Gender Discrimination in Computer Science, Research Proposal Example

Overview

The research topic for this proposal is gender discrimination in the computer science industry. There are a wide range of studies which characterize the computer science field as significantly lacking female workers. This topic is of interest to me because, at its core, gender discrimination in technical fields like computer science represent the frontline of a war on income inequality and the declining middle class. As global economies grow evermore dependent on technological expansion, programmers and computer scientists and individuals working within these fields gain higher demand within the workplace and which helps them acquire greater socioeconomic status. In addition, computer science plays a significant role in the shaping of society. If women continue to maintain a limited presence in computer science related fields it could result in a future designed by men where men maintain the majority share of employment in competitive fields on an even grander scale. The information acquired and assessed within this study can provide adequate recommendations for solutions and further data for research on this conflict.

Questions

What is the current state of gender discrimination in the computer science industry and what are the most significant factors influencing this state? What are some proposed solutions for the problem if any?-How does this research contribute to the epistemology of the topic as a whole?

Key Terms

Within every industry there are a lexicon of terms that are applicable in the industry as well as to the social conflict as a whole. The research will present key terms like “tele-mentoring” and other aspects related to gender discrimination in the work place and proposed solutions.

Literature Review

“Bridging Gender Gaps, Networking in Computer Science” is a study by Michela Cozza that analyses much of the quantitative data related to gender inequality within the computer science sector and the author proposes recommended solutions. In “Computer Science: Too Young to Fall into the Gender Gap,” Anne-Marie Kermarrec debunks many of the myths related to the computer science industry that work as barriers preventing women from entering the field. In their study, “Economic and Business Dimensions Increasing Gender Diversity in the IT Work Force,” LeAnne Coder and authors find that the main cause for the difference in women programmers and male programmer representation in the workforce has to do with choice. She argues this significantly impacts how policies need to be drafted in order to encourage women to enter this space. In Kelsey Rolife’s article, “Fixing Code: How Women are Changing Sexism in the Workplace,” she presents a number of specific cases of professional female programmers and their encounters with gender discrimination in the work place.

Theoretical Framework

Michela Cozza places emphasis on the effectiveness of “tele-mentoring” to increase the confidence of women. This theoretical model will be assessed in addition to a few other models for their efficacy at integrating more women into the computer science sector, and the study will provide a recommendation on the best proposed method based on a collaboration of these models combined with a literature review analysis.

Hypothesis

The proposed research seeks to answer the question what is the current state of gender discrimination in the computer science industry and what are the most significant factors influencing this state; it is the author’s belief that women are phenomenally underrepresented in the computer science field and that through distinct application of theoretical models to influence policy this trend can be offset.

Work Cited

Coder, LeAnne, et al. “Economic and business dimensions Increasing gender diversity in the IT work force.” Communications of the ACM 52.5 (2009): 25-27.

Cozza, Michela. “Bridging gender gaps, networking in computer Science.” Gender, Technology and Development 15.2 (2011): 319-337.

Kermarrec, Anne-Marie. “Computer Science: Too Young to Fall into the Gender Gap.” IEEE Internet Computing 18.3 (2014): 4-6.

Rolife, Kelsey. “Fixing Code: How Women are Changing Sexism in the Workplace.” Herizons (2014): 24-27