GirlTech
Girls and Technology: A first step in the identification of attributes in technology that are
conducive to the engagement of girls and women in its usage.
Factsheet
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Schools involved
School of Engineering and Computer Science
Business School -
Institute(s)
Institute for New Work
Institute for Human Centered Engineering (HUCE) -
Research unit(s)
HUCE / Laboratory for Robotics
Diversity, Equity & Inclusion - Funding organisation BFH
- Duration (planned) 01.01.2020 - 31.12.2020
- Head of project Prof. Dr. Ana Fernandes
- Project staff Prof. Dr. Gabriel Gruener
- Keywords Robots, Gender, Experiments, STEM
Situation
There’s a well-known asymmetry in the presence of women in technology-related fields, usually labeled as STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics). Relative to boys, girls dislike STEM disciplines and have a dismal enrollment in STEM related apprenticeships. This gender asymmetry in STEM is problematic because science, technology and innovation have been recognized as one of the main drivers behind productivity increases and a key long-term lever for economic growth and prosperity
Course of action
This project aims to create a framework for interventions/experiments to identify whether technological attributes (in e.g. robots) result in differential levels of engagement between girls and boys. The experiments shall be carried out with pre-teens, possibly in schools. In particular, different interactions with robots (cooperation, competition, aesthetics) shall be investigated as to their influence in the degree of engagement of girls versus boys.
