Better Software = More Women in Technology?

Wed, 09/26/2007 - 3:24pm — Willow Cook

The Washington Post reports on a recent study that has led some computer science researchers to examine whether changing the way software is designed will encourage more women to go into the field of computer science.

Researchers Study Software Gender Gap describes research by two computer science Ph.D.s that found that men were more likely to use advanced software features, and in particular those for debugging (i.e. finding and fixing errors).

Intrigued, one of the scientists, Laura Beckwith, wanted to explore why men and women use the same software so differently. One of the theories that piqued her curiosity held that the key to success is confidence.

When Beckwith tested this theory in relation to how men and women used debugging tools in software, she discovered that confidence was integral, but only for the women:

For men, it didn't really matter whether they believed they could complete the task. Some men with low confidence used the debugging tools, and some with high confidence didn't.
But for the women, only those who believed they could do the task successfully used the automated debugging tools. The women with lower confidence in the task relied instead on what they knew — editing formulas one by one — and ended up introducing more bugs than when they started.

Beckwith was faced with a conundrum. From questionnaires handed out after the experiment, she knew women understood how the debugging tools were supposed to work, so it seemed their confidence level was lower than it deserved to be. She also knew that one way to boost confidence is through successful experiences. But it was this low confidence that was keeping women from using the debugging tool and having a successful experience.

Beckham then conducted a second study, whereby she presented the debugging tool in a way that seemed to require less confidence. The results revealed that when presented this way, women used the debugging tool as often — or even more often — than the men.

The article notes that the study's implication are "huge," affecting not just how software but the field of computer science can be made more accessible and interesting to women. After all, if girls' early experiences with technology mesh with their learning styles, they might be more likely to study it in school and later pursue it as a career.

Software companies are paying attention too: Beckham herself will be taking a position with Microsoft with a team of software designers to help put her research into practice, the article reports.

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