Stereotypes and Societal Pressures Discourage Women from Pursuing Computer Science

Participants in a UMD summer camp
teaching middle school girls to code.

Women in the tech industry have it tough; they often face stereotypes, harassment, and poor media portrayals which all reinforce the idea that computer science is a field for only men. Recent media coverage of events involving women in computer science are starting to dispel some of the biases against these women, but current societal views still make it hard to break from the traditionally male dominated workplace.

Societal Stereotypes Portray Computer Science as a Field for Men

One hindrance to the amount of women studying computer science and working in related fields is the societal stereotype that career choices are determined by gender. Examples of these biases are detailed in an article from the University of Washington, where author Deborah Bach states that computer scientists are often perceived as "geeky, brilliant and socially awkward males." Bach further suggests that society's idea of women's careers involve "working with and helping others," which does not intersect with the stereotypical career in technology related fields. These systemic biases present computer science as a field intended solely for men, reducing the appeal to females potentially interested studying programming.

Pages from "Barbie: I Can Be a
Computer Engineer" that depict Barbie
requiring help from male friends.

These stereotypes affect not only women in the workforce or in college, but also influence girls who are in elementary school. Books created for young girls can contain societal stereotypes that influence the younger generation's ideas of what jobs they're destined for later in life because of their gender. One notorious example of this is the book "Barbie: I Can Be a Computer Engineer," which features Barbie accidentally infecting her computer with a virus and requesting the help of her male friends to fix it. NPR's interviews with concerned parents highlight the stereotypes in the book and how they reinforce the idea that women aren't meant to be computer scientists.

Isabella Coronado, president of the University of Maryland's Association for Women in Computing, said that her research on children in elementary school suggests that at an early age "girls excel in math and science, and a lot of them say they are interested in pursuing a career in STEM fields." Coronado proposed that as children enter middle school, they become more aware of the gender roles associated with different career paths and feel pressured to conform to these roles. What's more, Coronado also elaborated that these stereotypes tarnish men's views of women as computer scientists because they imply that women in this field don't belong because they do not follow societal norms.

Geeky Items in Education and Work Environments Detract from Female Interest in Computer Science

The prominence of items like technology magazines and Star Trek posters in a classroom setting have detrimental effects on women's interest in studying computer science. This is a problem for the tech industry, as stereotypes of being nerdy are often embraced in company culture and classrooms. One study from the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology noted that stereotypical items are often perceived as masculine, which can inhibit a woman's sense of belonging in an environment. By taking pride in the nerdy culture associated with the tech industry and incorporating this culture in the workplace, companies reduce women's belief that they are welcome in the industry.

Data from the University of Washington

Another study from the University of Washington investigated how receptive women are to computer science in classrooms with stereotypical objects and compared their level of interest to women in classrooms that did not contain such objects. The study found that 68 percent of girls preferred the non-stereotypical classroom, indicating that reducing the amount of nerdy items in classrooms may improve the amount of women interested in computer science in the years to come.

Pictured: Participants of Technica

When asked about how to improve the appeal of computer science careers to girls, Coronado suggested having events dedicated solely to signify the impacts women have in technology fields. Recent events at the University of Maryland have sought to encourage girls to participate in computer science. Technica was an event where participants made computer programs for 24 hours straight, called a hackathon, held in early November with a unique twist: all participants were female. Coronado explained that the goal of Technica was to inspire women to pursue their passions without letting gender be an obstacle. Another recent event at the University of Maryland was an open forum that facilitated discussion about the gender gap in the undergraduate computer science program. The panel allowed women in the major to articulate what makes them feel accepted and what aspects of the program detract from their sense of belonging. By doing so, the panel will serve as a catalyst for making the computer science major more accessible to women and will encourage a rise in the number of women in technology related jobs.

Misogyny and Harassment in the Workplace Lead More Females to Quit and Fewer to Join

Another leading factor for female disinterest regarding working in computer science as a career is the prevalence of misogyny and sexual harassment in the workplace. One article from the New York Times depicted some instances of sexism in the tech industry that caused women to leave their place of work. One such example was the creation of a mobile phone application called "Titstare" at a hackathon that was designed to take pictures of men's faces while they were looking at women's chests. Insulted by the objectification the app perpetuated and her boss's support for the app's development, former Glimpse worker Elissa Shevinsky quit her job and began speaking out against the misogynistic viewpoints involved in the culture of technology related jobs.

