Individual Context

Chapter 7 looks at the individual and her influencing factors and concludes that the number of women in IT, or any career, is not a matter of them being pushed this way or that by the balance of societal forces, which we can adjust with the right lever. Rather, it comes down to each individual's choice based on her own values and what she wants out of life and her career. That is why no single “solution” has been found, and why a wide variety of solutions have had no significant impact—because there is no generic solution to finding out “what women want”—individually. What they want is what interests them, according to their individual circumstances, personalities, and values, and they are not so ignorant that most of them need interventions to know.

Cultural and Social Context

Chapter 5 examines the cultural and social contexts identified in past models and how they are incorporated into the new. These contexts and their influencing factors feature strongly in the literature on women in technology and are often blamed for deterring women from choosing IT education or careers. However, it is concluded that in freer societies, their influence is much less than often claimed, and ameliorating interventions are correspondingly ineffective.

Emerging Technologies

This chapter profiles women and girls engaged in emerging technology fields, and in so doing demonstrates the lack of traditional barriers experienced by those people. Individual strengths are drawn out and demonstrate the fit to the STEMCell model and #SocialIT approach. The chapter concludes that, ultimately, not only have traditional barriers disappeared or at least subsided, but there do not appear to be barriers preventing females from engaging with the emerging technologies of today. And not unlike the historical women in technology profiles in Chapter 1, the newer generations of women in emerging technologies are indeed strong individuals.

Women in Technology

Throughout history there have been women in technology who have made key contributions, but they have been few and far between. The chapter explores the past pervasive social and cultural contexts that hindered and practically suppressed female involvement in such fields, requiring exceptionally resilient, strong individuals to identify their interests and come to excel in those fields.

Differences

Chapter 9 compares other fields and cultures. Issues of low and declining participation of women are far from unique to IT, with similar patterns, intervention programs, and results noted in other fields such as science, engineering, and construction. Yet other fields such as sociology and psychology have experienced the opposite. This supports the contention that it is not social forces but individual choice that drives career participation. There is also remarkable variety among cultures with some non-Western cultures having substantially higher female participation in IT. However, this does not reflect any greater female freedom, just different cultural evaluations and opportunities. A further conclusion from the research is that attempts to attract women or minorities into particular technical careers do not increase numbers overall or benefit all minorities, but merely rearrange the distribution.

#SocialIT

Chapter 8 examines the #SocialIT layer of the model and concludes that we are in a period of seismic transformations where technology underpins the future. We must tap into the shifting technological landscape to actively use its tools and platforms in the development of future programs, projects, and activities. We must realize that all targets are shifting, and the future will overtake anything we plan based on the present.

Conclusions and Recommendations

But having said all that, we are not there yet, and 36 detailed recommendations follow. The authors believe there is something in these recommendations for many interest groups and individuals: feminists, gender theorists, and researchers; governments, policymakers, and taxpayers; parents, educators (primary, secondary, trade, and tertiary), the media and content developers; individual activists and advocates, traditional women in IT associations and their sponsors and supporters, and new social media-style women in tech associations and specialist groups; employers and recruiters; and above all, the individual women and men in technology. The recommendations are structured into logical groupings that work within the STEMcell model: hackathons and code camps, crowdsourcing and crowd funding, social media and join the conversation, and hangout and collaborate, all framed by the changing tectonic shift environment and with the overall goal to foster a curious, creative, and clever culture. The recommendations are also summarized in the Appendix.

Structural Context

Chapter 6 examines the structural context and factors referenced in the literature. This context is another recurring theme of women in technology research, with numerous factors identified as deterrents to women choosing IT education or careers. However, again the conclusion is that they are not significant factors today, and interventions to address them have had minimal effect.

Popular Theories

Chapter 4 looks at popular theories on the dearth of women in IT. It concludes that the leaky pipeline, critical mass, and other historical theories do not apply in the new social era and ought to be cast aside. That is not to say they have had no value, nor that superseding them implies there are no cultural, social, or structural contexts that affect career choice. It simply implies that it is time for a new approach.

Transitioning to the Future

Chapter 3 summarizes why there is little value in the traditional approaches and further massive spending is unwarranted, and highlights the rise of social media and other pervasive, disruptive, empowering technologies. These changes suggest that a new model of career choice is needed; one that incorporates the influence of these technologies and the centrality of the individual. We need to adapt to the rules of the new social era or lose relevance.