The proportion of women in the technological community falls every year. A well -known phenomenon whose roots often date back to adolescence, by making crucial orientation decisions.
This disaffection for computer professions takes place in a very stereotyped environment and is particularly in the school that is based. This is all the difficulty for a school universe that, of course, is trying to evolve in these questions, but faces very anchored and multiple prejudices.
Invisible models for women
Among these preconceived thoughts, one stands out, because it extends subtly in the daily life of students. Do you know the British love? This is the first person in the world to have designed a computer program.
Or do you know Margaret Hamilton? This American is considered the first person to exercise the profession of systems engineer. There are many examples of this type. Technological professions are largely represented by men today. But his childhood were often occupied by women.
However, if adolescents cannot be recognized in the technological world, it is because they lack the model. They are actually victims of what is called the Matilda effect, the invisibility of female scientific figures.
We all know Elon Musk, Sam Altman, Bill Gates or Tim Cook. But who could cite a technology boss? This effect is transmitted by a tool widely adopted by adolescents today, social networks. Technological influencers are largely underrepresented compared to their male counterparts.
Beyond famous people, this effect applies to science teachers who are mainly men. Teachers embody the reflection of their sector among students. Take, for example, mathematics, math teachers are in parity in the university (50% of women), but in high school this percentage falls to 36%.
Other deceptive effects
The Matilda effect is not the only “effect” that influences students, others return regularly when they talk about education. We cite the pigmalion effect and the Golem effect, two psychological phenomena, this time, inherent in the school environment. “Teachers have a real influence on the guidance of students, sometimes without being aware of it,” analyzes Olivier beingkpohou, inspector General of Education and author of the report “Girls and Mathematics”.
The first, Pigmalion, explains that teachers tend to place young children on a pedestal when they have good results in scientific matters. Assessing these students will push them to overcome during the next evaluations, which leads to the new fulfillment of the teachers. We are here in a virtuous circle.
On the contrary, with the Golem effect, teachers tend to question girls’ skills in scientific subjects. A question that results in a disconnection of these materials, so it can lead to less good results.
Biases transmitted by education
Esabelle Huet, general director of “Move”, an association that intervenes in schools to start young people to the engineering and technical profession.
A study conducted in 2021 by Marion Monnet shows that comments on scientific issues in boys’ bulletins differ from girls. Comments on boys ‘skills were generally more elegant than girls, while girls’ behavior is more valued than boys.
This devaluation leads to a tendency to believe less good and leads to more stress during a science exam. We are talking here about a phenomenon known as “threat of stereotype”, a phenomenon that explains that a subject can underestimate in a task if he believes he is a victim of prejudices. This directly influences the results of the students, who, if they are bad, will drum this belief.
Isabelle Huet indicates that “64% of girls have heard that girls are more made for literary studies.” This stereotype is also found in the mouths of teachers, as in that of students’ parents.
A vicious circle
There is also a vicious circle, whose national education is struggling to unravel. Girls are not oriented in specialization lessons in part because there are no girls. Olivier waskpohou talks about a “reassuring effect”, students at the university and high school tend to follow their partners in their guidance elections.
Upon making their specialized decisions, students will tend to reproduce the choices of their comrades of the upper classes. If we focus on science, “scientific girls are mainly aimed at medical or biology studies,” explains the inspector, leading a large part of the students in SVT teachings.
On the contrary, there have always been most children in optional IT lessons: Engineering (IS) and Digital Sciences and Computer Science (NSI). In the same way, girls will avoid these specialties where they know that they will find some other girls.
And the lack of mandatory computer lessons leads to less interest, maintains a mystification of the sector and participates in the cultivation of clichés. IT lessons gradually go to mathematical programs, but the material remains mainly optional through these specialized lessons.
The computer person
Beyond the school environment, technological professions seem to be, in essence, to be male professions. Technology, processing, innovation, performance, competition, race. Stereotypes have long associated these terms with male features.
The professions inherent in technology reveal “a lonely work, perceived as specific for a man,” says Olivier beenkpohou. On the contrary, girls would prefer to be destined for professions related to social and human relations.
In this sense, the cultural representations of Hacker, Geek or more generally of the computer scientist in films and series are mainly incorporated by men.
There are also a lot of universes that revolve around technology and that participate in strengthening this biased image of the environment. This is particularly the case of the world of video games and, more widely, of Geek culture, which is still perceived as very masculine. Due to association effect, Geek clichés strengthen the clichés of technological professions.
An inherent sexism
Finally, a demotivating factor for part of women is that, like many gender sectors, technology is regularly full of sexism. A woman engineer in the field of technology interviewed by Tech & CO testifies several professional experiences lived with different teams.
She explains that in the teams where she was the only woman, surrounded by men, she was automatically set aside, even in discussions or in activities outside of work. The dynamic was well “more benevolent”, in a mixed team or only formed by women.
He met during a programming start session reserved for women, three students brought back to Tech & Co that distinguished him at the base of technology, “it is the environment more than the profession.” They joined this program partly for “fear of comments.” “If I say I know how to code children, they often tell me: ‘Stop lying!'” Says one of them.
This phenomenon can go as far as sexist and sexual violence (VSS). In a report by the “Thats Move” survey, Isabelle Huet explains that, for 13% of active women and for 20% of students in the technological sector, the existence of VSS is an important obstacle. 40% of engineering students or technicians apprehend sexism and discrimination as the main difficulty they will face during their career.
Source: BFM TV
