Review: She’s in CTRL: How Women Can Take Back Tech

Review of the book She’s in CTRL: How Women Can Take Back Tech, by Anne-Marie Imafidon

Gender Differences in Innovation Design:A Thematic Conversation Analysis

This study investigates aspects of the role gender plays in participatory design innovation workshops; reflecting on both the process and the output. Often when gender and design are discussed, the problems raised concern a lack of women as designers or developers [1], but there appear to be gaps in addressing full gender representation when it comes to users in the design process. In this study, a design workshop was run where participants, two men and five women were asked initially to identify or generate problems and possible digital solutions concerning their academic studies, and then to design their top self-selected solution. The workshop was recorded and transcribed, and conversation and discourse analysis were carried out which found gender to influence problem raising, language used and group practices. The paper concludes both that gender apparently plays a strong role in group dynamics with regards to design innovation; and that thematic conversation and discourse analysis provides an appropriate and insightful approach to understanding these issues

A Phenomenological Study Examining the Experiences of Female High School Career and Technical Education Completers Who Participated in a Technology-Based Program of Study

The purpose of this phenomenological study was to investigate how female high school students who earned Career and Technical Education (CTE) completer status in a technology-based program of study (POS) in Virginia describe their experiences. CTE completer status is defined as having met the Virginia Department of Education’s CTE completer requirements in a technology-based POS. This study was guided by three theories: Self-efficacy theory was applied as it relates to the participants’ status as completers in a technology-based CTE POS; Role-congruity theory suggests that men and women occupy social roles with attendant stereotypes which contributed to how participants described their experience in a technology-based POS; Social cognitive career theory focuses on the factors influencing occupational choice-making. Using interviews, electronic discussion boards, and photo essays, the experiences of 12 participants who earned Virginia CTE completer status in a technology-based POS were examined to address the central research question: How do female high school students who earned CTE completer status in Virginia describe their experiences in a technology-based POS? Participants were selected through criterion sample. The data in this study was analyzed using the procedures of a transcendental phenomenology to gain a complete understanding of the participants\u27 shared experiences as females who earned completer status in a technology-based CTE POS. After thorough analysis of the data, three themes emerged: (a) instructor influence on program and participant goals; (b) the impact of collaboration; and (c) guidance and support focused on the individual