The Second Round: Diverse Paths Towards Software Engineering
Hyrynsalmi, Sonja M.; Peltonen, Ella; Vainionpää, Fanny; Hyrynsalmi, Sami (2024-09-18)
ACM
18.09.2024
Hyrynsalmi, S. M., Peltonen, E., Vainionpaa, F., & Hyrynsalmi, S. (2024). The second round: Diverse paths towards software engineering. Proceedings of the 5th ACM/IEEE Workshop on Gender Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion in Software Engineering, 29–36. https://doi.org/10.1145/3643785.3648494
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
© 2024 Copyright held by the owner/author(s). This work licensed under Creative Commons Attribution International 4.0 License.
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
© 2024 Copyright held by the owner/author(s). This work licensed under Creative Commons Attribution International 4.0 License.
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
Julkaisun pysyvä osoite on
https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:oulu-202409205997
https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:oulu-202409205997
Tiivistelmä
Abstract
In the extant literature, there has been discussion on the drivers and motivations of minorities to enter the software industry. For example, universities have invested in more diverse imagery for years to attract a more diverse pool of students. However, in our research, we consider whether we understand why students choose their current major and how they did in the beginning decided to apply to study software engineering. We were also interested in learning if there could be some signs that would help us in marketing to get more women into tech. We approached the topic via an online survey (N = 78) sent to the university students of software engineering in Finland. Our results show that, on average, women apply later to software engineering studies than men, with statistically significant differences between genders. Additionally, we found that marketing actions have different impacts based on gender: personal guidance in live events or platforms is most influential for women, whereas teachers and social media have a more significant impact on men. The results also indicate two main paths into the field: the traditional linear educational pathway and the adult career change pathway, each significantly varying by gender.
In the extant literature, there has been discussion on the drivers and motivations of minorities to enter the software industry. For example, universities have invested in more diverse imagery for years to attract a more diverse pool of students. However, in our research, we consider whether we understand why students choose their current major and how they did in the beginning decided to apply to study software engineering. We were also interested in learning if there could be some signs that would help us in marketing to get more women into tech. We approached the topic via an online survey (N = 78) sent to the university students of software engineering in Finland. Our results show that, on average, women apply later to software engineering studies than men, with statistically significant differences between genders. Additionally, we found that marketing actions have different impacts based on gender: personal guidance in live events or platforms is most influential for women, whereas teachers and social media have a more significant impact on men. The results also indicate two main paths into the field: the traditional linear educational pathway and the adult career change pathway, each significantly varying by gender.
Kokoelmat
- Avoin saatavuus [34578]
Ellei muuten mainita, aineiston lisenssi on https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/