Volume 1
Volume 1, Number 21 |
December 26, 2003 |
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Barbara J. Nicolai
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Abstract: This paper is a continuance of a paper presented at the ISECON 2001 Conference addressing the issue of how our young women are not only falling through the cracks of the information superhighway, but are not even interested in the technology field, published in April of 2000 by the American Association of University Women (AAUW). In June 2002, the National Coalition for Women and Girls in Education published a report on gender equity in technology and issued a D+ to our nation’s schools. After two years of creating programs that offer different strategies to attract more females to the technology field, the factors that contribute to this phenomenon have been identified. Studies have found that there is a lack of mentorship at the high school level, because girls are again facing decade-old stereotypical biases. Girls want careers in which they can "make a difference." Girls have little or no knowledge about IT careers. The research information has been organized into a database model as a base for future studies investigating the continued phenomenon of gender inequality in the technology field. This model has identified the major entity or category groups, normalized the data into a database model using current relational database methodology. The result presented in the paper defines a physical database structure that will incorporate existing information that will add to the "body of knowledge" of contribution factors of the gender inequity in the field of technology.
Keywords: women, technology, computing, computer reticent, mentorship programs, glass ceiling
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Recommended Citation: Nicolai (2003). Identifying Effective Factors for Women Participation in Technology: A Database Model. Information Systems Education Journal, 1 (21). http://isedj.org/1/21/. ISSN: 1545-679X. (A preliminary version appears in The Proceedings of ISECON 2003: §3123. ISSN: 1542-7382.)