Effective Strategies for Encouraging Girls in Informatics

Abstract

Although the increasing availability of technology and its widespread use by people of all genders, women continue to be underrepresented in academic and industry careers related to Informatics. Research has consistently shown that a gender gap exists in computer science education, with a lower participation rate of female students than their male counterparts. Despite changes in technology and accessibility, similar obstacles persist, which necessitates a reexamination of the need to acknowledge these barriers and emphasize the development of strategies to eliminate them. To emphasize this, the aim of this study is to identify effective strategies for encouraging pre-university girls to pursue study informatics by gathering and analyzing the existing initiatives’ points of view. To reach this aim, we conducted phenomenological research with twelve initiatives from twelve different countries. We conducted semi-structured interviews to gather enriched information about the participants’ experiences. We analyzed the data inductively. As a result, we found mentorship programs, role models, aware teachers, collaboration with parents, early contact with computing, creating interest by challenges, broader knowledge about informatics, educating boys, and multidisciplinary approach in teaching as effective strategies.