The debate about gender and computing is under-theorized. It’s like the debate about mathematics and gender in the early 1970s, when all those pronouncements were made about girls have less-developed spatial ability. Feminists then reanalyzed the tests which were used and found that the differences were not as significant as had been said, and do not explain why women were so absent from maths, science, and technology … [There’s hope in] the way that women use the telephone in ways that no one predicted when it was being used as a business tool.
Predictor: Plumeridge, Sarah
Prediction, in context:In his 1993 article on worldwide electronic communication, Mike Holderness quotes Sarah Plumeridge. Holderness writes: ”Of the Internet’s visible users – those who contribute to its public discussions or newsgroups – over 90 percent of those with identifiable names are male. Is this evidence of discrimination in eduation, convincing women that they cannot use computers? … Sarah Plumeridge is research assistant on a project to study women’s use of computers at the University of East London, and teachers students to use programmes … She says that ‘the debate about gender and computing is under-theorized. It’s like the debate about mathematics and gender in the early 1970s, when all those pronouncements were made about girls have less-developed spatial ability. Feminists then reanalyzed the tests which were used and found that the differences were not as significant as had been said, and do not explain why women were so absent from maths, science, and technology.’ Plumeridge believes that the differences in the way girls and boys currently learn about computers will also turn out to result from ‘a complex interplay of classroom interaction and teacher expectation … [There’s hope in] the way that women use the telephone in ways that no one predicted when it was being used as a business tool.'”
Date of prediction: March 2, 1993
Topic of prediction: Controversial Issues
Subtopic: Digital Divide
Name of publication: New Scientist
Title, headline, chapter name: Down and Out on the Electronic Frontier
Quote Type: Direct quote
Page number or URL of document at time of study:
http://www.poptel.org.uk/nuj/mike/articles/nsc-elec.htm
This data was logged into the Elon/Pew Predictions Database by: Anderson, Janna Quitney