Women and computer science

"Why more women aren't geeks" was an intriguing headline, which I thought would lead to some sort of sociological discussion of what part gender roles played in the stereotype of "geekhood", but it turned out to be more ordinary than that: it was a reference to a study on what caused more women to go into computer science. Apparently compulsory math and science education at the high school level helps fight the common perceptions of what jobs men and women "should" do.
most countries are influenced by the notion that men and women are naturally suited to different occupations. But what's different is that [German, Czech, and Belgian] schools do not require curriculum in math and science, and therefore encourage fulfilling those roles, according to the findings.
Speaking of geekhood, apparently Napoleon Dynamite has sparked a liger resurgence.

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Carnegie Mellon Project on Gender and Computer Science

Comments

Anonymous said…
i loved napoleon dynamite. it was a fantastic show to show that geeks and the so-called losers can rock too.

makes us all feel better =)
13 August 2005 at 13:00
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