Introduction
The article Gender Disparity in Students’ Choices of Information Technology Majors: Business Systems Research is written by Yu Zhang, Tristen Gros, and Mao Nicholls. The authors seek to address gender disparities among students taking Information Technology (IT) as a major subject in Higher education. The researchers address the problem of why there are more male students in IT majors than female students. The research team seeks to find factors that discourage female students from majoring in IT courses such as Computer Information Systems (CIS) degrees. The study topic is appropriate for this critique because it presents workplace challenges that hinder the diversity and inclusion of women in the technological field.
Summary
Gender disparities in the labor force have been a challenging issue for a long time. The workforce continues to have more men than women, particularly in technology. In this paper, Zhang et al. address gender disparities among male and female students choosing IT majors in higher education to determine why the technological workforce has more men than women in the field. The significant factors include the underrepresentation of women in leadership roles in the field, undermining women’s ability in technology, lack of opportunities in creative roles, and unfavorable workplace conditions (Zhang et al., 2021). Women are underrepresented in technological matters because society associates technology with men from childhood, creating a male-centric attitude towards technological jobs. The authors address methods companies have tried to include more women in technology, such as promoting unbiased training and using standard hiring practices that focus on skills. Zhang et al.’s (2021) results indicate that gender stereotyping is the root cause of gender diversity in technology. The authors conclude that women have the same intelligence and ability to work in technology when society lifts the social and cultural factors that suppress women’s career choices.
Background and Review
More women have higher education nowadays, including women in technology. However, researchers have noted that the number of women working in the IT sector is minimal compared to the university population graduating from universities (Varshney, 2019). The percentage of men and women is vast, where men dominate the sector at 69% and 25% (Aushik & Pullen, 2017). Elia Elisa and & Andrea (2017) state that societal perception and stereotyping of males in the technology field prevents females from pursuing related careers due to a lack of confidence in their abilities. According to Varshney (2019), women leave employment in the technological field once hired due to gender-based challenges at the workplace, such as underrepresentation. Besides underrepresentation in the workplace, long working hours limit a woman’s time and failure to balance social life and work, making women prefer to quit than compromise their cultural beliefs about the family. Therefore, girls avoid pursuing the course leading to a lack of diversity in the workplace.
Problem Statement
Gender disparity is a persisting issue in the technological field. Factors influencing this research include the increasing global demand for IT talents and skills and gender disparity and inclusion in the workplace. Nowadays, almost all aspects of human activities are performed using technology and technological devices. If more women enter the field, they could fill the deficiency gap of the high technological demand. What can help solve the situation is using objective assessments on how the students choose which IT major to pursue. Thus, the researcher’s investigation involves examining gender differences and factors that influence career choices in the technological field among women.
Objectives
The authors’ primary objective is to examine gender disparities in student choice of IT majors and the factors that influence the decision-making. The authors focus on gender stereotyping in the technology industry, where society believes men are better and more intelligent to tackle IT courses and jobs. At the same time, men have an advantageous position over women in the technological workplace, such as more working hours and higher wages. Thus, women feel underrepresented with lower income making it difficult to work in a male-dominated environment.
Hypothesis
The following Hypothesis guided the author’s research:
- Females are less likely to choose IT-related courses
- Female students perform equally with male students in IT courses
- Female employees are more likely to quit early in the technological field
Methodology
The authors used existing data from the archives of a United States public university. The data comprised student enrollment documents from 2010 to 2018 stating their age, gender, enrollment and graduation dates, majors before and after primary selection, GPAs, and departments (Zhang et al., 2021). The university had more than 6000 graduates during the period. A second study used interviews to gather different thoughts and experiences on gender disparity from CIS graduates in the labor force and students currently studying CIS. T-test analysis examined significant variations between the Hypothesis under investigation (Zhang et al., 2021). The issue of equality variance in the T-Test method was addressed using Satterthwaite and Pooled methods.
Critique
This article discusses a vital and sensitive topic in higher education and the labor force in the IT field. Organizations must include more women in technological occupations to create gender balance and creativity. At the same time, universities must identify ways of promoting more female students in IT courses to bridge the gender gap. This article has provided the root causes and some solutions for both organizations and higher education institutions. The authors provide relevant arguments supporting the study’s objective in the literature review and research findings. Numerous studies have attempted to investigate this problem from an organizational level to understand why organizations do not hire more women. However, Zhang et al.’s (2021) approach is distinct and tries to find the root cause from the education level. The objective assessment is appropriate in identifying why female students drop technology majors more than male students despite having an equal interest in the technological field.
Most people in society assume that women are a weaker gender and incapable of performing technical assignments leading to taking less stressful courses. However, the authors give contradicting arguments about this assumption and shed more light on the causes of gender disparity in the technological world. The arguments are clear and reflect most of society’s views regarding gender and the labor force. For instance, the authors state that cultural obligations and traditions tie in women’s chance of obtaining a career of choice. More women are afraid of entering the field because of gender roles such as childcare and societal attitudes towards homemaking practices (Zhang et al., 2021). Technological work requires commitment and more working hours, hindering a traditional woman’s role and responsibility to the family. According to this argument, women are not unintelligent or weak but prioritize family matters over labor and careers. This information can help organizations find strategies for ensuring favorable working conditions such as reasonable working hours and bridging wage gaps in various technological roles.
Findings
The data collection tools used are relevant and effective for this investigation. Collecting data using interviews is very effective because it provides more information and a deeper understanding of personal reasons and attitudes (Skarbek, 2020). The T-test revealed that male and female students had the same intellectual ability in IT courses. According to the interview responses, female students find it challenging to select majors and minors (Zhang et al., 2021). These results show the authors’ success in finding possible causes of fewer students in the technology field. Despite their intelligence and expertise, the students face uncertainties in choosing an IT major, which requires addressing to ensure they make proper choices.
On the same note, the researchers found out that female students opted to choose CIS because it has inadequate departmental promotions to a higher level. This finding assumes that female students choose courses according to popularity rather than career objectives. Nevertheless, the authors recommend that CIS departments promote their departments more and attract potential IT experts in all universities. The article meets its purpose effectively and states the limitations that readers must consider when using this article in other works.
Summary of findings and interpretation
Overall, the concept of this article is particular and straightforward to the topic under investigation. The audience can quickly identify the purpose and significant points of the paper from the beginning of the article. The introduction is concise, and the body of the article is engaging and enjoyable to read. The authors’ results effectively challenge the widespread belief that female students are fewer in the technological field because they are a weaker gender. Finally, this article gives relevant and practical approaches to dealing with gender disparities in technology by focusing on a particular field rather than generalizing all IT majors.
References
Aushik, G., & Pullen, A. (2018). Study of gender as social practice and tokenism in an Indian IT company. Journal of International Women’s Studies, 19(2), 104-122. Web.
Elia Elisa, C. A., & Andrea, Q. S. (2017). Globalization, technology and female empowerment: Breaking rights or connecting opportunities? Social Indicators Research, 133(3), 859-877. Web.
Skarbek, D. (2020). Qualitative research methods for institutional analysis. Journal of Institutional Economics, 16(4), 409-422. Web.
Varshney, D. (2019). The strides of the Saudi female workforce: Overcoming constraints and contradictions in transition. Journal of International Women’s Studies, 20(2), 359-372. Web.
Zhang, Y., Gros, T., & Mao, E. (2021). Gender disparity in students’ choices of information technology majors. Business Systems Research, 12(1), 80-95. Web.