Ten years of strategies to increase participation of women in computing programs: the Central Queensland University experience: 1999--2001

ABSTRACT

In the late eighties, the participation rate of women in Information Technology courses in most Australian Universities was around 25%. This low level of women's participation in computing courses occurs not only in Australia but also overseas [1], [2]. More studies that are recent indicate that the participation rates have not improved and in fact may be even further in decline [3]. Participation rates in the workforce also appear to be in decline [4], [5].Concerned at the imbalance within Australia, the Federal government directed all Australian Universities to increase the number of women in courses leading to a professional computing qualification (i.e., information technology courses) to 40% of students by 1995 [6].This paper details one Australian university's approach, over a 10-year period (1991 - 2001), to redress this imbalance. We provide examples of intervention strategies developed and the outcomes for these strategies. We present the outcomes against a background frame of the Australian Higher Education scene of that decade which was influenced by funding levels to universities in general and to equity programs in particular. We present data related to the participation of women in computing programs along with snapshots of the overall changing student demographics over this period.

REFERENCES

• 1: Maria Klawe , Nancy Leveson, Women in computing: where are we now?, Communications of the ACM, v.38 n.1, p.29-35, Jan. 1995 [doi>10.1145/204865.204874]
• 2: Veronika Oechtering , Roswitha Behnke, Situations and advancement measures in Germany, Communications of the ACM, v.38 n.1, p.75-82, Jan. 1995 [doi>10.1145/204865.204881]
• 3: Carter, J., and Jenkins, T. (2001) Arresting the Decline: how can we encourage female students back into Computer Science?, Proceedings of the Higher Education Close Up Conference 2, Lancaster University, 16-18 July.
• 4: Bolan, S. (2000) Women in IT on decline, Computing Canada, 22, 26, 29.
• 5: Panteli, A., Stack, J., and Ramsay, H. (1999) Gender and Professional Ethics in the IT Industry, Journal of Business Ethics, 22, 1, 51-61.
• 6: Department of Employment, Education and Training (DEET) (1990) A Fair Chance for All: higher education within everyone's reach, National and Institutional Planning for Equity in Higher Education. A discussion paper, Australian Government Publishing Services, Canberra.
• 7: Craig, A., Fisher, J., & Scollary, A. (1995) Confronting issues of gender in information technology in Australia, In Harris, D., & Bailey, R. (eds) Proceedings of the National Education Computing Conference, NECC, 192-196.
• 8: Neilsen, S., von Hellens, L., and Wong, S. (2000) The Women in Information Technology Project: Uncovering the Pride and Prejudice, Proceedings of the WIC2000, Brisbane, Qld.
• 9: Stern, L. (2000) Why WIC? Reflections on the Australasian Women in Computing Workshops, Proceedings of the Living IT: Women's Perspectives, Griffith University, Brisbane, 21-22 July, 2000.
• 10: Kay, J., Lublin, J., Poiner, G., & Prosser, M. (1989) Not even well begun: women in computing courses, Higher Education, 18:511-527.
• 11: Valerie A. Clarke , G. Joy Teague, Characterizations of computing careers: students and professionals disagree, Computers & Education, v.26 n.4, p.241-246, May 1996 [doi>10.1016/0360-1315(96)00004-8]
• 12: Teague, G., & Clarke, V. (1991) Fiction and fact: Students' and professionals' perceptions of women in computer science. In Lehto A and Eriksson I (eds) Proceedings of the Conference on Women, Work and Computerization, Helsinki, Ministry of Social Affairs and Health, 363-375.
• 13: Joy Teague, Women in computing: what brings them to it, what keeps them in it?, ACM SIGCSE Bulletin, v.34 n.2, June 2002 [doi>10.1145/543812.543849]
• 14: Lynch, T., Clayton, D., and Cranston, M. (1998) Improving acceptance of a program for a minority group : a case study of Central Queensland University's women in computing program, in L. Rowan and M. Brennan (eds.), Cultural Transformations - Essays in culture and change, CQU Press, Rockhampton, 57-69, (137-157 references).
• 15: Debbie Clayton , Mary Cranston , Teresa Lynch, Attracting and retaining females in information technology courses, Proceedings of the 1st Australasian conference on Computer science education, p.177-182, July 1996, Sydney, Australia [doi>10.1145/369585.369614]
• 16: Clayton, D., Cranston, M., Crock, M., Egea, K., Lynch, T., Orchard, R., Robinson, P., & Turner, A. (1994a) A computing careers information pack for women, Proceedings of the Third Women In Computing Conference: Broadening the Network, Brisbane, 92-95.
• 17: Clayton, D., Cranston, M., & Lynch, T. (1994b) Development of an introductory computing skills bridging course, Proceedings of the Third Women In Computing Conference: Broadening the Network, Brisbane, 25-34.
• 18: Clayton, D., Cranston, M., Laver, N., & Lynch, T. (1997b) WICNET: Supporting women computing students using an electronic mail list, Proceedings of the Fourth Australian Women in Computing Workshop (WIC'97), University of Melbourne, 28-37.
• 19: Clayton, D., Crock, M., & Cuskelly, E. (1995), An investigation into the effect of an intervention strategy on the attrition of women studying computing courses at a distance, In Nouwens, F. (ed), Distance Education: Crossing Frontiers, Proceedings of the Open and Distance Learning Association of Australia, Vanuata, 51-54.
• 20: Copeland, J. (1995) 'Not stirring up trouble', presented at Women in Engineering Forum, Melbourne 1995, reported in Gender matters, Swinburne University of Technology, Summer 96.
• 21: Equity Plan 1994 - 1996, (1993) University of Central Queensland.
• 22: Equity Plan 2000 - 2004, (1999) Central Queensland University.
• 23: Strategic Plan for Flexible Learning 2001 - 2003, (2001) Central Queensland University.
• 24: Friedman, M. (2000). Women take to Internet while avoiding IT. Computing Canada26 (1):9.{019}.
• 25: Clayton, D., Lynch, T., Boyle, C., (1998) Critical Success Factors for Using communication Technologies with Computing Students: Focus on women studying at a distance, In Women in Computing, Faculty of Informatics and Communication, Central Queensland University.