Transforming Trajectories for Women of Color in Tech (2022) / Chapter Skim
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2 Literature Review of Research on Girls and Women of Color in Computing, Science, and Technology
2 Literature Review of Research on Girls and Women of Color in Computing, Science, and Technology
Pages 33-72
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Social factors refer to social and cultural views, experiences, and biases that incorporate and affect external views of girls and women of color (e.g., family support, stereotyping) that are held in society in general, as well as the internal view that girls and women of color have of themselves (e.g., self-efficacy, self-expectations)
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A detailed description of the methods -- including pre-search activities (e.g., testing and selecting electronic literature databases, selecting search terms) ; conducting literature searches; literature selection (i.e., comparing the content of each literature piece against selection criteria and deciding if it should be discarded or kept for the synthesis)
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fields, is hampered by the low numbers of women of color, especially when considering specific institutions, geographic regions, subfields, or races/ethnicities. Qualitative research methods provide an opportunity to examine and understand how the experiences of different groups of women of color vary.
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The chapter concludes with a brief discussion of non-traditional pathways into tech positions and a list of recommendations arising from the research for practitioners, administrators, and CS/tech education researchers. K-12 EDUCATION Nearly a century of research on education indicates that inequality is pervasive throughout the United States' K-12 education system, and Black, Latinx, and Native American students and low-income students receive systemically unequal opportunities for a rigorous and effective education.
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. Social Barriers for Girls of Color in K-12 Education Beyond policies, resources, and course offerings, education research indicates that Black, Latinx, and Indigenous students in K-12 public schools face social barriers stemming from teachers' and administrators' negative biases, belief systems, stereotypes, and expectations.
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. While the research on gendered stereotypes in computing shows that they are present for female students broadly, additional research is needed to fully explore stereotypes and perceptions of computing fields as they relate to girls of color in particular.
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. This section first discusses structural and social barriers, followed by structural and social supports.
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Chilly Campus and Departmental Climates Several research studies described how chilly, and even hostile, campus and departmental climates contribute to negative experiences of women of color in technology and computing fields in higher education. Institutions and departments that are experienced as unwelcoming often lead students who are women of color to feel excluded and alienated (Ashford, 2016; Charleston et al., 2014b; Thomas, 2016)
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Multiple studies found that women of color students in technology and computing fields reported receiving verbal insults or harassment or being treated as invisible by their professors (Ashford, 2016; Charleston et al., 2014a; Hodari et al., 2014)
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The dearth of published research on the experiences with financial aid of women of color in tech and the role of institutions and communities in addressing women of color's financial need constitute gaps in the literature that need to be addressed. Social Barriers for Women of Color in Higher Education Research on women of color in technology and computing fields in higher education reveals a number of social barriers, including challenging relationships with majority peers, challenges related to navigating negative stereotypes, and limitations of family, such as family members' lack of knowledge about the college application process.
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Negative Stereotypes Studies further reveal how certain gendered and racial stereotypes negatively affected women of color students in technology and computing fields, and how the women responded in order to belong. For example, women who presented themselves in a feminine way, such as wearing high-heeled shoes or dresses, were frequently viewed and treated by peers as less intelligent (Thomas, 2016; Varma et al., 2006)
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Supportive Faculty and Advisors While several studies found faculty to be barriers in the education of women of color in technology and computing fields (see "Faculty Conduct" section, above) , a few studies identified ways in which faculty members and advisors were very supportive.
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. More research needs to be done on the benefits of STEM and non-STEM campus student groups for women of color in technology and computing fields overall, and specifically for Asian American, Black and African American, and Native American students.
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Social Supports for Women of Color in Higher Education Research literature on women of color in technology and computing fields in higher education suggests that social supports for women of color include their families, non-STEM peers, other aspects of community, and themselves. Family Supports Early exposure to technology and computing through family members had a mostly positive effect for women of color (Agbenyega, 2018; Ashford, 2016; Lyon, 2013; Middleton, 2015; Murray-Thomas, 2018; Thomas, 2016; Thomas et al., 2018)
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, a participant was inspired to persist in her computer science education by the example of her mother, who, despite protests from her spouse, returned to school to obtain her GED high school equivalency diploma, and then completed a cosmetology certificate. Non-STEM Peers To persist in their tech fields, women of color students often draw support for their emotional well-being through a community of non-STEM friends.
