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 Unlocking the Clubhouse
By Jane Margolis and Allan Fisher
Amazon.com Editorial Review:
Book Description
The information technology revolution is transforming almost every aspect
of society, but girls and women are largely out of the loop. Although
women surf the Web in equal numbers to men and make a majority of online
purchases, few are involved in the design and creation of new technology.
It is mostly men whose perspectives and priorities inform the development
of computing innovations and who reap the lion's share of the financial
rewards. As only a small fraction of high school and college computer science
students are female, the field is likely to remain a "male clubhouse," absent
major changes.
Review
In Unlocking the Clubhouse, social scientist Jane Margolis and
computer scientist and educator Allan Fisher examine the many influences
contributing to the gender gap in computing. The book is based on
interviews with more than 100 computer science students of both sexes from
Carnegie Mellon University over a period of four years, as well as classroom
observations and conversations with hundreds of college and high school
faculty. The interviews capture the dynamic details of the female computing
experience, from the family computer kept in a brother's bedroom to women's
feelings of alienation in college computing classes. The authors investigate
the familial, educational, and institutional origins of the computing gender
gap. They also describe educational reforms that have made a dramatic
difference at Carnegie Mellon-where the percentage of women entering the
School of Computer Science rose from 7% in 1995 to 42% in 2000- -and at
high schools around the country.
Click here to read a review of the book by The Chronicle of Higher Education.
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