Paper Example on Women in Technology

Steve Henn in When Women Stopped Coding argues that there has been a significant decline in the number of women in the technology field particularly in computer science. He attributes this to the advent of personal computers at home in where they were considered primarily as boys' toys, and for this reason, many boys interacted with computers as opposed to girls. In the 1980s adverts depicting women of knowing how to use computer technology became ubiquitous, stereotype male nerds and hackers emerged and gaming targeting men gained prominence. It was further reinforced by the growth of popular computing companies headed by male geniuses and computer gurus.

The focus of the marketing of computer technology around the male gender encouraged more men and young boys to interact with computers and thus enabled them to explore and understand their functioning. Therefore, many young boys developed an interest in computer technology and even pursued it at higher levels of learning as opposed to girls. Girls upbringing was hardly as technical as that of boys, and for this reason, they grow with preconceived notions that science and technology are male-dominated. The contribution of women in computing cannot be downplayed. Henn points out that women made significant contributions in computing with the pioneers of programming of the first digital computers being women. It is crucial to note that there is no shortage of women's innovations in technology, for instance, the gas central heating system by Alice Parker, the foundations of Wi-Fi by Hedy Lamar and the residential solar-heating system by Dr Maria Telkes among many other inventions. In astronomy, there is a long history of women making immense contributions even though they have always been the minority group.

The author has failed to provide solutions or recommendations of how women can be encouraged more to participate in computing technology. This is a crucial factor as it allows for a framework in which learning institutions, companies and organizations can adapt to ensure that they enhance female participation in computer fields. Mentorship provides guidance, advice and leadership which is necessary for success in any area. It increases the productivity of an individual since they will be working under the direction of a more skilled and experienced individual who will be able to positively point out mistakes and instil more knowledge and confidence in them. Mentorship at the workplace is essential since one has a person that they may turn to during hard times and thus motivates and encourages an individual to go on even during hard times.

If there were more women in technology, more young girls would be inspired to pursue careers in the field. It is easier for them to identify and relate to women who are in roles they would like to get into to. Mentorship would also play a significant role here if many women in technology took the frontline in mentoring young girls who are interested in technological courses. Various studies have been conducted on the effectiveness of mentorship in technology, and they established that those female undergraduates in technology paired with female mentors in the field would feel more motivated and self-assured as compared to those with male mentors or those who lacked mentors. Mentorship in this filed could be highly encouraged for instance universities, and colleges may frequently organize forums and workshops where female students are connected and hold discussions with women in technology.

There is a glimmer of hope as more female college students are increasingly taking introductory courses to computer science classes. Women are also moving into more high-status computing positions and out of more data-processing and computer support positions. Majority of the technology companies have more male employees as compared to female ones, and they have more male executives. There should be advocacy for more diverse executive boards in technology companies. Education and awareness at every level are the essential for reversing the decline of women in computer science. Computer science education may be made a requirement in high school and even at lower levels. If colleges were to require computer science in the way they do math or English or science, women would figure out how to do well in those courses, and the ones with aptitude in computer science would discover that fact in a timely fashion.