The proportion of females currently working in the Information and Communications Technology (ICT) industry is low, yet ICT professionals are the fastest growing group in Australia and ICT skills are already on the Department of Employment, Education, and Workplace Relations [DEEWR] skills shortage list. The creativity and imagination of half the population is lost to ICT if women do not take up the many opportunities the profession offers. The ability of females to influence new technology is as important a reason to encourage them into ICT careers as the lack of workers. In addition to low numbers in the workforce, the number of females enrolling in tertiary ICT courses is low and dropping, and enrolment in year 12 Victorian Certificate of Education [VCE] ICT related units is very small. Females begin to lose interest in ICT in the early years of high school. The stereotyped image of the person working in the computer industry remains a factor detracting females from entering this sector. The current study used drawing as a method of investigating stereotypical beliefs held by girls. Participants were 102 female students participating in a single sex ICT intervention program entitled "Digital Divas" in six Melbourne high schools. The aim of the intervention was to raise the girls' awareness of careers in ICT and improve their confidence and competence using topics of interest to high school girls. Students came from single sex and coeducational schools with varied socio-economic status. Participants were asked to draw someone working in the computing industry and given the opportunity to describe and explain their drawings. Drawings were analysed using a checklist of stereotypical characteristics such as gender, appearance, number of people, mood, occupation and nerdiness. Findings revealed that characters were slightly more likely to be male; over 80% of drawings showed a computer user working alone; and male characters were more likely to wear glasses and be depicted as nerds. Students from single sex schools and those from lower SES schools were more likely to draw stereotyped characters. Implications for schools and further research are suggested.
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