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.
It CareersinvestiGaming › Tags › It Careers
Scope Definition: IT CAREERS covers issues related to the information technology workplace, for example, how people choose these careers, what they experience, and trends.
Selected highlights from the IT CAREERS tag (scroll down to see the full list of entries with this tag, including links to the entries)
Digital Divides and Gaps
• Schools need to provide more access to modern technologies to all groups. (Culp, 2002)
• Girls tended to see the computer as a tool and not as a toy. (Culp, 2002)
• Society is positioning women as consumers rather than creators of technology. (Witkowski, 2006)
• Ninety percent of adolescents thought that technology is 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)
• Twice as many male college students as females used software to create audio or video. There were small differences in the use of podcasts and webcasts. In 2008, more than twice as many males (44.0%) as females (20.9%) reported playing online multiuser computer games. Males played online multiuser computer games more often than females –21.1% of males played at least once a week, and only 7.1% of females did so. (Salaway, 2008)
• Girls had little awareness of careers in IT, low interest in computers, no connection to information networks about IT, perceived that the computer is a toy, perceived that IT is not creative work, didn’t identify with IT professionals and experienced teachers as lacking literacy and confidence. (Witkowski, 2006)
• Most students, especially girls, did not imagine going into a technical career. Even girls with positive experiences with computers were not inclined to study more advanced technologies. (Kekelis, 2005)
• When girls studied technology, they were more likely than boys to work on clerical skills which do not prepare them for advanced study in technology. (Kekelis, 2005)
• Women imagined fantasy technology instruments as tools for human relationships (connecting people, communicating, collaborating) serving to integrate their public and private lives. Men saw new imagined machines as something that would extend their power over the physical universe, such as giving them absolute control, tremendous speed, or unlimited knowledge. (Honey, 1991)
Encouraging Girls
• Training involving play with action video games may increase interest in information technology. (Feng, 2006)
• Gaming gives girls practice with digital tools, increasing comfort and basic skills, preparing them for many occupations, and connecting them to larger communities. (Hayes, 2008)
• Girls’ interest in technology was heightened by putting them in the role of computer game designer, collaborative teams, and with themes such as real-life problems, fantasy, and exploration of social identity. (Denner, 2005)
• 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)
Low Numbers of Women in IT
• Having more women in IT may lead to less male-focused game worlds. (Culp, 2002)
• It was possible to reform a computer science department and significantly increase the percentage of female students, as evidenced in the case of Carnegie Mellon University. (Margolis, 2002)
• 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)
• Reasons for a “quiet exodus” of women from technology are complex. There are numbers of theories and explanations, and trends. No one reason stands out suggesting a clear solution. (Cone, 2007)
• 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. (Lanzalotto, 2007)
• Women seem to have a more difficult time advancing to management and leadership positions. (Lanzalotto, 2007)
• Women are a “drastic minority” in science- and technology-related studies and the numbers are shrinking at every stage. (National Center for Women & Information Technology, 2007)
• There is research evidence for discrimination that partly explains the lower percentages of women and minorities in science and engineering. (Sevo, 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)
• 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)
Games and Stereotypes of Women
• Game worlds are still largely about epic struggles and portray women in stereotypes, in spite of the arrival and ubiquitous use of games like Second Life and Sims2 that are gender-neutral. (Brunner, 2008)
Brown, B.L. (2001)
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:
The paper considers whether the past decade of tremendous change in our uses of technology is also reflected in the evolution of game worlds toward gender-neutral environments.
Keywords:
book, chapter, gender stereotypes, gender inclusive, masculinity, feminity, what women want, what men want, IT careers
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:
The paper observed that women are vacating technology positions at a significant rate.
Keywords:
report, IT careers,
Full Text: Yes | Abstract: Yes | Highlights: Yes
Synopsis:
The article speculated on what it will take to close the digital divide between men and women, building on AAUW’s report Tech Savvy and other work.
Keywords:
book, chapter, computer skills, IT careers, what women want, media literacy
Full Text: Yes | Abstract: Yes | Highlights: Yes
Synopsis:
62 sixth- to eighth-grade girls were analyzed through adult observations and program leader logs and participant surveys and interviews in order to determine if the program successfully helped girls overcome the barriers to girls’ active participation in information technology.
Keywords:
journal, academia, girls designing games, IT careers, case study, middle school, game design
Full Text: Yes | Abstract: Yes | Highlights: Yes
Synopsis:
The project studied whether giving women and girls training involving play with action video games increased their interest in information and communication technology tasks.
Keywords:
journal, IT careers, gender stereotypes, gaming culture
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
Synopsis:
Discusses the claim that gaming can be a gateway to mastery of a broader range of digital tools, or trajectories of information technology expertise.
Keywords:
book, chapter, learning, IT careers, middle school
Full Text: Yes | Abstract: Yes | Highlights: Yes
Keywords:
IT careers, gender equity
Full Text: Yes | Abstract: Yes
Synopsis:
Women who are successful in technology careers said a number of experiences were encouraging: role models, support, collaboration, assignments based in real life, and play associated with math, science, and technology activities. They gained motivation especially from fathers, male peers, and male
Keywords:
report, IT careers, what women want,
Full Text: Yes | Abstract: Yes | Highlights: Yes
Synopsis:
An interview with Tracy J. Butler, the creator of web comic Lackadaisy and a 3-D artist for online MMOGs, about the industry.
Keywords:
industry, media-press, interview, game industry, workforce, working conditions, IT careers, what women want, gender inclusive
Full Text: Yes | Abstract: Yes | Highlights: Yes
Synopsis:
A program introduced girls to robotics and digital animation and evaluated their attitudes.
Keywords:
journal, case study, IT careers, children,
Full Text: Yes | Abstract: Yes | Highlights: Yes
Synopsis:
The article discussed the low percentage of women in the information technology workforce.
Keywords:
media-press, IT careers, workforce, working conditions
Full Text: Yes | Abstract: Yes | Highlights: Yes
Synopsis:
The book examined many influences contributing to the gender gap in computing through interviews with 100 male and female computer science students at Carnegie Mellon University over four years.
Keywords:
book, IT careers, internet use, programming, gaming social context
Full Text: Yes | Abstract: Yes | Highlights: Yes
Synopsis:
Showcases the accomplishments of contemporary women in science and highlights the varied and intriguing careers of some of today’s most prominent scientists. This site draws from and accompanies the publication of a ten-volume series of biographies entitled Women’s Adventures in Science.
Keywords:
book, media-press, blog, it careers, middle school,
Full Text: Yes | Abstract: Yes | Highlights: Yes
Synopsis:
Data on girls and women in computer science and IT from kindergarten to the workplace (academic and industry).
Keywords:
IT careers, report,
Full Text: Yes | Abstract: Yes | Highlights: 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 study looked at gender differences in the use of computers.
Keywords:
academia, case study, survey, IT Careers, adults younger, internet use, computer skills,
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:
Twelve women in technology careers were interviewed about their experiences and observed, to determine what motivated them to enter the careers.
Keywords:
journal, it careers, case study, family dynamics, parents and gaming
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:
Young women in Danish schools between the ages of 13 and 19, teachers, and computer technology laboratory leaders were interviewed about computer technology.
Keywords:
Denmark, case study, gender stereotypes, computer skills, IT careers, gaming culture, empowerment, self efficacy, high school, media literacy
Full Text: Yes | Abstract: Yes | Highlights: Yes