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Creativity, fun, and problem solving also emerged as interrelated individual factors that influenced the decision of women of color to pursue and persist in technology and computing fields. Researchers found that computer science and coding attracted them because they enjoyed the
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Carlone and Johnson's theory of science identity development (2007) may be useful in helping to understand why some women of color persist in technology and computing fields and some do not.
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WORKPLACE Studies on women of color in tech at the workplace level are rare and relatively recent; most have been published in the last decade. Similar to the discussion in the section on "Higher Education," findings in this section are presented as structural and social barriers, then structural and social supports.
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. The hypermasculine, "bro" culture of technology and computing fields likely contributes to these observations and outcomes.
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. Social Barriers for Women of Color in the Workplace Research literature on women of color in technology and computing at the workplace level demonstrates social barriers including biases and microaggressions in the workspaces.
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Three broad, related issues contributing to a hostile work environment for many women of color are described in the sections that follow: the questioning of the credibility of women of color and the constant pressure for them to prove themselves, the pressure on them to disprove stereotypes, and the exclusionary "bro" culture of tech environments. Credibility and prove-it-again.
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Women of color, especially African American women, are often negatively stereotyped in the tech workplace. According to Williams (2014)
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, for example, found that African American women expressed that experiencing diversity at all levels in their workplace helped to retain them at their organization and in the field of information technology. Conversely, in O'Connell's study (2018)
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found that African American women professionals in IT reported that having role models and mentors at a company during the first five years of their career was beneficial to their career growth. After this point, they felt they had outgrown the need for role models or mentors, but they wanted to mentor and serve as role models for more junior African American women in order to increase the numbers of this population in the IT subfields of health care, financial services, education, business consulting, and technology organizations.
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Some studies suggested that even as structural barriers prevented women of color from advancing in their companies, they stayed in the tech jobs because they felt they would not have the same quality of life if they left (Middleton, 2015)
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Professional Organizations Three studies identified the importance of professional organizations, particularly those that focus on people of color or women in STEM professions, as strong social supports for women of color, particularly Latinx and Black women. Herling (2011)
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. NON-TRADITIONAL PATHWAYS TO TECH Lastly, the committee reviewed the literature on pathways into technology and computing fields that involve job training outside of academic degree programs.
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At each level -- K-12, higher education, and the workplace -- institutional or structural barriers are prioritized over social barriers; likewise, structural supports are prioritized over social supports. Where literature specific to women of color in tech is sparse, the committee drew on findings in the literature regarding students of color or women of color more generally in STEM.
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. Social supports include culturally responsive curricula and pedagogy that incorporate into computing tasks the identities of girls of color as technosocial change agents (Ashcraft et al., 2017)
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. A few studies focused specifically on the characteristics and practices of HBCUs that support the success of Black or African American women.
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K-12: Topics for Future Research and Funding • Differences between girls of color and non-Hispanic white girls with re gard to the digital divide, access to computer science courses, and quality of online learning • Differences between girls of color and non-Hispanic white girls, and between women of color and non-Hispanic white women, with regard to educational experiences during the COVID-19 pandemic • Intervention components that can positively impact the identity, confi dence, interest, and aspirations of girls of color in tech and related fields, including counter-stereotypical role models, culturally relevant computing curricula, access to early childhood education that promotes culturally relevant socioemotional development, and diversity in the computer sci ence teacher workforce Higher Education: Topics for Future Research and Funding • Impact of family support/encouragement and other early exposure experi ences for women of color in tech and related fields • How finances and financial aid (e.g., scholarships, loans and debt, sala ries) impact women of color's entry into and persistence in tech and related fields • Experiences of women of color at transition points throughout their aca demic career (e.g., from K-12 to higher education, from community college to four-year institutions, and from undergraduate to graduate education)
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2016. Our counter-life herstories: The experiences of African American women faculty in U.S.
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2014a. Intersectionality and STEM: The role of race and gender in the academic pursuits of African American women in STEM.
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2016. Hybrid spaces for traditional culture and engineering: A narrative exploration of Na tive American women as agents of change.
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2015. Factors of influence for occupational attainment of African-American women in information technology.
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2009. The contribution of HBCUs to the preparation of African American women for STEM careers: A case study.
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2016. Exploring the retention and career persistence factors of African American women in information technology: A multiple case study.
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2018. Speaking truth to power: Exploring the intersectional experiences of Black women in computing.
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LITERATURE REVIEW OF RESEARCH 71 Zarrett, N
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