Toward Gender Equitable Outcomes in IT Higher Education: Beyond Computer Science

Project Summary

As the need for information technology (IT) professionals continues to grow, so too does the need to engage women and girls in courses of study that will qualify them for IT-related careers. The growing number of professions that do not require training in computer science, but rather in cognate IT disciplines, offer the potential to correct the pattern of gender inequity traditionally found in computer science.

This project proposes to investigate tertiary education programs in information science, information systems, instructional systems technology and informatics, with computer science as a baseline comparison, in major IT degree-granting institutions across the U.S. in order to determine which are most successful at recruiting and retaining female students, and what factors favor success over time. Findings will be used to inform programmatic recommendations aimed at moving more women into the IT pipeline through a diverse range of educational programs.

Contact Information

Principal Investigator:    Jean C. Robinson
Department of Political Science

Co-PI(s):   

Christine Ogan
School of Informatics

Susan C. Herring
School of Library and Information Science

Manju Ahuja
Computer Information Systems
College of Business (University of Louisville)


Research Assistants:   

Sharon Stoerger
Doctoral Student
School of Library and Information Science
Reseach Assistant 2006 - present

James Marken
Assistant Professor of Instructional Design & Technology
Old Dominion University
Reseach Assistant 2004 - 2006


Project Assistants:   

Debbie Goh
Doctoral Candidate
School of Journalism

Helen Robinson
Policy Director
Georgia Campaign for Adolescent Pregnancy Prevention

Kristin Hanks
Doctoral Student
School of Informatics


Email:

Phone:

  

812.856.1118


Office:    Informatics Building, Room 319
901 East 10th Street
Bloomington, IN 47408