Tweet from Julie Ann Horvath
describing her experience as a
woman in the tech industry.

Other recent incidents have brought to light the high rates of harassment against females in the tech industry, and further harassment if victims disclose what they experienced to the public. Julie Ann Horvath was a software developer for Github before she quit due to harassment she experienced in the workplace. In an interview with CNBC, Horvath discussed not only the hurtful interactions she had at work, but also the threats that were made to her and her family once she quit and tweeted about the harassment she faced. These instances of women coming forth and detailing the fear of going to work or letting anyone know about their negative experiences further discourages women from wanting to pursue these types of jobs.

These instances of sexism are so rampant in technology careers that 56 percent of women quit their job by midcareer according to a recent study from Harvard. Of those who quit, 51 percent leave the technology industry altogether, choosing jobs that do not involve their past training in order to join a workforce with less machismo. The study also shows that females in STEM jobs have a massive drop in ambition over the course of their career; 35% of these women consider themselves to be very ambitious at the start of their career, but only 14% describe themselves this way by age 45. This sharp drop looks discouraging to girls interested in technology focused jobs, as it implies that interest in the job decreases dramatically over time. These trends may cause women to look for other career paths where ambition is more consistent and dropouts are less common.

Media Coverage and Activism Help Dispel Stereotypes Surrounding Women in Technology Fields

Girls Who Code founder Reshma
Saujani, center, with students.

In order to reduce the gap between the number of men and women in computer science careers, several organizations are working to break the societal belief that technology careers are only for men. One organization, Girls Who Code, is trying to raise female interest in computer science by increasing accessibility to programming resources for girls and by encouraging companies to hire women who participate in their programs. By creating these networks between companies and coders, Girls Who Code is helping raise public awareness of the gender gap and is actively recruiting women into the tech industry.

Coronado said that specialty programs that emphasize the capabilities of women in computer science are excellent ways to draw more girls into the field. Additionally, Coronado said that the media coverage of these events helps break stereotypes that the industry is not intended for women to join. By generating awareness that women are actively participating in computer science activities like Technica, and that they are successful in their careers, Coronado hopes that the media will help broaden the ideas of what people think defines computer scientists.

Females in the tech industry face hardships entering and staying with computer science as students and as workers. But rising societal awareness of stereotypes and work to combat them is making the field more appealing to women. As dedicated events that showcase the abilities of girls with technology continue to gain media coverage, it hopefully won't be long before women gain stronger footing in the tech industry. However, companies must acknowledge their biases against women and make their workplaces more inviting before we will see a rise in the number of females with careers in computer science.

Partisan Politics Impact Individuals' Perceptions of Media Bias

http://www.spokesman.com/blogs/hbo/2015/nov/10/liberal-media-bias/

According to a Pew Research Study conducted in 2012, 37% of Americans believe that there is a "great deal of political bias" in mass media reporting, while the statistic was only 31% four years prior. The study also suggests a partisan influence wherein Republican individuals are more likely to believe that media is biased than Democrats or Independents.

Conservatives Historically Perceive Liberal Bias in Media

The idea that mainstream media has a liberal bias is not a new one; some historians note constant disapproval of left-wing media since the Federal Communications Commission adopted the Fairness Doctrine in 1949. Following this order for "fair and balanced" reporting, conservatives often felt that they were silenced for having opinions that could have been considered controversial at the time.

Carson, as seen on CNN

Today, Republican perceptions of liberal bias remain ubiquitous, as seen less than a week ago by presidential candidate Ben Carson, who said on a CNN broadcast that President Obama didn't have the same level of scrutiny during his campaign regarding his past that Carson faces now.

One reason that Republicans often feel as if they are targeted by mainstream media outlets is due to the "hostile media effect," which suggests that people with strong partisan views often feel that media, even if presented from an objective standpoint, harbors a bias against their personal views. As such, claims such as Carson's often disregard instances where the media voiced opinions that aligned with conservative views, such as the repeated media coverage of presidential candidate Hillary Clinton's email scandal.

Liberal Bias May not Be as Omnipresent as Commonly Thought

A Washington Post article by Paul Farhi  acknowledged findings that approximately 77% of individuals perceived a partisan bias in the media they consume. However, Farhi examined these studies in tandem with the shifting media landscape and determined that there is approximately an even amount of partisan reporting from both the left and the right wing.

