrics.
Keywords:
literature review, academia, workforce, IT careers, working conditions, gender equity, harassment, gender stereotypes
Full Text: Yes | Abstract: Yes | Highlights: Yes
Synopsis:
Presents various aspects and considerations of gender equity in classroom teaching through conversations with and observations of eight teachers.
Keywords:
book, academia, gender equity, case study, gender stereotypes, classroom
Full Text: No | Abstract: Yes | Highlights: Yes
Synopsis:
Summarize findings on girls’ interactions with computers and discovers how girls generate views and knowledge that are both personally meaningful and useful. Provides practical considerations for classroom use of technology.
Keywords:
book, chapter, editorial, professional gaming, CounterStrike, gender stereotypes, gaming culture, what women want, gender identity, gender equity
Full Text: Yes | Abstract: Yes | Highlights: Yes
Synopsis:
An interview with a game designer.
Keywords:
video, interview, America’s Army, gender identity, gender equity, values at play, avatars
Full Text: Yes | Abstract: Yes | Highlights: Yes
Synopsis:
Women are a “drastic minority” in science- and technology-related studies and the numbers are shrinking at every stage.
Keywords:
Industry, media-press, work force, programming, IT Careers, gender equity
Full Text: Yes | Abstract: Yes | Highlights: Yes
Synopsis:
Discussed recent concern with boys’ rights and treatment in discussions about gender equity.
Keywords:
gender equity, Australia, academia, journal, masculinity
Full Text: Yes | Abstract: Yes | Highlights: Yes