V10 N1 Paper 5
Annals of the MS in Computer Science and Information Systems at UNC Wilmington
Spring 2016

Closing the Gender Gap in the Technology Major  

Laura Jung

Committee

Ulku Clark
Toni Pence

Abstract

Technology makes up our daily lives and is a part of everything we do. The tech job market is expanding with more and more jobs needing to be filled by those with the necessary qualifications. Students are realizing the vast opportunities a career in technology can offer them and many are making the conscience decision to major in a technical field, such as computer science, management information systems, or information technology. However, women only make up a small percentage of those students who major in technical fields. With the job market in technology expanding and opportunities widely available, why is it that women hold only a small percentage of those students majoring in those fields? The purpose of this thesis is to show the influences that impact the choice of a woman’s selection in a degree of study related to technology. This research is the result of multiple methodologies taken to explore the influences behind the gender gap. Survey questions were sent to and conducted on undergraduate students registered in Computer Science, Computer Information Technology, and Management Information System courses at the University of North Carolina Wilmington, working professionals belonging to the organization called Systers, and working professionals belonging to Cape Fear Women in Tech (CFWIT).

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Recommended Citation: Jung, L., Patterson, L, Clark, U., Pence, T. (2016) Closing the Gender Gap in the Technology Major. Annals of the Master of Science in Computer Science and Information Systems at UNC Wilmington, 10(1) paper 5. http://csbapp.uncw.edu/data/mscsis/full.aspx.

V10 N1 Paper 5
Annals of the MS in Computer Science and Information Systems at UNC Wilmington
Spring 2016