Data on how each political party
perceives bias in the media.
(Data from Gallup, 2014)

Farhi's article further analyzes how people perceive news bias and makes an interesting discovery: while a vast majority of individuals believe that mainstream news outlets are biased, only 30% of people think that the news sources they use most are objective. These findings are indicative that individuals fall victim to confirmation bias, where they believe that negative characteristics of their behaviors, such as watching partisan media outlets, are less significant than others who engage in similar acts.

Furthermore, while news outlets have evolved to incorporate websites and social media platforms, the general public's idea remains focused on solely television outlets. An article from U.S. News and World Report noted that only 3% of people recalled websites when asked about what comes to mind when asked about news organizations. By being on the Internet, organizations beyond big name broadcast corporations have the ability to share opinions in their reporting. Because they have the opportunity to appeal to any desired demographic, such news outlets may not fit the perceived trend of liberal-slanted reporting, even though 69% of individuals obtain news online.

Trust in Media Outlets Accuracy and Fairness Continues to Decrease

A 2014 Gallup Poll illustrated distrust in mainstream media reporting is a continuing trend, with only 40% of Americans placing at least "a fair amount" of trust in the media's reporting accuracy and objectivity, down from a high of 54% in 1999.

One cause of this trend can be attributed to assimilation bias in news audiences. Assimilation bias may cause individuals to think that neutral reporting is actually biased in favor of their values or beliefs. This can cause individuals to view media reports as more biased than they actually are. Individuals who are affected by this bias think that the media is more partisan than it is, and transitively will view such news outlets as untrustworthy.

Additionally, a study by Albert C. Gunther and Kathleen Schmitt found that individuals who thought a news article had a broad reach were more likely to be hostile towards accepting the viewpoints presented in the article. As mass media continues to expand and audiences grow larger, it is more likely that this trend of hostility will continue, causing a further drop in the amount of trust the public places in mainstream media outlets.

Moreover, partisan media creates echo chambers, wherein group polarization occurs among viewers. Detroit Free Press suggests that these people in these groups view news outlets of opposing partisan affiliation as more biased than more moderate viewers perceive them. With the expansion of media platforms and greater reach of outlets, these bubbles will continue to grow in size, and the trend of distrust will likely continue.

With the continuous influence of partisan politics being ever present in our news sources, overall trust in our media outlets continues to decrease. As partisan audiences continue to polarize and viewership continues to grow across media platforms, there is no clear sign of when trust in our media outlets will rise again.

NodeXL Provides Complex Visualizations of Interconnected Facebook Likes and Comments

Graph taken from NodeXL gallery

NodeXL is a data visualization tool that is capable of producing graphics that represent networks of social media interactions. This technology relies on the graph data structure used in computer science to represent data points (called "nodes" or "vertices") and the pathways that connect them (called "edges"). By creating graphs, we can determine how different data points are connected to each other and notice patterns between different areas of the graph.

For instance, the graph shown here is a depiction of comments and likes of posts on the Facebook page for "MarketingProfs." The edges, marked in green, show relationships between individuals who have interacted with the page. Edges are drawn between two users who comment consecutively, two users who like the same post, or a user who likes or comments on a post and the post's author.

Unfortunately, the graph format is not easily decipherable to an audience who is not previously familiar with the data gathered. The graph is divided into 6 clusters labelled G1 through G6, and the reason for these divisions is the "Clauset-Newman-Moore cluster algorithm," which is not a term understood widely by a general population. Furthermore, the graph relies on "centrality values" and "edge weight" values to determine different attributes such as edge thickness and vertex size, but does not indicate how these values are obtained. To make this graph more accessible to the general public, I think that the graph's creator should either elaborate on how these values are related to the comments and likes in the network, or perhaps color-code the edges based on the relation between vertices (e.g. commenter to author, two commenters, etc.).

I think that NodeXL provides a great way to discover connections in social network data, especially in our society where a high amount of pressure is placed on companies to analyze their clients' patterns. Unfortunately, the usefulness of the data is occluded by a confusing model of presentation. With a clear legend and more obvious description of how data points are clustered, I feel that this visualization could better portray the patterns found in these social media interactions.

Google is working to counter ad-blocking software in its Chrome browser, but users have already found a workaround.

The article that I shared on Twitter describes Google's attempt to block software that prevents advertisements from appearing on websites. I would share this article to my social circle because I know many people who use ad-blocking software and could possibly be interested in developments that would restrict the usefulness of such software.

this is a test post

#import <stdio.h>
int main(){
    printf("Welcome to my JOUR289I blog \n");
    return 0;
}