The Access, Influences and Motivations of Women Studying Information Technology in New Zealand

This study aimed at investigating the different factors that influence men and women to study IT in New Zealand. A comparison of the type of access, influential people and personal motivations was made between men and women studying IT in New Zealand. The data for this study was collected from 148 participants, 42 of which were women. The results show that there are specific people namely friends, fathers, brothers, teachers and partners in women’s lives and friends and fathers in men’s lives that influence their decision to study IT. The access men and women had to computers was found to be largely the same across genders. The majority of men and women were introduced to computers at home between the ages of 6 and 12 and both genders reported having high access at home and university and limited access at primary and secondary school. The nature of their access differed between genders and age groups. Finally, in terms of motivation, men and women were found to have different weightings of motivation for studying a career in IT. Men tended to have more intrinsic motivations, for example interest and enjoyment, whereas women had more extrinsic motivations, for example job opportunities

MIS versus Computer Science: An Empirical Comparison of the Influences on the Students’ Choice of Major

A history of declining enrollments in university Management Information Systems (MIS) and computer science (CS) departments in the U.S. considerably impacts both college departments and business organizations that hire graduates. In order to reverse the enrollment trend, an understanding of the important similarities and differences that shape a student’s decision to major in MIS or CS will allow departments to better promote their major, formulate more effective strategies for reaching interested and undecided students, and enhance the fit between student and career. This study directly compared important influences on choice of major for 205 MIS and CS majors at four US universities. Results indicate that the most important influences for both MIS and CS students are interest in technology and monetary compensation. MIS majors, however, are significantly more influenced by others, especially college instructors, parents, friends, and the desire to interact with others. They are also more interested in business and business organizations. CS majors, on the other hand, are more interested in the technology itself and tend to choose CS as a major either in high school or shortly thereafter. Based on these findings, recommendations are provided to aid college departments in attracting and retaining appropriate majors

Patterns for Success: Women in Technology: Analyzing Top Technical Women for Repeated Mindsets, Life Experiences, and Career Navigation

The purpose of this thesis is to discuss and discover why some women are so successful in the computing fields when public opinion continues to hold that computing is not a women’s field because there are so few women in computing. The roots for this shortage begin in theAmerican educational system, “Nationwide only about 20 percent of the bachelor\u27s degrees incomputer science go to women,” according to a November 11, 2011 NPR story titled “Addressing the Shortage of Women in Silicon Valley”. This shortage is well noted and heavily researched, Plausible solutions have been proposed and it is critically important to get women involved in technology because the future hinges on technology In order for women to play their rightful role in the future of academia, industry and education they must remain current and join the world of technology. Despite the shortage of women in the field there are women of note who have made successful contributions to the field. This study looks at nine women who have defied the odds by becoming successful technologists and seeks to identify the reasons why they have succeeded