1984 was a real tipping point in the history of personal computing, when Apple introduced the Macintosh with its iconic Super Bowl commercial. The ad’s message about the promise of technology to solve problems and make the world a better place resonated with consumers and helped drive the personal computing revolution.
Even though the 1984 ad portrayed a young woman throwing a sledgehammer through a screen showing a ‘Big Brother’ announcement, the mass marketing supporting the burgeoning PC market throughout the 1980s was targeted almost exclusively to boys. Despite women’s important role in the evolution of computing – think Ada Lovelace, Grace Hopper, Adele Goldstine and the female ENIAC programmers to name a few – this new marketing effort put girls and women at a serious disadvantage in this emerging field.
Sadly the impact was felt quickly as 1984 marked the peak of women who were graduated from U.S. colleges with a degree in computer science. 32 years ago women represented 37% of all computer science graduates in the U.S. Now the number is less than half that, at 18%. That drop is not an anomaly. Instead, it is indicative of a disturbing trend that has been building for decades.
The media stereotypes that took hold in the 1980s from movies like Revenge of the Nerds and Weird Science also factored into women opting out of computer science as a field of study. Girls and women interested in computing quickly found themselves at a serious disadvantage, which has led to women now being drastically underrepresented in this strategically important field.
Years of this disparity has given rise to the ‘brogrammer’ culture now prevalent in technology circles and portrayed in the media with movies like Social Network and the HBO comedy, Silicon Valley.
Despite the fact that women make up 47% of the U.S. labor force and receive more college degrees and advanced degrees than men do, they fill less than 25% of technology jobs. That’s an issue, because by 2020, there will be more than 1.4 million jobs available in computing related fields. U.S. graduates are on track to fill 29% of those jobs. Women are on track to fill just 3%!
So how do we reverse the trend of women opting out of computing careers?
First, we need to challenge the stereotypes that have existed for far too long. Grace Hopper noted in a 1967 interview that women are naturals at computer programming. Let’s celebrate pioneering female technologists and nurture girls’ interest in computing.
Second, we need to be aware of the unconscious biases that led to this situation. Professor Myra H. Strober of Stanford University and others have noted that executives tend to choose successors who are like themselves. With women accounting for less than 20% of the CIOs at top U.S. firms – and only 11% in the technology sector -- unconscious biases can perpetuate gender inequality in technology management if not addressed.
To get girls and women more involved at all levels of computing requires access, education and mentoring. It also demands a concerted effort to include girls and women in the design of technology products, while also marketing technology products, technology classes and technology careers to them. It’s more than altruism. As women drive 70-80% of all consumer purchases, it also makes good business sense for companies to involve this important demographic.
If we don’t make sweeping changes, girls and women will continue to be left behind and companies will continue to miss out on diverse viewpoints critical for success. We are no longer a society of tech companies and non-tech companies. Now, every company is driven by technology and high salary positions call for sophisticated computer skills. Computer applications continue to exert increasing influence in society and women need to be a part of this new economy.
To level the playing field and make sure that we set up women for future success in the technology field, we need to invest in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) education and give girls access to technology in a positive environment.
That’s why Synchrony supports initiatives like Girls Who Code, to break down stereotypes and gender barriers in STEM fields. Reshma Saujani, the founder of Girls Who Code, aims to teach one million girls how to code by 2020. Girls Who Code achieves this through the Girls Who Code Clubs, free after-school programs for 6-12th grade girls to use computer science to impact their community and join a sisterhood of supportive peers and role models, and the GWC Summer Immersion Programs, free 7-week summer programs for 10th and 11th grade girls to learn coding and get exposure to tech jobs. The programs are already making a difference, with 65% of Clubs participants and 90% of the girls participating in the Summer Immersion Programs considering a major or minor in computer science or a closely-related field.
Synchrony Financial hosted 16 students for the GWC Summer Immersion Program this summer in Chicago. Over the course of seven weeks the girls learned about web and video game programming, robotics, and computer science fundamentals. The students had access to inspirational speakers like Meredith Walker of Amy Poehler’s Smart Girls, field trips to multiple technology companies and Adler Planetarium, and mentors to provide professional and personal advice.
The girls weren’t the only ones to benefit from the experience as we were all inspired by the ideas and energy the girls brought to the program.
At Synchrony, we were able to create an opportunity for the girls – and their teachers, mentors and corporate hosts – to see the value in the unique point of view each of them has to offer.
It also gives us a chance to identity tomorrow’s leaders, an important competitive advantage for any business. Catalyst research has shown that women, particularly women in leadership roles, are good for the bottom line.
Multiple studies have also shown the positive impact diversity has on companies’ bottom lines. As technology permeates every aspect of society, we need a more diverse workforce developing the technology of the future.
Corporate America needs to get involved with the training, educating and mentoring of young women who are in, or thinking about entering, the computer science field. With organizations like Girls Who Code, Girls in Tech, Ignite, WITI, Catalyst and other female mentoring programs available to help, there are no excuses.
Programs like this are an important counterbalance to the decades-long male bias that has contributed to a lack of women in technology. We cannot sit back and wait for gender parity to happen. We must create it now with an all-out effort on technology training and careers that target girls and women.
1984 saw a revolution against Big Brother – a call to harness technology to make the world a better place for all. It’s way past time to start living up to that ideal by rejecting the brogrammer culture and engaging the other half of our population to deliver on technology’s promise.
