Education and Employment
Women are underrepresented in the networking field (concerned with the design, development, and production of hardware and software), and fewer young women are entering into computer science programs. De Palma (2001), citing research from the American Association of University Women (AAUW), reported that a mere 17% of female high school students take advanced placement examinations in computer science and that they receive only 28% of the undergraduate degrees. Ascertaining why these numbers are so low and designing a more inclusive computer science curriculum was the goal of Jane Margolis and Allan Fisher at Carnegie Mellon University. They reported on a program to "unlock the clubhouse" through the creation of specific policy changes that resulted in an increase of women computer science majors from 7% in 1995 to 42% in 1999. These initiatives included more flexible admission requirements and curriculum changes. Kramarae (2001), in another report for the AAUW, examined barriers to women partaking in distance education and other online programs and found that a veritable "third shift" existed for working mothers who were pursuing higher education in this fashion. Juggling the demands of family and other domestic responsibilities, coupled with work outside of the home and heavy course loads, proved to be onerous for many women. Thus, the touted benefit of flexible, just-in-time lifelong learning facilitated by networking technologies has proved to be a bust for many women.
Even though young women and girls are using computers and the internet on a par with young men and boys, females are not majoring in computer science or engineering at the same rate as are males and so are not represented on an equal basis in the workplace. One such consequence is that consumer products tend to be designed with the needs and desires of men in mind. This is not to say that the needs of women are dismissed; quite often, the unintended consequences of women's use and appropriation of a technology changes its consumer trajectory. One merely needs to remember the early development of the telephone and when it switched from being a male business prerogative to one that encompassed female sociability. Indeed, this is the case with broadband internet development. A recent press release from AT&T Broadband reported on "anthropological research" that revealed a pattern dubbed by AT&T as "Web snacking," an activity whereby household members leave their broadband access on all of the time but frequently and sporadically log on to cruise the Web or send and receive e-mail. Mothers are the main "snackers," and according to Cheryl Persinger, an AT&T Broadband applied mathematician and mother of three, access to "high-speed internet connection has made many mothers more efficient and is revolutionizing the way they connect with the world." Mothers "nibble" at internet services throughout the day, multitasking at various chores and most frequently "checking news, reference sources, banking, e-mailing, and communicating with other parents in an online community".