The Importance of Addressing the Imbalance of Gender Diversity in Computing
Gender diversity is an important aim. Computer Science is still not a very diverse field, it is mainly male-dominated. The gender gap itself presents an extra barrier: the lack of females cause the belief that
females are less talented and do worse at computer science, which leads to an effect called stereotype threat. So, there is a strong imbalance in gender diversity and it needs to be addressed because females should be
represented due to the importance of their success.
‘Technology has a problem and it needs more women, not only to address the talent shortage, but also because many companies with more women board directors are proven to perform better' ( https://www.theatlantic.com). It means that diversity is good for business and the society can’t ignore the talent and the perspective of half of the population. Information technology is seen as a key increasing actor for the economy and enhancing
diversity is a crucial to long-term economic growth and global competitiveness. Besides that, offering all members of society the same chances and possibilities including equal payment should be a matter of
course.
Role models are a good way of learning about what a career in CS can mean. Especially female role models show girls and young women that they also “can make it", which increases their often lacking self-confidence.
People are often not aware of the various advantages of diversity. This makes it hard for them to understand why the common uniformity is not wanted.
Mindsets and views are formed by experiences and the environment one is surrounded with. If not exposed to diversity, one is likely to not see the issues related to a not-diverse environment. So, increasing the
awareness of all involved people in CS education on this issue forms an important aspect for successfully addressing the issue of gender imbalance.
In addition, the disparity hurts the technology companies themselves. First, if half of the users of technology products and websites are women, then one would think that having women not only on staff, but also in
positions of leadership is in their direct monetary interest. Research indicates that women’s choices impact up to 86 percent of purchasing decisions. By some analyses, they account for $4.4 trillion of total U.S. consumer spending of $5.9 trillion, making women the largest single economic force not just in the United States, but in the world. Also more women than men are downloading movies and music; women do the majority of game-playing across some platforms.
To be clear, this is not to say that every women in a technology company is an expert in how to produce products for women, that …
