Results of an examination of with-gender variation in gender stereotypes about the skills and knowledge in the IT profession demonstrates the value of applying an intersectionality perspective in the study of under represented groups in the IT field. Focusing on gender or ethnicity, alone, is insufficient to explain the under representation of women and minorities in IT careers. Rather, we believe that stratifying the population in a more nuanced manner, such as by gender within ethnic group, provides deeper insights into the phenomenon of under representation. Hence, this research approaches the topic of gender and the IT profession from the perspective of intersectionality of gender and ethnicity. Within-gender analysis reveals variation in gender stereotyping by gender-ethnic group. White females and minority males (i.e. Black and Hispanic males) exhibited the most masculine stereotyping of IT skills. In contrast, White males and minority females (i.e. Black and Hispanic females) exhibited the fewest. Three themes emerge from this research. First, the skills that will be increasingly important in the future in distinguishing equivalently credentialed IT professionals were not absorbed into the "masculine" category. Second, hegemonic masculine traits appear to be deeply entrenched in the next generation of IT professionals. Third, when peering more deeply into the gender stereotyping of skills by respondent demographics, what emerges is a pattern that emphasizes the critical role of intersectionality in gender analyses of the IT profession.

One line of investigation in attempting to better understand the gender imbalance in the information technology (IT) field is to examine gender stereotypes about the skills and knowledge in the IT profession. A survey of 4046 university students in the United States was conducted to examine gender stereotypes held by contemporary university students (White, Black and Latino men and women) about the skills and knowledge in the IT profession. The Individual Differences Theory of Gender and IT was used as the motivating theory for this study because it enabled the incorporation of gender-ethnic intersectionality in the research design. The results revealed that while gender stereotypes about the skills and knowledge involved in the IT profession do exist, they are not uniform across all members of a gender group. The men tended to rate all of the skills as more masculine than did the women respondents. Technical skills were more consistently stereotyped by both men and women in each of the gender-ethnic groups than were nontechnical skills. However, gender stereotypes about nontechnical skills were more contested and revealed both within-gender and within-ethnicity variation. The women students' rating of nontechnical skills as less masculine than the men suggests that these nontechnical skills are being incorporated into the women's sense of gender identity. These results show that gender-ethnic intersectionality provides one important explanation for within-gender variation in gender stereotypes that are held by contemporary university students. These findings suggest promising avenues for interventions to address not only the masculine gender stereotyping of skills in the IT profession, but also differential gender stereotyping of technical vs. nontechnical skills and variation in gender stereotyping by the intersectionality of gender-ethnic groups.

BackgroundMobile health (mHealth) apps for weight loss (weight loss apps) can be useful diet and exercise tools for individuals in need of losing weight. Most studies view weight loss app users as these types of individuals, but not all users have the same needs. In fact, users with disordered eating behaviors who desire to be underweight are also utilizing weight loss apps; however, few studies give a sense of the prevalence of these users in weight loss app communities and their perceptions of weight loss apps in relation to disordered eating behaviors.ObjectiveThe aim of this study was to provide an analysis of users’ body mass indices (BMIs) in a weight loss app community and examples of how users with underweight BMI goals perceive the impact of the app on disordered eating behaviors.MethodsWe focused on two aspects of a weight loss app (DropPounds): profile data and forum posts, and we moved from a broader picture of the community to a narrower focus on users’ perceptions. We analyzed profile data to better understand the goal BMIs of all users, highlighting the prevalence of users with underweight BMI goals. Then we explored how users with a desire to be underweight discussed the weight loss app’s impact on disordered eating behaviors.ResultsWe found three main results: (1) no user (regardless of start BMI) starts with a weight gain goal, and most users want to lose weight; (2) 6.78% (1261/18,601) of the community want to be underweight, and most identify as female; (3) users with underweight BMI goals tend to view the app as positive, especially for reducing bingeing; however, some acknowledge its role in exacerbating disordered eating behaviors.ConclusionsThese findings are important for our understanding of the different types of users who utilize weight loss apps, the perceptions of weight loss apps related to disordered eating, and how weight loss apps may impact users with a desire to be underweight. Whereas these users had underweight goals, they often view the app as helpful in reducing disordered eating behaviors, which led to additional questions. Therefore, future research is needed.

Results of an investigation of the effect of intersectionality on perceptions of university students about IT careers are presented. This analysis deepens the discussion began at the 2011 iConference by presenting an examination of responses of African American males and females on the topic of gender norms and stereotypes about IT professionals. The findings provide evidence of the influence of race on gender stereotypes that individuals hold about the IT field. Gender differences in stereotypes reveal within-race variation in perceptions about the IT field. IT skills perceived by African American females as feminine are nearly identical to those found across all participants in the study. In contrast, African American males did not identify any skills as feminine. These results suggest that finer grained analysis of under representation in the IT field can be achieved by pursuing the intersectionality of gender and race.

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