A model for examination of underrepresented groups in the IT workforce

ABSTRACT

The purpose of this study is to investigate the factors that attract as well as discourage women and other students who display an initial interest in IT careers. Of particular interest is the comparison of computer science (CS) and information systems (IS) majors because prior research has focused almost exclusively on CS students. An initial investigation of success rates in the first programming course at two universities indicates that neither gender nor age is a good predictor of success in this course. This paper presents a research model based on review of the literature and on Vroom's expectancy theory. Future research will examine the relationships between predictor variables and valence and expectancy regarding IT as a career.

REFERENCES

• 1: Chabrow, E., IT Jobless Rates Hit Historic Highs., in Information Week. 2001. http://update.informationweek.com
• 2: Etzkowitz, H., C. Kemelgor, and B. Uzzi, Athena Unbound. 2000, Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press
• 3: Friedman, M., Women take to internet while avoiding IT. Computing Canada, 2000. 26(18): p. 9
• 4: Computing Research Association, The supply of information technology workers in the United States, . 1999, Computing Research Association (CRA). http://www.cra.org/wits/
• 5: Education, U.S.Dept of, Degrees and other formal awards conferred, in Higher Education General Information Survey. 1998, U.S. Department of Education National Center for Education Statistics: Washington, DC
• 6: Computer Science Accreditation Commission. Criteria for Accrediting Programs in Computer Science in the United States, 2000, Computing Sciences Accreditation Board. http://www.csab.org
• 7: Blum, L., Women in Computer Science: The Carnegie-Mellon Experience, . 2001, Carnegie Mellon University: Pittsburgh, PA. http://www.cs.cmu.edu/~lblum/women_in_computer_science.pdf
• 8: EECS Ad Hoc Committee on Women Undergraduate Enrollment, Women Undergraduate Enrollment in Electrical Engineering and Computer Science at MIT, Final Report. 1995, Massachusetts Institute of Technology. http://www-eecs.mit.edu/AY94-95/announcements/13.html
• 9: Bolan, S., Women in IT on decline. Computing Canada, 2000. 26(22): p. 29
• 10: Chan, V., et al., Gender Differences in Vancouver Secondary Students' Interests Related to Information Technology Careers. Working Paper, 2000.http://taz.cs.ubc.ca/swift/
• 11: Vincent, P.C., L.A. Peplau, and C.T. Hill, A longitudinal application of the theory of reasoned action to women's career behavior. Journal of Applied Social Psychology, 1998. 28(9): p. 761--778
• 12: Nielson, S., L. von Hellens, and S. Wong. The Women in Information Technology Project: Uncovering the pride and prejudices. in WIC 2000: 6th Australasian Workshop on Women in Computing. 2000. Brisbane, Australia:July 20-22. http://www.sqi.gu.edu.au/wic2000/
• 13: Kleinman, S.S., Social identification in a computer-mediated group for women in science and engineering. Science Communication, 2000. 21(4): p. 344--366
• 14: McGee, M.K., Women at work. InformationWeek, 2000(775): p. 63--69
• 15: Clegg, S. and D. Trayhurn, Gender and Computing: Not the same old problem. British Educational Research Journal, 1999. 26(1)
• 16: Melymuka, K., Glass ceilings & clear solutions. Computerworld, 2000a. 34(22): p. 53
• 17: Melymuka, K., IT Women in Silicon Valley. Computerworld, 2000b. 34(11): p. 54--55
• 18: Boyd, J., Firms Work To Keep Women. InternetWeek, 2000(839): p. 90
• 19: Reio, T., J. Sanders-Rejo, and T.J. Reio, Combating workplace ageism. Adult Learning, 1999. 11(1): p. 10
• 20: Maurer, T., Career-relevant Learning and Development, Worker Age, and Beliefs about Self-efficacy for Development. Journal of Management, 2001(March)
• 21: Ephraim R. McLean , John R. Tanner , Stanley J. Smits, Self-perceptions and job preferences of entry-level information systems professionals: implications for career development, ACM SIGCPR Computer Personnel, v.13 n.3, p.33-43, Nov. 1991 [doi>10.1145/126524.126528]
• 22: Viswanath Venkatesh , Michael G. Morris, Why don't men ever stop to ask for directions? Gender, social influence, and their role in technology acceptance and usage behavior, MIS Quarterly, v.24 n.1, p.115-139, March 2000 [doi>10.2307/3250981]
• 23: Chamond Liu , Stephen Goetze , Bill Glynn, What contributes to successful object-oriented learning?, conference proceedings on Object-oriented programming systems, languages, and applications, p.77-86, October 18-22, 1992, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
• 24: C. K. Woodruff, Moderating effects of age, education, and tenure on the job satisfaction-job performance relationship, Proceedings of the ACM SIGCPR conference on Management of information systems personnel, p.202-206, April 07-08, 1988, College park, Maryland, United States [doi>10.1145/57216.57246]
• 25: McLennan, T., et al. Age and expectations? Attributes of successful students in an introductory programming class revisited. in WIC 2000: 6th Australasian Workshop on Women in Computing. 2000. Brisbane, Australia:July 20--22. http://www.sqi.gu.edu.au/wic2000/. Downloaded from the Web 6-25-2001
• 26: Young, J., et al., Introductory Programming at Lincoln University: Attributes of successful students revisited. 1999, Lincoln University: New Zealand
• 27: Steers, R.M. and L.W. Porter, Motivation and Work Behavior. 1987: McGraw-Hill
• 28: K. D. Joshi , Kristine Kuhn, Gender differences in IS career choice: examine the role of attitudes and social norms in selecting IS profession, Proceedings of the 2001 ACM SIGCPR conference on Computer personnel research, p.121-124, April 2001, San Diego, California, United States [doi>10.1145/371209.371224]
• 29: Betz, N.E. and G. Hackett, The relationship of career-related self-efficacy expectations to perceived career options in college women and men. Journal of Counseling Psychology, 1981. 28(5): p. 399--410
• 30: Betz, N.E. and G. Hackett, The relationship of mathematics self-efficacy expectations to the selection of science-based college majors. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 1983. 23(3): p. 329--345
• 31: Brooks, L. and N.E. Betz, Utility of expectancy theory in predicting occupational choices in college students. Journal of Counseling Psychology, 1990. 37(1): p. 57--64
• 32: McCracken, D.M., Winning the talent war for women: Sometimes it takes a revolution. Harvard Business Review, 2000(Nov/Dec): p. 159--167
• 33: Vroom, v., Work and Motivation. 1964, New York, NY: Wiley
• 34: Gagne, E.D., The Cognitive Psychology of School Learning. 1985: Little, Brown, and Co.
• 35: ITAA (1998). Help wanted 1998: A call for collaborative action for the new millennium., Information Technology Association of America, Virginia Tech. 1999. http://www.itaa.org/workforce/studies/hw98.htm. Downloaded from the Web 10/8/00

INDEX TERMS

General Terms:
Management

Keywords:
IT careers, IT education, IT personnel, cognitive theory, gender