Barriers for Women in Computing

The way that computing is presented and taught in schools has a major impact on girls third level choice and can motivate them to either choose computing or reject it as a career choice. Girls interest in communication, group work and social usefulness needs to be stimulated by presenting computing as a communication too and emphasising its social dimensions, as well as its technical possibilities, within the educational curriculum. This book aimed to identify barriers to women s participation and progression in computing and to highlight positive factors that influence women s career choice and academic success. It indicates that the problem of women s under-representation does not lie in women s lack of ability or interest, or their false perception of computing, but rather in the academic and cultural environment which is inherently, as well as stereotypically masculine.