Edinburgh Napier University

  As information infrastructures increasingly shape decisions that affect us, especially through the undertow of artificial intelligence, it is essential that women and gender minorities are well-represented across computing and engineering. However, the gender imbalance in technology education seems to be self-perpetuating, leading to a deficit of women lecturers and students, and providing a gender imbalanced education environment, which further discourages women from technology degrees and careers. Through online surveys and focus groups of computing and engineering students of all genders, we explore the tension between students’ vision of “not just for men” subjects and careers, including their suggestions for recategorisation, and their day-to-day experience of male-dominated courses. While keen to proselytise their career paths in ways they perceived to be attractive to women - such as being friendly and of benefit to society – many of our students experienced isolation, doubt, and sexist assumptions.