The professional fate of woman engineers in the computer sciences: Unexpected reversals

Stevens, Hélène

doi:10.1016/j.soctra.2009.01.001

Cited by 2 publications

(4 citation statements)

References 5 publications

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“…Hardware development was men's work; programming was women's. After 1945, 'computer' came to refer to a machine, and staff who 'computed', increasingly men, were labelled 'operators' (Stevens, 2009).…”

Section: Women In the Professions But Not In Software Developmentmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Misogynistic attitudes are deeply embedded in recruitment practices, organizational structures, language, images and symbols in dot-com start-ups (Tapia, 2006). France’s 1990s computer industry was defeminized through subtle tactics to persuade women that ‘true’ women worked in ‘communication’ roles more ‘suited’ to them (Stevens, 2009). Such studies suggest IT’s culture militates against women (Von Hellens et al, 2012) because it is insular, self-reinforcing, intimidating, alienating, discriminatory and misogynistic (Kiss, 2015; Tapia, 2006).…”

Section: Women In the Professions But Not In Software Developmentmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…A limitation of previous research is its focus only upon women. For example, Stevens (2009) explored how women were ex cluded, without analysing how men were in cluded. Adya and Kaiser’s (2005) research into girls’ choice of careers in IT shows the important influence of families, especially fathers (Adya and Kaiser, 2005), but no comparison is made with boys.…”

Section: Women In the Professions But Not In Software Developmentmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…But our study complicates such presumptions. Not all ‘women’ concur in this discourse (Stevens, 2009). Some, like Trinetta, do, but others did not negate their own skills.…”

Section: Outcomes Of the Analysis: Presenting The Three Ontologiesmentioning

confidence: 99%

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From female computers to male comput♂rs: Or why there are so few women writing algorithms and developing software

et al. 2020

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Software development is one of the few professions in Europe and the USA from which women are disappearing. Current explanations range from unproven assumptions that women cannot write algorithms to insights into the misogynistic culture of this profession. This article argues these explanations are inadequate, and illuminates how forms of masculinity constituted within software development put women in the ambivalent position of being either female or a coder, but not both. Using a poststructural theoretical position to analyse materials from a qualitative, interview-based study, we identified three constitutive ontologies of the person circulating within the profession. The Comput♂r is presumptively male and can merge with the machine, although a subset, Geeks, cannot demerge from it. The Human, presumptively female, can communicate with people but not the machine. The Ideal developer claims the best of both, that is, adept at writing algorithms and communicating with people. These ontologies are informed by a theory of the body circulating within software development whose norms are unattainable by women. Female bodies are envisaged as ‘flesh’, and male bodies as a futuristic merger of body and machine. This Janus-faced theory excludes female developers from practising their profession.

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Section: Women In the Professions But Not In Software Developmentmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Women In the Professions But Not In Software Developmentmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Women In the Professions But Not In Software Developmentmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…But our study complicates such presumptions. Not all ‘women’ concur in this discourse (Stevens, 2009). Some, like Trinetta, do, but others did not negate their own skills.…”

Section: Outcomes Of the Analysis: Presenting The Three Ontologiesmentioning

confidence: 99%

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From female computers to male comput♂rs: Or why there are so few women writing algorithms and developing software

et al. 2020

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The Role of Information Technologies in Changing the Status of Women to Improve Human Conditions

Weiss

Tarchinskaya

2015

SpringerBriefs in Information Systems

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The professional fate of woman engineers in the computer sciences: Unexpected reversals

Cited by 2 publications

References 5 publications

From female computers to male comput♂rs: Or why there are so few women writing algorithms and developing software

From female computers to male comput♂rs: Or why there are so few women writing algorithms and developing software

The Role of Information Technologies in Changing the Status of Women to Improve Human Conditions

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