Gender Diversity in Computer Science at a Large Public R1 Research University: Reporting on a Self-study

With the number of jobs in computer occupations on the rise, there is a greater need for computer science (CS) graduates than ever. At the same time, most CS departments across the country are only seeing 25–30% of women students in their classes, meaning that we are failing to draw interest from a large portion of the population. In this work, we explore the gender gap in CS at Rutgers University–New Brunswick, a large public R1 research university, using three data sets that span thousands of students across six academic years. Specifically, we combine these data sets to study the gender gaps in four core CS courses and explore the correlation of several factors with retention and the impact of these factors on changes to the gender gap as students proceed through the CS courses toward completing the CS major. For example, we find that a significant percentage of women students taking the introductory CS1 course for majors do not intend to major in CS, which may be a contributing factor to a large increase in the gender gap immediately after CS1. This finding implies that part of the retention task is attracting these women students to further explore the major. Results from our study include both novel findings and findings that are consistent with known challenges for increasing gender diversity in CS. In both cases, we provide extensive quantitative data in support of the findings.

Attitudes Towards Science: A Study of Gender Differences and Grade Level

<p style="text-align: justify;">It should be noted that learning outcomes are not students’ only achievement; attitude is also the main output in learning. This research explores students’ attitudes toward science learning based on gender and the grade level of schools in Aceh, Indonesia. The participants are 1,023 students from the sixth grade of primary schools and the eighth grade of secondary schools. The total sample includes 16 schools spread across the province. The data have been collected using TOSRA. By using the Likert scale, this questionnaire is useful for obtaining descriptions of the students’ attitudes and assigning scores for a certain group of participants. Based on gender, the results show females reflect more positive attitudes toward science than male students do. According to the grade level of the schools, the data reflect the equality of students’ attitudes toward science between primary and secondary schools. Nevertheless, when primary school students enter secondary school, the majority of students enjoy learning science less. This fact is meaningful feedback for science teachers. This result supports the scholars seeking ways to avoid the gender gap in learning activities. Pedagogical implications are also discussed.</p>

Barreras, facilitadores y estrategias que influyen en la participación femenina en juntas directivas de federaciones deportivas chilenas (Barriers, facilitators and strategies that influence women's participation on boards of directors of Chilean sports

La brecha de género sobre la participación femenina en puestos de toma de decisiones está evidenciada en las organizaciones deportivas. Las juntas directivas de las Federaciones Deportivas chilenas no están ajenas a esta situación. Por ello, esta investigación tuvo como objetivo determinar barreras, facilitadores y estrategias que influyen en la participación y desarrollo de las mujeres en cargos directivos en las Federaciones Deportivas de Chile. El método fue de tipo cualitativo con enfoque descriptivo y, la técnica fue la entrevista personal mediante aplicación de un guion semi-estructurado de preguntas. Durante octubre y noviembre de 2020 se desarrollaron entrevistas virtuales a mujeres que formaban parte de juntas directivas de federaciones deportivas. El análisis se realizó mediante categorías de análisis y codificaciones empleando el software Atlas. Ti. Las barreras identificadas se asocian a situaciones familiares tales como el cuidado de miembros de la familia. También se reconoce la existencia de prejuicios asociados a estereotipos de género en las funciones que se desempeñan; subestimación de las opiniones femeninas y desarrollo de los cargos en ambientes masculinizados que invisibilizan a las mujeres. Como agentes facilitadores se identifica el soporte familiar; el tener una profesión, experiencia laboral y capacitación en gestión deportiva, junto con algunos aspectos de la personalidad de las dirigentes. Como estrategias se releva la necesidad de un cambio cultural al interior de las federaciones en torno a la participación femenina, implementar cuotas de participación por género y desarrollar programas de capacitación en liderazgo para las mujeres. Abstract. The gender gap in female participation in decision-making positions is evident in sports organizations. The boards of directors of Chilean sports federations are no strangers to this situation. Therefore, the objective of this research was to determine barriers, facilitators and strategies that influence the participation and development of women in managerial positions in Chilean Sports Federations. The method was qualitative with a descriptive approach and the technique was the personal interview through the application of a semi-structured script of questions. During October and November 2020, virtual interviews were conducted with women who were members of the boards of directors of sports federations. The analysis was carried out through categories of analysis and coding using Atlas. Ti. The barriers identified are associated with family situations such as caring for family members. The existence of prejudices associated with gender stereotypes in the functions performed, underestimation of women's opinions and the development of positions in masculinized environments that make women invisible are also recognized. Family support is identified as facilitating agents, having a profession, work experience and training in sports management, together with some aspects of the leaders' personalities. As strategies, the need for a cultural change within the federations regarding women's participation, the implementation of participation quotas by gender and the development of leadership training programs for women were identified.

