Gender differences in factors influencing students towards computing

Abstract

This paper examines students' pre-college experience with computers. It finds significant gender differences in how students develop interest in computers; exposure to computers at home; availability of computers in high schools; and high-school preparations for college study in a computing field. The paper has a number of implications to improve the digital divide for women. It is based on 150 in-depth interviews of female and male undergraduate students, members of five major ethnic/racial groups (White, Afro-American, Hispanic, Asian American, and Native American) from seven institutions in the USA.

Keywords:

• attrition
• digital divide
• gender gap
• minority-serving institutions
• retention

Acknowledgements

This research was supported by grants from the National Science Foundation (0305898, 0650410). I would like to thank Heiko Hahn for his assistance on the data analysis, Deepak Kapur for providing a computer science perspective, and all students who gave their valuable time.