Resisting the gendered categorisation of Computing and Engineering

For our April Education Seminar, Senior Research Fellow at Edinburgh Napier University, Dr Ella Taylor-Smith will address the topic of 'Resisting the gendered categorisation of Computing and Engineering'.

As information infrastructures increasingly shape decisions that affect us, especially through the undertow of artificial intelligence, it is essential that women and gender minorities are well-represented across computing and engineering. However, the gender imbalance in technology education seems to be self-perpetuating, leading to a deficit of women lecturers and students, and providing a gender imbalanced education environment, which further discourages women from technology degrees and careers. Through online surveys and focus groups of computing and engineering students of all genders, we explore the tension between students’ vision of “not just for men” subjects and careers, including their suggestions for re-categorisation, and their day-to-day experience of male-dominated courses. While keen to proselytise their career paths in ways they perceived to be attractive to women - such as being friendly and of benefit to society – many of our students experienced isolation, doubt, and sexist assumptions.

SICSA Education Seminars are free and open to staff and students at any Scottish University. Please register with your institutional email address.

The event will be hybrid with a Teams link available for online viewers.