The Influence of Gender and Interest on the Use of Learning Strategies in Biology Lessons

<p style="text-align: justify;">For biology students, the diversity, complexity, and abundance of content in this field yield a heavy study load. Hence, appropriate learning strategies are key in supporting learners’ academic success. In biology, the factors gender and interest hold a unique position within the natural sciences, as there is an academic imbalance to the disadvantage of male students. In the present study, we examined the influence of gender and interest as well as its interdependences on the students’ use of learning strategies for biology learning. A total of 180 seventh through tenth grade students (Mage=14.47; SD=1.35; 60% female) from four general-track secondary schools located in Germany participated in this study. Data on the students’ level of interest and the use of learning strategies in biology lessons were collected. We used multivariate analysis of covariance with the students’ age as the covariate to analyse our data. Results revealed a significant effect of gender on the students’ use of the learning strategies rehearsal, organisation, effort, and time management. With regard to elaboration and effort, the effects of interest were found to be significant. The gender gap regarding learning strategy use was narrower for students with high levels of interest. These findings might have implications for beneficial teacher behaviour in biology.</p>

Why Not STEM? A Study Case on the Influence of Gender Factors on Students’ Higher Education Choice

The gender gap in STEM-related job positions is a fact, and it is closely related to the low percentage of women studying STEM degrees. This poses a problem because Europe, as well as the United States and the rest of the developed countries, keep demanding the best engineers and scientists to continue developing innovative products. This problem can thus be approached by answering, firstly, the following question: Why are women not studying STEM degrees? In this paper, we summarize the factors, found in literature, that influence students—both boys and girls—to not study STEM, particularly engineering, computer sciences and technology. We study these influence factors in a sample of N = 338 students from a secondary school placed in the south of Spain; we carry out a survey in order to find out if those students fill out the same answers other researchers have found and published in the related literature. Our main conclusions are as follows: The results confirm that the number of women in technical courses decreases when the level of the course increases; the lack of role models is not an impediment for girls to feel comfortable; unlike boys, girls will not choose engineering, even if their scoring in STEM is good; and we found that girls and women see themselves as not capable of studying an engineering degree more than boys and men do. These results contribute to a deeper understanding of the situation regarding the gender gap in STEM fields in ages in which both girls and boys must choose their future studies.

Childcare, work or worries? What explains the decline in parents' well-being at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic in Germany?

Objective: We examine how care arrangements, general and altered working conditions, and worries influenced subjective well-being at the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic for working parents in Germany. Background: Prior research suggests several reasons for declines in subjective well-being, particularly for working mothers. We employ Pearlin's (1989) stress process model to explore the role of parental childcare, altered working conditions and amplified worries of working parents in terms of increased stressors and modified resources to cope with the extraordinary situation. Method: We use data from two starting cohorts from the National Educational Panel Study and its supplementary COVID-19 web survey from spring 2020 to examine possible heterogeneities in contextual factors for individual-level changes in the well-being of working mothers and fathers. Results: We confirm a more pronounced decline in well-being for working mothers than fathers. Part-time work and access to emergency care reduce the gender gap in decreased well-being. Conversely, young children in the household and personal worries are associated with lower well-being for both parents. However, we cannot explain the more significant decrease in mothers’ well-being by increased childcare responsibilities or altered working conditions. Conclusion: A greater decline in well-being indicates a particular burden among working mothers. However, it cannot be linked solely to gendered inequalities in the changes of paid and unpaid work during the first months of the pandemic.

Gender budgeting: a vital element for ensuring sustainable development

The article aims to highlight the latest approaches to the introduction of countries gender budgeting. The authors propose the application of the method of ranking countries based on 4 key indicators related to the gender gap (Economic participation and opportunity, Educational attainment, Health and survival, Political empowerment) of the Global gender gap index and then analyse the result considering the level of socio-economic development of each country. Ten sample countries were randomly chosen. The results of the study confirmed the mutual influence between the gender gap and socio-economic development. The proposed method of ranking countries compared to socio-economic, political and environmental development allows countries with a high value of the gender gap index to offer specific tools to reduce it. The research conducted can help improve existing practices, facilitate initiatives to develop gender parity and further work on geographical and sectoral orientation.

The social practice and regulation of cycling as ‘A Boy’s Thing’ in Irish secondary schools

Despite low levels of cycling to secondary education across the adolescent population in Ireland, there is, in addition, a pronounced inequality in rates of ridership between teenage girls and boys, with nearly 10 times as many boys cycling to school compared to girls. In light of this disparity, the Green-Schools #andshecycles campaign was created to explore and address the cycling gender gap among second-level students. Emerging from this campaign, this paper details qualitative research exploring this gender gap, drawing on focus groups with teenage girls and boys across Ireland. Using grounded theory methodology, a theory of cycling as 'A Boy's Thing' was generated. This theory makes sense of how cycling as a social practice is continually enacted, reproduced and regulated as a practice of and for boys among Irish adolescents, through related practices of exemplifying masculinity, incompatible femininity and processes of gender regulation.&nbsp;It has significant implications in considering the effects of gender as a configuration of social practice (Connell, 2005) or performance (Butler, 1990) on cycling, and how cycling is a uniquely gendered practice/performance in particular contexts. In light of this theoretical interpretation, two approaches for tackling the Irish second-level cycling gender gap are provided: first, promoting cycling among teenage girls by making cycling more compatible with dominant practices of femininity; second, promoting cycling among teenage girls by publicly rejecting and subverting dominant practices of femininity and processes of gender regulation relating to cycling in present day Ireland.&nbsp;

Women-led Firms and Credit Access. A Gendered Story?

This work focuses on credit access and demand in Italian firms using the RIL dataset, a sample representative of Italian firms, for the year 2015. We investigate whether the gender of the firm’s decision-maker plays a role in requesting and obtaining a loan. Our results suggest that women are significantly less likely to ask for credit, while no significant differences in credit approval are found between the two genders. Moreover, the gender gap disappears for more educated women, as well as for firms in the north of the country.